On March 9, the 49th Ward office hosted a town hall meeting where we discussed a proposal to modify the traffic to flow one-way northbound on Glenwood between Pratt and Devon. A recording of that meeting is available to view by clicking here. 

Since Alderwoman Hadden first entered office in 2019, residents have consistently reached out with concerns about this particular stretch of Glenwood. The street is nestled in a dense area with many pedestrians. The heavy foot traffic combined with the existing bike lanes and two-way vehicular traffic on a narrow residential street has created unsafe conditions. 

In 2021, our office convened a community meeting with neighbors and residents to discuss the issue further. The objective of the meeting was to take a broader look at this stretch of Glenwood and see how we can improve safety for all users (motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians).

After soliciting feedback from area residents, CDOT conducted a traffic study for this stretch of Glenwood. Upon the conclusion of that study, they recommended modifying traffic to flow one-way northbound on Glenwood between Pratt and Devon. The northbound direction was determined by conversations with first responders who indicated that they needed it to remain northbound for their vehicles in the event of an emergency. Additionally, the proposal calls to keep the existing bike lanes, which connect to a greenway both north and south of this stretch. The proposal calls for no elimination of parking. A copy of the traffic study is available to review by clicking here. 

After our community meeting, we asked commuters of all types to share their feedback and ideas on how to improve commuter safety along this stretch of Glenwood. 

For the open-ended questions, a plurality (48.9%) of respondents expressed they liked the proposal in its current form and didn't have additional feedback to provide. Of the 331 respondents, only 8% responded that the proposal shouldn't be pursued and that no changes should be made to adjacent streets. 9% of respondents said they had no feedback to offer or didn't respond at all to the open-ended questions. 

Others made recommendations to enhance pedestrian and bike safety, with suggestions ranging from raised crosswalks to closing streets to vehicular traffic. Respondents also made suggestions on what traffic safety measures and signage can be installed on adjacent blocks to improve safety and help motorists navigate the area.