North By Northwest Props

Props to New Development in 'Downtown' EP

I have been complaining almost since I started writing this column about the direction Evergreen Park's downtown "redevelopment" was taking. The three most recent projects, on the southwest, northeast and northwest corners have all been of the strip mall variety. Now, finally, on the southeast corner, we get buildings out to the sidewalk, giving more of a "downtown" feel. Is it too late to pick up the strip malls and move them out to the street, and call a do-over on the CVS? I could be really greedy and say now that the village should have mandated office or residential over the new construction. Mixing uses promotes vitality by bringing people to a place for different purposes. Ideally, it puts people on the street at different times - coming home from work, going out to eat, coming home from a movie or a play. People on the street = eyes on the street, and as I have noted before, more eyes on the street can go a long way toward reducing crime. I would be remiss if I did not point out one potential drawback to building out to the street. Well, it is a drawback only insofar as we have come to be reliant on the almighty auto for nearly all transportation. Parking can be a problem when buildings are built out to the street. But it is really only a problem if there is not enough parking or if the parking that is available is not clearly labeled, or if people are just plain lazy.

The Potbelly development on the southeast corner of 95 Street? That Starbucks failed, I think, in part because the parking wasn't obvious and using the drive-through required drivers to enter off of northbound Western Ave. The parking and drive-through situation were not intuitive. We have been conditioned to expect convenient parking in front of a store, and easily accessible drive-throughs.

Then again, plenty of businesses in denser neighborhoods with limited street parking and without any parking in the rear seem to do just fine. Why is that? In part I think it is because they are part of a community that lives, works, dines and shops in the same area. Cars are optional. And the people who shop there have come to accept – even embrace – the way these spaces interact with the public realm.

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