Old Town High-Rise Battle Changes To Fast Lane

A traffic plan for North & LaSalle is getting pushback. One resident says the plan will make traffic worse, is the latest in developer overreach, and is an affront to the history of Old Town. First of two articles on the challenges of high-rise development in Old Town.

(Above) Rendering of Old Town Canvas by GREC Architects from March 2024. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

The battle against a planned 44-story skyscraper on the northeast corner of West North Avenue and North LaSalle Drive in the Old Town neighborhood has shifted into the fast lane.

“As we continue our community engagement process, we are pleased to provide an update on our plans to address one of the main concerns we’ve heard from neighbors and residents – traffic,” chirped a press release authored by developer Nick Anderson (left), founder and president of Fern Hill Company.

“Traffic and congestion have always been top-of-mind for us, and we have remained committed to ensuring our proposal does not negatively impact traffic patterns in the neighborhood,” he said.

According to Anderson, that’s why Fern Hill “recruited one of the nation’s leading traffic engineering firms,” Kenig, Lindgren, O’Hara, Aboona, Inc. (KLOA), to develop a comprehensive traffic improvement plan based on an independent traffic study of the area.

The complicated “traffic improvement” plan includes demolishing both the Shell and BP gas stations on LaSalle, eliminating 12 curb cuts along the LaSalle Drive/North Avenue corridor, installing 18 “bump outs” – curb extensions to widen sidewalks for pedestrians and intended to calm traffic – along the corridor across five separate intersections, and installing a dedicated protected right turn lane from LaSalle onto North to “reduce queuing time,” according to Fern Hill.

‘Gimmickry,’ says resident of traffic plan

Timothy Carew, a concerned Old Town resident and retired banking and real estate professional, blasted Fern Hill’s plan as an “audacious proposal to block-manage” the traffic area surrounding their proposed mega high-rise development in Old Town and “the latest in developer overreach.”

“No amount of gimmickry traffic bump-out sidewalks will decrease traffic on the street or make it move faster and safer,” said Carew.

Under the KLOA traffic plan, pedestrians will get less time and less room on the sidewalks to freely move through the historic neighborhood or gain access to Lincoln Park, Carew insists.

“Their bunched-up street modifications fail on all fronts. It fails to provide pedestrian safety. It further crowds sidewalks. It fails to recognize reality,” he said.

(Right) Traffic along LaSalle Drive at North Avenue from video captured by Timothy Carew.

Carew has a good view of the North & LaSalle corner from his condominium unit.

“Bikes, scooters, motorcycles, packs of runners from running clubs and schools, drag racers, mini-bike and Harley bikers are constantly on the roll. Some on the street, others on sidewalks. It is almost Second City comical material,” he said.

Carew noted that a few months ago Walgreens started off-loading its trucks on North Avenue. “They clearly wanted to wean their delivery trucks off the enclosed North Avenue entrance, which required cross-lane maneuvering. So, now those trucks have joined the beer trucks,” said Carew.

(Left) A delivery truck being loaded near North & LaSalle.

He calls Fern Hill’s proposed traffic management plan “a blatant example of carving up the public right-of-way to serve private commercial interests.”

“Their detailed proposal – bending traffic management techniques to fit their aims – is an affront to the history of Old Town,” Carew charged. “It is a taking of economic use from existing residents and commercial interests. The plan looks like the infamous City of Chicago parking meter lease deal all over again.”

He is concerned the plan would slow access to Old Town from U.S. Route 41, DuSable Lake Shore Drive, and Illinois Route 64.

“The existing small businesses need foot traffic, not faster and denser street traffic,” Carew said. “The reality is that their assemblage of sites does not give them an entitled right to build massive towers. We do not need to accommodate Fern Hill’s economic interests by trading away or abandoning the public right-of-way interests currently granted in Old Town by its long-honored street layout and residential historical building usage.”

Feedback welcome, says Fern Hill

Anderson asks concerned Old Town residents and business owners to submit feedback and questions regarding traffic to the company’s website. Or email Fern Hill directly at oldtown@fernhillcompany.com.

Questions concerned residents might have for 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins include:

1 Where is the long-awaited official Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) traffic study for the LaSalle Drive/North Avenue corridor?

2 When will the next public community meeting on Old Town Canvas – with CDOT professionals in attendance – be scheduled?

NEXT WEEK: How Old Town residents fought proposed high-rise development at Piper’s Alley in 1971. The grassroots movement led to down-zoning of the area over the next five decades.

Don DeBat is co-author of Escaping Condo Jail, the ultimate survival guide for condominium living. Visit escapingcondojail.com. For more housing news, visit www.dondebat.biz. Don also is writing Chicago’s Game, a book on 16-inch softball.