Custer Oasis

Used for seasonal outdoor dining since COVID, Custer Avenue could be transformed into a permanent public gathering space in the heart of South Evanston, steps from CTA and Metra, and surrounded by a thriving small business community. A redesigned streetscape which prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists through low-speed limits and built-in community amenities, with cars as guests in the space, would reduce traffic to a walking pace and allow people to use the space for socializing and gathering, with easier accommodation for full-scale closures during summer dining season.

Modeled after the Dutch ‘woonerf’, meaning living street, key features and design elements would include a curbless road surface consisting of permeable pavers, bioswales and other native/sustainable plantings, and permanent street furniture. This is compared to the movable picnic benches today, which is all that can be provided due to Custer being a street designed for cut-through traffic. Just as Fountain Square is a key place-making hub for Downtown Evanston and its visitors/residents, the Custer Oasis Woonerf would be the same for Main St.

Check out the video to see what a Woonerf in Alberta, Canada is like!