Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Action On Argyle

At the State of Uptown luncheon today, Ald. Osterman had some good information about what's to come to Argyle Street later this year.  He said that he regretted the 48th Ward losing the Uptown Theater in the recent ward remap, but by virtue of Argyle Street all being in the same ward now (previously it was split down the middle between 48 and 46), some real progress has been made towards its improvement:
  • As just announced on the 48th Ward's Facebook page, "Starting Wednesday, daytime police foot patrolmen will be working from 9-5 on Argyle Street. We appreciate the support of 20th District Commander James Jones in this project, and we have been working on it for many months. We expect that the patrolmen will have a significant impact in improving safety on and around Argyle Street."
  • He also announced that in coming months, each Thursday night will feature an Asian Night Market between 4pm and 8pm, with food booths, entertainment  and shops staying open late.  Interestingly, this follows the suggestion that the Urban Land Institute set forth for Argyle way back in 2008, in its report entitled "Discover Asia On Argyle." 

    That portion of the report recommends "Pursue the creation of an Asian Night Market as a destination event, to be patterned off the night markets found in Asian cities – where vendors sell food and other goods in an open-air market accompanied by music and other entertainment."  Performers from Uptown's theater companies will be showcased, as well as other talent.
  • He mentioned that the "Argyle Identifier" (pictured above) is being retained.  Although we've grown tolerant of its lime green glow at night, well, two out of three ain't bad.

4 comments:

  1. Wow! Wow! Wow! This almost makes up for the sign... j/k (kinda). Anyway, this is really great news. Thanks for the Update!

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  2. Glad to see there is progression being made in a neighborhood with a lot of potential. My only concern is: foot patrol between 9 and 5? While I cannot argue for the effort, I feel that the hours should be during more crime prone hours (such as when the sun starts to set and during bar close). However, this is a great step in the right direction. Keep picking yourself up and dusting yourself off, Uptown! You can do it!

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  3. Is there any way that those square cutouts in the sidewalks that allow trees to grow can be fitted with the metal grates that every other street in the city seems to have? Without these grates, it's like every shop & restaurant on Argyle has a mud puddle in front of it. Besides being so ugly, only half of the sidewalk can be used too. Is fitting these holes with grates the responsibility of the city or the shop owners? Seems like a simple thing that would make the street much nicer?

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