Should State St. be turned back into a pedestrian mall? (Chicago: cul-de-sac, neighborhoods)

[Tex?Il?]

Now that Chicago is much more self-sustaining in terms of being an attractive destination than it was in during the late 70s- early 90s, should State St. be turned back into a pedestrian mall?

Back then they tried to breathe life into State St. by turning it into a pedestrian mall. It didn't work, and they returned to allow auto traffic in the mid 90s.

But that was when the city was not as gentrified, with nearly as many professionals living near downtown. Now that the city and Loop have been revitalized, do you think they should go back to State st. as a pedestrian mall?

I think it would really be very attractive. There is just something about a lack of cars in a downtown area, that just makes it so inviting and charming.

What do you think?

[ParkerP]

I don't know. Could be cool. But doesn't a lot of bus routes go down State St?

[jdiddy]

No. There have been enough failed attempts at this to let us know that large-scale ped-only streets just don't work very well.

[Attrill]

It was never really a pedestrian mall, it was open to buses, and always seemed to be full of idling buses. It was a complete and total failure. Even as a true pedestrian mall (without buses) I don't think it would work out well. State St. is too wide, but I could see some smaller streets in the Loop possibly working.

[chet everett]

...can tell you that such thinking was an abomination. You can head to pretty much any city or town around the globe and you won't find too many reasons to think simply closing off a street to anything that buses improves much or anything.

The sort of things that cities like even Las Vegas have done to try and justify a mallification are not really practical or frankly desirable.


Streets are a wonderful urban element and blocks / crosswalks/ stoplights are really awfully useful to break things up!

[Avengerfire]

"Should State St. be turned back into a pedestrian mall?"

No way Jose.

Although there may be other streets it could work. I do not think most streets that are in the heart of the loop would be good candidates at all but some streets in the greater "downtown" if you will like Gold Coast and Old Town could work very well.

For example (not downtown but): A street like Lincoln between Lawrence and Leland (to maybe even Wilson) in Lincoln Square would work perfectly. Of course it already has been narrowed and an intersecting street cul-de-sac'd in the last couple decades, but closing it off to all cars except delivery vehicles would be awesome.

[JBVirtuoso]

Honestly, never once have I been walking in the Loop and thought, "Golly gee, it sure would be nice if all these cars disappeared." I think it would be pretty creepy to stumble across a street in the Loop with no traffic on it and just a bunch of tourists milling about. The traffic is part of the energy and vibrancy of the Loop, and it strikes me as odd to want to take that away.

However, as Avengerfire said, it could work in some other neighborhoods. Good candidate streets for pedestrian malls are ones where people desire a quiet street for relaxing strolls, or streets with a high density of shops where people are constantly going in and out (and even darting across the street). Being able to waltz down the middle of the street needs to be beneficial in some way to even consider a pedestrian mall, and I just don't see it for State Street.

Also, the bus mall is just a terrible idea. If you're going to have a pedestrian mall, it needs to be for pedestrians. A bunch of loud and smelly buses don't make for a pedestrian-friendly environment.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by JBVirtuoso

...However, as Avengerfire said, it could work in some other neighborhoods. Good candidate streets for pedestrian malls are ones where people desire a quiet street for relaxing strolls, or streets with a high density of shops where people are constantly going in and out (and even darting across the street). Being able to waltz down the middle of the street needs to be beneficial in some way to even consider a pedestrian mall, and I just don't see it for State Street...

I imagine closing off Clark in Andersonville or making Clark into a limited access street (like Lincoln in Lincoln Square) from Foster to Catalpa. (The Clark bus could divert onto Ashland between Foster and Rosehill.) (There is no Ashland bus that far north anyway and Clark is less a half block or less from Ashland between Rosehill and Foster.) Delivery vehicles could be let through on Clark as needed.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by JBVirtuoso

Honestly, never once have I been walking in the Loop and thought, "Golly gee, it sure would be nice if all these cars disappeared." I think it would be pretty creepy to stumble across a street in the Loop with no traffic on it and just a bunch of tourists milling about. The traffic is part of the energy and vibrancy of the Loop, and it strikes me as odd to want to take that away.

However, as Avengerfire said, it could work in some other neighborhoods. Good candidate streets for pedestrian malls are ones where people desire a quiet street for relaxing strolls, or streets with a high density of shops where people are constantly going in and out (and even darting across the street). Being able to waltz down the middle of the street needs to be beneficial in some way to even consider a pedestrian mall, and I just don't see it for State Street.

Also, the bus mall is just a terrible idea. If you're going to have a pedestrian mall, it needs to be for pedestrians. A bunch of loud and smelly buses don't make for a pedestrian-friendly environment.

You see it in Europeans cities more. Thats why I thought of it.

[richb]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

You see it in Europeans cities more. Thats why I thought of it.

It's been tried repeatedly in the US. Most were complete failures including State St. There is no reason to think it would work now. The vast majority of retail in the US only works with auto access including most urban retail. In fact it would reverse some of the gains seen on State st. to once again remove cars. Most of the retailers would oppose it again like they did the first time. I know many urbanities wish cars would disappear in the city but that isn't going to happen. Cars are a part of the urban landscape both good and bad.