A Vision for Main Street that Connects South Evanston by Foot, Bike, and Bus
Main Street is a key east-west corridor in the south of Evanston, but existing travel conditions between the Channel and the Main-Dempster Mile present environmental, equity, and safety concerns. Missing sidewalks and crosswalks, no infrastructure for cyclists, and a lack of public transit service, is a missed opportunity to connect our community and the region at large. Currently, those traveling on bike along Main must either pedal on the sidewalk creating conflicts with pedestrians, or share space in the street with fast-moving cars and trucks, creating traffic congestion and also the potential for life-threatening accidents. Sections of missing sidewalks exacerbate this problem and limit access entirely for disabled or mobility impaired individuals. Bus service last ran along Main St nearly twenty years ago, with no suitable alternative available in its place. As a result, the majority of trips to destinations along Main St are done by car because of the lack of safe or reliable alternatives. And for those without access to a car, traveling on Main St is either dangerous, or avoided altogether.
Case Study: N 26th Ave in Minneapolis
Evanston’s Main Street has much in common with N 26th Ave in Minneapolis: a curb-to-curb width between 30’ and 35’, no striped on street parking, with moderate levels of vehicular and truck traffic. Both streets run mostly through low to medium-density residential districts, with connections to important educational, commercial and recreational destinations. In 2016, Minneapolis re-surfaced N 26th Ave, but instead of replacing it as-is, the city slightly narrowed the existing 15’ travel lanes down to 11’ each (in what is known as a ‘road diet’). The resulting 8’ of space was then reallocated to a protected, bidirectional bike path along the north side of the road. Sidewalks and crosswalks were also refreshed, including new ADA ramps.
Looking eastbound on N 26th Ave at Morgan Ave in Minneapolis, MN. Before reconstruction (left) and then after the lane narrowing and addition of bike path (right).
Main Street between Hartery and Ridge is slated for resurfacing in the next five years according to the City of Evanston’s list of desired Capital Improvement Projects, as the existing road surface is deteriorating and intersections such as Asbury & Main are in need of left turn lanes and modernized signals. As a signed bicycle route, and with Evanston’s commitments to Vision Zero, Complete Streets, and Climate Action and Resilience, it is necessary to include bike and pedestrians improvements as part of the Main Street project.
The similarities between Main St and N 26th Ave in terms of right of way size, traffic volumes, neighborhood context, and connectivity make Minneapolis’ model for a safe, complete street highly applicable. A two-way bike path is preferred over other facility types such as on-street painted lanes for reasons of safety (high traffic area in a school/park zone with lots of children) as well as implementation: many of the destinations along the Main St corridor are on the north side (including two schools and a community center), roughly a third of the project area already includes city-owned land to the north (Crown and Grey Parks) which will reduce costs, and reconfiguration of curbs would only have to occur on the north side of the street limiting disruption. In addition, two-way bike paths are preferred by Evanston for year-round maintenance, and such a design would be consistent with other recent and proposed bike facilities including along Oakton St, Chicago Ave, and Church St that feature two-way paths, contributing to overall network cohesion.
The proposed Main St bike path, with a relocated Divvy bikeshare station, would improve access to Robert Crown Center’s recreational facilities and library.
Looking westbound on Main St toward Skokie and the Channel Trail, which would become accessible to cyclists and pedestrians via this new connection.
The project would provide a safe crossing of Ridge Ave at Grey Park, encouraging all ages and abilities to comfortably travel to Main-Dempster Mile Shops, Downtown Evanston, and the lakefront.
Construction Phases & Future Enhancements
The initial section of the Main St bike path would be approximately 1 mile in length from Hartrey Ave to Grey Park, constructed simultaneously with the planned resurfacing. The proposed dog run to be built at Grey Park should anticipate the construction of this path so as to not obstruct it. At the park, signage should be provided to clearly direct cyclists along Maple Ave (signed bike route) to continue north through the 4th Ward toward Downtown/City Hall, or use the new shared-lanes through the Main St business district to proceed further east toward the Lakefront. At Hartrey, a raised crosswalk and new sidewalks should also be considered, as well as signage directing cyclists and pedestrians to The Aux, a new community-owned commercial center being built at 2223 Washington St, one block south of Main, which is currently accessible only via car. A Divvy Bikeshare station would also be useful in this location, providing better access as well to the shopping plaza including Marshalls and Food 4 Less.
A future phase of construction would see the bike path further extended from Hartrey west to the Channel Trail and Skokie’s Main St bike lanes. This would most likely require a new bike/pedestrian bridge to span the Channel parallel to the existing, narrow roadway crossing. As this area is more jurisdictionally challenging and has less pedestrian activity, it would be acceptable in the short term for cyclists to continue to utilize the sidewalk. Although the city should study expanding the sidewalk between the Channel and Hartrey to ~8ft wide to meet the minimum standard of a shared use path, if feasible.
A new cycling and pedestrian bridge would connect the Main St Bike Path to a network of trails and paths extending across our region.
Additionally, the reconstruction of Main St should keep the potential return of bus service in mind. Busses ran along Main St in various forms, first under the Evanston Bus Company through 1973, and then by the Chicago Transit Authority until September of 2009, when the closure of the Rand McNally Headquarters in Skokie caused a drop in ridership leading to the route’s cancellation. Since then, however, new developments such as Robert Crown Center have created demand for east-west travel along Main St that has been ignored. Gradual service reductions and cutbacks across Evanston over the preceding decades is no doubt a leading cause of our increasing reliance on cars, and thus it is imperative to act quickly in reversing this trend by providing reliable and dependable transit alternatives which get residents where they need to go.
CTA Bus Routes 11 and 49B currently terminate at Evanston’s southern border. Extending these services one mile north, and then along Main St, can provide service not only between our shopping centers, Crown Center, the Purple Line/ Metra stations and our lakefront, but also a one-seat ride to southern destinations in the Chicago neighborhoods of Lincoln Square and North Park. Even with the establishment of such a service not imminently feasible, design choices made during the reconstruction of Main Street should not prevent the reintroduction of service along this corridor in the future. This incudes, for example, designing the bike path with potential bus stop locations/shelter placement in mind, and ensuring curb radiuses at intersections are kept sufficient for turning clearances.
The CTA 11 Bus which currently terminates at McCormick & Howard could be extended to Main, and then turn east to follow the historic path of Route 202 to the Main-Dempster Mile and our lakefront.
South Evanston stands to be transformed by improvements along Main Street that prioritize pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit riders. A ‘complete’ Main St would see improved traffic safety, increased economic activity, reduced vehicle congestion, and minimized air pollution/ greenhouse gas emissions. Hundreds of local residents at ward meetings and in an online petition have voiced support for bike and pedestrian improvements along Main St. As Capital Improvement Projects seek to resurface our roads, Evanston must endeavor on a wholistic approach to not merely replace what already exists, but re-envision our streetscapes for the future. Analyzing changes on a network-wide level, as we have proposed here, is critical to ensure that infrastructure improvements are not made in a vacuum, and that our actions are matching our aspirations to address issues of equity and sustainability in our community. This analysis of Main Street should be an example of how road projects across Evanston can be approached going forward to provide a truly comprehensive and forward-thinking solution for residents.
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