A newly opened bike path in Lincoln Park is drawing both praise from cyclists for its safety improvements, and ire from some Lincoln Park residents who have raised concerns over changes made to the project's design and funding, with seemingly little public notice.
Supporters of the Dickens Greenway project quickly point to its benefits, which include increased curb extensions and accessible bike lanes on a less crowded section of Dickens Avenue in Lincoln Park.
“I would say for people that are reluctant to welcome infrastructure and changes that are going to make everyone safer – they just need to really remember that the streets are for everyone, not just for people driving,” said Rebecca Resman, founder of Chicago Family Biking.
Her daughter Sloane Resman is now 10. She was just six when she first spoke out in support of the greenway at a public meeting on the project, a reality now years in the making.
"I really just wanted to make an impact," Sloane said. "I wanted to kind of like, stand up for what I believe in... because my mom's kind of like my hero."
Certain sections of the greenway allow for contra-bike lanes and one-way vehicular traffic that cyclists say makes them feel safer than busier nearby streets with committed or shared bike lanes, like Armitage Avenue, one block to the south.
"I think it's better than how it was years ago because it's safer and more protected," Sloane said after riding on the Greenway.
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“There's a lot of support and excitement about this project going in and becoming a bigger part of a hopefully bigger network that we'll see across the city," Rebecca Resman added.
One of the points of contention, however, is the closure of a section of Dickens near Stockton to vehicular traffic - a change to the project that was made with seemingly no public notice. All iterations of the publicly available project plans reviewed by NBC 5 Investigates show no indication of the closure.
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Area residents said they were not notified of the closure before it was in place, and while there is new signage posted to warn motorists, NBC 5 Investigates recently recorded video of several drivers pulling onto Dickens from Stockton, then turning around – seemingly unaware of the change.
Opponents of the project have also raised concerns over a change made to the funding source.
Project details published as early as 2019 and again in 2021 said the majority of the project was to be paid for through federal funding. Records show this was noted in materials presented at each of the three public meetings held on the project prior to its installation.
But a May 2023 city contract reviewed by NBC 5 Investigates showed that $910,000 in city-based funds were being used – specifically 2022 Divvy funds from the city’s bike share program.
“The project is being paid for with funding from Chicago’s bikeshare system that is designated for transportation purposes, including the installation of bike and pedestrian safety projects. CDOT manages a wide-ranging and dynamic capital program, where it is not uncommon to adjust funding sources for projects to maximize the use of funds and optimize efficiency and effectiveness in delivering projects for communities,” a CDOT spokeswoman told NBC 5 Investigates.
The spokeswoman would not say why the federal funding was removed from the project. Advocates say the use of Divvy funds is appropriate for the greenway project, paying for improvements to cycling infrastructure with money coming from cyclists themselves.
“There is no need for this. This is a solution waiting for a problem and it is not going to work out well,” said Ed Fitzpatrick, a Lincoln Park resident and long-time opponent of the project.
Fitzpatrick said he and others are opposed to greenway project for a variety of reasons, particularly safety concerns over Oz Park. The greenway runs onto a sidewalk between the park and Lincoln Park High School, an area that often sees heavy foot traffic.
He also said there’s been lack of transparency about certain aspects of the project - including the use of $910,000 in city Divvy funds when the project was originally touted as largely paid for with federal dollars.
Fitzpatrick pointed to a June 7 letter from CDOT in which the agency told him it had with withdrawn the Dickens Avenue segment from a federally funded program. Fitzpatrick told NBC 5 Investigates he thought that meant the project was on hold. It was not.
In an email sent more than a month later on July 20, 43rd Ward Ald. Timmy Knudsen wrote to the then-commissioner of CDOT telling her he was excited to discuss the project – including the potential “landing point” that would mean Dickens would no longer have car access onto Stockton.
In a recent newsletter, Knudsen said his office “has heard concerns … about the newly closed portion of Dickens Avenue,” adding that it was CDOT’s decision.
He also wrote that “they were prioritizing this project after hearing consistently from neighbors (and experiencing personally) the traffic confusion and safety issues (at) this intersection.”
Fitzpatrick said he attempted to meet with the alderman on several occasions, but was turned down.
“It says to me that the alderman apparently has other concerns that are unrelated to what his constituents think. And well I'm not sure to whom he's answering but he's not answering to this neighborhood,” Fitzpatrick said.
Knudsen declined our request for an interview.
In an emailed response, his aide said the 43rd Ward office has run a “public, open and community driven process” and Knudsen will continue to monitor the project and requested additional signage go up to help alert everyone to the changes.
