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Can Public Art Make A Busy West Side Street More Pedestrian-Friendly? Some Artists Think So

How Can The West Side Be More Walkable? North Lawndale Neighbors Did A Study To Find Out

The Walkability Assessment Initiative Kedzie-Homan (WA|K-H) conducted last year in 2019 assessed the half-mile radius area around the Kedzie-Homan Blue Line station in North Lawndale to identify obstacles to walkability and propose areas where improvements can be made. The goal of this project is to create incentives for people to walk more and improve the communitys ownership of public spaces by making streets friendlier and safer to all kinds of pedestrians.

In the assessment, we found that a common area of concern is the interestion of Harrison St. and Homan Ave., right off the Homan exit of the Blue Line. This intersection poses concerns for pedestrian safety because of the poor conditions of the roads, lack of pedestrian crossing, the vacant lot on the northwest corner, and the environment of the Citgo gas station on the southeast corner.

As a community-led project, we work in collaboration with multiple North Lawndale community-based organizations to ensure that our design will consider the concerns and needs of ALL members of the community.