Sheridan Road is getting a facelift.
Project organizers held an open house Thursday night at the Evanston Civic Center to showcase the final plans for the Sheridan Road renovation project. Construction, set to begin this summer, will last three years.
Among the “preferred improvements” of the project are three new traffic lights to make pedestrian crossings safer. The new traffic lights will be installed at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Church Street, Arts Circle Drive and the parking lot south of Garrett Place.
“The goal of this project is to improve pedestrian safety,” said Sat Nagar, senior engineer for the Evanston Public Works Department. “I’ve been in this city for 10 years. People have been complaining.”
Ald. Cheryl Wollin (1st) said her main concern was making pedestrians safer without congesting traffic.
“It’s much needed,” Wollin said. “I think it’s a good plan.”
People complained about the difficulty of crossing Church Street and other city streets during the summer months, when the flow of beachgoers and traffic is continuous.
TranSystems project engineer Sagar Sonar, a consultant for the project, said the plan is basically finalized. Still, the project remains tentative because of delays that could arise in the review process.
“This is phase one engineering,” Nagar said. “The next stage is construction plans.”
The project will also smooth the road’s pavement. Other improvements include a few bus stop changes, meant to integrate the Chicago Transit Authority and Northwestern University stations, as well as wider crosswalks.
Consultants have advised that the sidewalk to the west of Sheridan and alongside NU’s campus be widened to 10 feet, and want put up fences in order to minimize “random crossings,” Sonar said.
People had strong opinions at Thursday’s meeting, and the comment table was filled with people writing long responses. Some voiced concern that regardless of crosswalks and the new improvements, cars would still not stop.
“That’s more of an education problem,” Sonar said. “That’s out of the project’s scope.”
The construction this summer will take place from South Boulevard to Main Street. Wollin, however, is hoping to work with NU to put the campus stoplights in early, since construction isn’t scheduled to begin on campus for at least another year. Changes should come sooner rather than later, she said.
“People are taking their lives in their hands,” she said.
