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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

Kenmore Green leaves some seeing red

In Chicago, there are few issues more contentious than parking, the need for green space and pedestrian access. In Lincoln Park, these two issues are coming to a head on the DePaul campus.

For its 2009 Master Plan, DePaul University officials proposed closing Kenmore Avenue between Fullerton and Belden in order to create a pedestrian mall, called Kenmore Green. In May, DePaul closed Kenmore as a request from 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack, in order to study the potential impact on parking and traffic flow in the neighborhood.

The results of the study, conducted by the firms Kenig, Lindgren, O’Hara, Aboona Incorporated, found that there was little impact on surrounding streets with regards to traffic congestion and parking.

DePaul executive vice president Bob Kozoman said the university spoke to Waguespack and Chicago Department of Transportation personnel. “The conclusion was that this project would not have an appreciable impact on parking and congestion, whether this particular street is open or not,” said Kozoman.

Throughout a typical day, the 2300 block of Kenmore carries 1,748 vehicles and 80 to 115 vehicles during peak hours, according to the study. On Saturdays, the block sees an average of 981 vehicles, much of which is associated with DePaul.

The plan is not without controversy as neighbors lamented the potential loss of 47 unregulated parking spaces that line the street. Wrightwood Neighbors Association director Allan Mellis said her organization would not support a plan that eliminates parking on Kenmore.

“The area around the site, namely Sheffield, sees enough traffic already. Closing Kenmore would be detrimental to the neighborhood,” said Mellis.

Traffic on Sheffield and surrounding streets varies widely by day and season. The study was originally going to be conducted earlier than May, but was pushed back in order to get a sense of the impact during high-traffic events, such as Cubs games. Traffic increased on Sheffield by 15 percent during the closure, but the study notes that “only a portion of additional volume can be attributed to the closure”.

The parking spaces on Kenmore were found to be generally fully utilized during the day. Of the cars parked on Kenmore, 84 percent did not have a parking permit, and 60 percent of the cars were registered to DePaul students and staff. This suggests that neighborhood concerns about parking availability are unfounded, since only one percent of vehicles parked on Kenmore belonged to neighborhood residents.

“Parking and traffic are high on the concerns for people in the neighborhood,” said Kozoman.

A community meeting held prior to the street’s closure was met with what Mellis called “unanimous opposition” to the university’s plan.

“[DePaul] wants to push something that would have a negative impact on the neighborhood. It would be good for DePaul, but not for the neighborhood,” said Mellis.

Kozoman said that the Kenmore Green project would be a boon to both the neighborhood and the university.

“One of the things that typically hits on neighborhood wish lists in Chicago is more green space, more park space. We welcome the neighbors to our campus; we don’t put up walls or check ID at the entrances,” said Kozoman.

Mellis and the Wrightwood Neighbors Association are more supportive of alternatives to the Kenmore Green project, specifically ones that do not involve closing the street to vehicles. Such plans could include car-length speed bumps, referred to as “speed tables”, narrowing the street by extending the curbs and restricting parking to one side of the street. The Kenmore Green plan as proposed would close the street entirely to traffic, much how DePaul’s quadrangle was constructed, by closing Seminary Avenue on each side.

Complicating the issue is that the upcoming ward remapping would move the street from the 32nd Ward to the 43rd, so it is possible that both aldermen would need to sign a letter of approval in order for the plan to come to fruition.

Waguespack’s chief of staff Paul Sajovec the study that DePaul sponsored was useful in measuring the impact of the project, but that it was one piece in a larger puzzle. “Our sense is that there’s still a considerable concern about what implications there may be from the closure,” said Sajovec.

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