January 2024 Update:

Thank you to everyone who engaged in our community process around the proposal to convert Waveland Ave from north Wilton Ave to the alley just west of Halsted street into an eastbound one way street.  The one-way would stop just west of Halsted, allowing for continued access to the parking garage for Center on Halsted and Whole Foods. As a reminder, at this location Waveland Ave is the border between the 46th and 44th ward. This proposal was brought forward by the 44th Ward after it was initially raised by the 19th Police District.  The conversion is supported by the Inter-American Elementary School and Wrigley Field.  Additionally, this proposal is supported by the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) alongside standard signage and pedestrian safety improvements.  This proposal was initially brought forward to address traffic congestion and improve traffic flow in addition to the narrow nature of the street contributing to a high volume of side-swept vehicles.  

As you may remember, our office conducted a community engagement process to solicit feedback from the community before making a final determination of our support of this conversion.  This included a page on our website, details outlined in our newsletter, and flyering in the two block radius surrounding Waveland from Wilton to Halsted all directed at an online survey.  Of ward residents who completed the survey, 53.4% supported the project, with an additional 6.8% supporting the project if specific details are addressed, totally 60.2% support of the conversion.  

Given that over half of respondents support the one way conversion in addition to a number of key stakeholders advocating for this change Alderwoman Clay has put her support behind the one-way conversion.  

We wanted to highlight that the most frequent response for the prompt “specific details I’m concerned about” was about access for cycling and the possible inclusion of bike lanes and other pedestrian safety improvements.  We brought this to the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), and they recommended further conversation on bike lane placement in that area, with a larger eye towards contiguous connected bike networks on the North side. We are still in conversation with CDOT about the potential for additional bike infrastructure in the area.  However, CDOT has communicated to us that the one-way conversion will leave room for the addition of the bike lane if Waveland is selected as a contiguous east-west bike throughway based on broader neighborhood bike infrastructure strategies. 

November 2023 Update:

As some may be aware, since 2022, the 44th Ward has been exploring a proposal to convert Waveland Ave from N Wilton Ave to the alley just west of N Halsted Street into an eastbound one-way street.  This stretch of Waveland is the border between the 44th and 46th Wards, and this street conversion would have impacts on traffic flow for those who live and frequent the surrounding area.

Below is a description of the proposed change and link to share feedback with our office.