As announced at the June 20 Community Meeting on Development, Neighbors of West Loop, working with the community and other local organizations, has embarked on an effort to develop the Neighborhood Plan, a resident-driven vision for the future of the West Loop.
Building on the June 20 meeting, which was attended by over 100 representatives in the community, NoWL has hosted four community focus group meetings across the West Loop during August and September. These smaller meetings have allowed participants to get to the heart of the issues that will affect the quality of life in our neighborhood for years to come. Discussion topics have included development guidelines, traffic & parking, parks/green space, streetscaping/infrastructure, public safety, community facilities, schools, and many other topics. Through these discussions, a few common themes have been identified:
- New building heights should be scaled based on that of nearby buildings.
- The neighborhood would benefit from a comprehensive traffic study, as opposed to individual traffic studies for each new development project.
- Pedestrian safety is a concern.
- Measures should be taken to address the shortage of parking in the West Loop.
- Parks and green space should be improved and better maintained.
You can read a summary of each meeting on the NoWL website.
The fifth and final focus group meeting, which will center around the Halsted-Kennedy Corridor, will be held in October (date, time, and location TBD).
Once all focus group meetings have been held, the findings will be summarized in a draft report that will be distributed for review and comment. Another community meeting will be held to review the findings and refine the Neighborhood Plan further, before it is presented to city planners and elected officials. Once adopted, the Neighborhood Plan will provide the resident perspective on future development in the West Loop.
For more information about the Neighborhood Plan, please contact bob@neighborsofwestloop.com or matt@neighborsofwestloop.com.