May 06, 2019

Revitalizing the Chicago Pedway

The Chicago Pedway is an already-built, yet currently underutilized, civic asset in Chicago, but with improved navigation, coordination, and activation it would benefit both Chicagoans and visitors. 

The Environmental Law & Policy Center, with partners Broadway in Chicago and the Chicago Loop Alliance, commissioned a study team to identify a series of opportunities to revitalize the “Main Stem” area of the Chicago Pedway, running from the Metra Station at Millennium Park through Block 37 and City Hall and on to the Clark/Lake CTA Station.

Revitalizing the Chicago Pedway Includes:

1. Better wayfinding and easier navigation tools, both above the Pedway and along it, would likely lead to more repeat visits and induce new users to experience the Pedway.

2. Upgrades to the Pedway corridors in terms of basics such as paint, lighting, signage and clearly stated hours of operation, as well as improved coordination.

3. Better placemaking has tremendous potential to draw in new users, achieved through modest architectural and design interventions to the Pedway corridors to make visits memorable and enjoyable.