A bike lane that takes up the entire street. Parking spots for people-not cars-to sit in while sipping coffee.
These ideas aren't so far-fetched for city planners with projects in the works to make certain streets more pedestrian-friendly.
One of the more unusual plans is the "shared street" that would transform a stretch of Argyle Street in Uptown from Sheridan to Broadway into a kind of public plaza, like those more common in Europe, where pedestrians, cyclists and motorists must co-exist in one broad lane elevated to the same height as the sidewalk.
Argyle Street, long the anchor of an Uptown business district that includes many of the city's most well-known Vietnamese restaurants and shops, is a prime spot for the city's first "shared street" experiment, according to Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), who spearheaded the project.
"We want to have a street that's going to be a safe street for pedestrians, for bicyclists, that we can use for supporting the business community with sidewalk cafes and special events like our night market," he said, referring to an evening open-air market that takes place in the summer on Argyle Street. "The shared street is going to work well for continuing that concept."
Construction on the street is set to begin this winter, Osterman said, with a water-main project, and conclude by the end of summer 2015. The construction will involve raising the street level between Sheridan Road and Broadway to be flush with the sidewalk curb in hopes of helping drivers distinguish Argyle from a typical neighborhood street. The project will also bring the speed limit down to
15 miles per hour and eliminate up to 10 parking spots, Osterman said.
"I think it sounds great," said Jonathan Dockter, 24, who lives a few blocks from the Argyle Street business district. "Personally, I'm all for more pedestrian-friendly streets, and this could make it friendlier for tourism, too. It's kind of an interesting area to visit."
A similar street redesign was suggested in Lincoln Park last fall after a DePaul University proposal to turn a section of Kenmore Avenue between Belden and Fullerton avenues into a landscaped walkway for students and other pedestrians was nixed by community members.
Lincoln Park residents said the original project, which would have cut nearly 50 parking spots from the area, was too extreme. But the new plan, which DePaul University officials say is still being discussed with city officials, would make Kenmore more like the future Argyle: The plan would involve repaving the street to make it level with the sidewalk and give pedestrians and cyclists the right of way, according to officials.
In each case, the design is inspired by the "woonerf," a Dutch word for a "living street" where pedestrians have priority and which has grown in popularity in Europe since the '70s, but been slow to catch on in the U.S.
"For 95 percent of people, when you mention 'shared street,' they're going to think of a curbless street, something with a different texture and color than regular pavement. They're going to think that there's no street markings, no stop signs, no traffic signals. And then the next thing they'll think is, 'What are you, nuts? That might work in Europe, but it's not going to work here,'" said Gary Toth, the senior director of transportation initiatives for the Project for Public Spaces, a New York-based nonprofit. "And that's just the wrong interpretation."
Argyle Street could be a strong choice for pioneering the shared street concept in Chicago, he said, because "cars don't shop, people shop," and Argyle Street is already more of a small business corridor than a major, arterial street, like Sheridan Road.
But key features of many design plans to make streets more pedestrian friendly involve slowing down traffic and eliminating parking-ideas that have made certain plans, like DePaul's, controversial among business owners, neighbors and people who drive cars.
"This street is already crowded and slow at times, especially on Sundays," said Quan Nguyen, 23, whose mother owns a jewelry store in the area. "I don't know if a plaza would increase traffic here or not."
Osterman said he has worked with local business leaders to resolve parking worries and other concerns since the project was first floated three years ago.
"There's a good amount of street parking that's on Argyle right now and Kenmore and other side streets, and two very large public parking lots right off of Argyle Street," he said. "We don't think the lack of parking is going to be a detriment once the streetscape is done."
Recent research on Chicago's street redesigning efforts suggest the changes could be positive. In a recently published study of the nine "People Spots" around Chicago that transform city parking spots into mini public plazas during the summer months, many business owners said they actually benefited from the loss of parking with the gain of public seating where people felt comfortable congregating.
"When there's something in the street, automobile drivers will just pay more attention, naturally," said Chrissy Mancini Nichols, director of research and evaluation at the Metropolitan Planning Council, which studies the impact of initiatives to make streets more friendly to non-drivers.
Osterman said he hopes the "shared street" will not only turn Argyle Street into more of a pedestrian destination, but also inspire other street projects.
"My sense is that when people come here and they see what it's like-as a pedestrian, as a cyclist, as someone supporting the businesses-they're going to want to do it elsewhere," he said. "We like to be innovative, and we think this is important."