Saturday, January 5, 2019

Community Meeting To Hear New Options About Redefined Lake Shore Drive

From Ald. Cappleman's most recent newsletter:

"This month, my office will host a second community meeting about Redefine the Drive, a planning process for potential future changes to North Lake Shore Drive.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) are studying potential changes to North Lake Shore Drive from Grand Avenue to Hollywood Avenue.

Current safety standards call for Lake Shore Drive entrances and exits to be a half-mile apart, so IDOT and CDOT are considering changes to the Lawrence, Wilson and Montrose exits that would increase the distance between exit and entrance ramps.

I remain staunchly opposed to a previous proposal to close the Wilson ramps on Lake Shore Drive and have communicated my opposition to IDOT and CDOT through one-on-one meetings and a previous community meeting.

IDOT and CDOT now want to present options to the community that both maintain Wilson Avenue's access to Lake Shore Drive and adhere to federal guidelines about the distance required between entrances and exit ramps.

Please join me at the upcoming community meeting to hear the new options:

  • WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 24, 6 to 8 p.m.
  • WHERE: Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson, Larry McKeon Student Services Building

While actual construction is many years away--so far, funds have only been allocated for planning, not for actual changes to the roadway--your input will help shape Lake Shore Drive for the next century. I hope to see many of you at the meeting!"

UU Note: This is a long process and there have been community meetings about how to "Redefine the Drive" in Uptown and other North Side areas since at least July 2013.

But these meetings are where the decisions are made when funding becomes available. If you'd like to have a voice in the process that will decide Lake Shore Drive's future, we urge you to attend and make your opinions known.

4 comments:

  1. What genius thinks closing the exit/entrance ramp to the hospital at Wilson is a good idea??

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  2. What genius forgets that the hospital is located between Wilson and Lawrence and the Lawrence exit would be maintained.

    A lot of Chicago drivers are poor mergers, and these three entrance/exits back to back is not safe. I feel any solution IDOT/CDOT comes up with is really going to turn these interchanges into Highway-level infrastructure. That will only eat up more parkland to appease the small amount of drivers who use this exit, and even less to get to the hospital.

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    Replies
    1. The emergency room is located at the Wilson exit. If your solution is to make decisions based on how stupid drivers are, then there would be no roadways in America. Also, the two intersections at Marine Dr and Clarendon/Lawrence are a hot mess. I would much rather see that exit closed than Wilson.

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  3. I demanded that IDOT and CDOT come up with plans to keep access to Montrose, Wilson, and Lawrence open while also adhering to their mandated federal guidelines that entrances and exits must be approximately 1/2 mile apart.

    At the community meeting, IDOT and CDOT will share a variety of options that will do that. The community will need to provide input about which option they like best.

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