Published in 9-1-10 Press
by Brian Nadig
Four community organizations are working to bring beatification improvements to a pedestrian tunnel which runs under the railroad tracks near the Edgebrook Metra station.
"I use the tunnel, and one day when I was in it I saw it though a different set of eyes," says Edgebrook Community Association board member Jac Charlier. "It is a reflection of who we are as a community, and who we are as a community is not reflected by this tunnel."
Charlier is chairing the "Neighborhood Connection Project," which is designed to bring the basic repairs and maintenance to the underpass followed by a larger community initiative that could involve art work and landscaping for the tunnel. In addition to the Edgebrook association, representatives of the North Edgebrook Civic Association, the Wildwood Community Association and the Edgebrook Historical Society are involved in the project, which began in March.
The underpass has two sets of entrances and exits on the west side of the railroad tracks neat Lehigh and Hiawatha avenues, one leading to a bus stop to the north and the other to a Metra parking lot to the south. Another entryway is on the east side of the tracks near Hiawatha and Kinzua avenues.
"There's a lot of people who use the tunnel, people on bikes, parents with strollers, and those walking," Charlier said. He said that accessibility for the different types of users of the tunnel will be taken into account during planning for the project.
The residents are waiting for an estimate by the city Department of Transportation, which is the agency in charge of maintaining the tunnel, on the cost of repainting the tunnel, repairing the cracks and replacing rusty handrails. They met with city planners on Saturday September 11th, at the tunnel, along with several residents.
The members of the groups have been reviewing about 15 recommendations which area residents have made for the tunnel. They include allowing each community organization to decorate its own panel inside the tunnel and installing green technology, including the use of solar lighting.
"We're not just looking at the tunnel, but also the area around it," Charlier said. There have been suggestions that a small vacant parcel near the entrance to the tunnel on the east side of the tracks be landscaped and that a trail be installed connecting the tunnel to Green Playlot Park, 6500 N. Algonquin Ave. The residents also have discussed pedestrian safety improvements for the tunnel.
Charlier said that the project is in need of a volunteer with a background in public art or architecture. For more information on the project, Charlier can be reached at 773-266-1420 or jac.charlier@gmail.com.