Quote:
Originally Posted by SIGSEGV
I think he means the street is out of scale with the buildings. Why do streets to lowrises need to be so wide?
|
Because CDOT has
design standards for new public streets that get applied uniformly, and have not been updated since the last Daley administration. If a developer wants public water lines, snowplowing, public streetlights, etc than they need to build to the CDOT standard. The narrowest street in the standards manual is 39' wide, but CDOT officials will usually insist on going wider.
In the case of the Cabrini area, planners probably insisted on streets between 48' and 66' wide. The current standards are based on A) a long-standing drive to maximize street parking, B) worst-case scenario access for emergency vehicles and snowplows, and C) 90s-era beautification ideas to encourage street trees and grassy parkways.
If a developer wants to do something different, then they must build a private street and assume all responsibility for that street indefinitely, or hand it off to a homeowners association that will likely put up gates Dearborn Park-style.
This isn't the best approach to street design obviously, but it's probably something beyond the ability of a developer or even an alderman to change. Leadership in encouraging narrow, walkable streets can come from the Mayor's Office only. Emanuel thankfully led the way in retrofitting existing city streets for walkability and built bike lanes all over town, but apparently did not change the guidelines for new streets.
Prev
Linear Mode
