Too Much Traffic

Although only about half the residents in Edgewater actually own vehicles, high-volume traffic made the area intensely congested. Locals complained of noise, pollution, dangerous intersections, and a feeling of isolation from the parks and waterfront.

Community Input

Walkable Edgewater worked with the community as well as the Illinois DOT to create a community-generated physical plan oriented toward local residents rather than pass-through commuters.

Multi-agency Teams

A multi-agency team—including a zoning specialist, a planning and development aide, a traffic-calming expert, and a chief of staff—was formed. The team worked with fire, police, and sanitation agencies, local organizations, and block clubs to develop areas of improvement and test the project's physical feasibility.

A Walkable Neighborhood

The Edgewater neighborhood has become a model for pedestrian-oriented planning in Chicago, and other wards are flocking to the idea of community-generated physical change.

Positive relationships between neighborhood associations and the Chicago Department of Transportation have been key to the success of the Edgewater planning project.­­