How do pedestrians cross into Lincoln Square? Very carefully — but changes are coming to make Leland curve safer
LINCOLN SQUARE — Forty years ago, traffic engineers scored a major win with the mall-ification of Lincoln Square. But their design had a flaw, one that’s about to be corrected, or at least made more manageable.
In his most recent newsletter to constituents, Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th) shared the plans for proposed changes to the unwieldy curve that reroutes Lincoln Avenue via Leland onto Western.
Among the significant changes:
• the addition of a second crosswalk between the square and the Western Brown Line parking lot, and realignment of the existing crosswalk
• bump-outs at key crossing points to shorten the distance for pedestrians
• a stop sign for southbound motorists at Lincoln and Leland
• a wider sidewalk on the north side of the curve, with trees and stamped pavement tying the stretch into the rest of the square’s streetscape
