'People Spot' Coming to Southport, Improvements on Lincoln

Southport Avenue is about to get more pedestrian-friendly this year with the addition of a People Spot, Chicago’s unique way of transforming part of the street into urban parks.

It’s all a part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Transportation’s “Make Way for People” program, launched in June of 2012. A space at 2959 N. Lincoln Ave.—in front of Heritage Bikes General Store—received one of the first two People Spots in Chicago shortly after.

But this year, Southport is snagging a Spot, too.

“The new one is actually going in front of Uncle Dan’s, and it was just approved by the city,” said Heather Way, executive director of the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce. “It’s slated to open hopefully by June 1, but maybe earlier, and it’s going to be different than the Lincoln Avenue one. It’s going to be cooler and bigger.”

For those who haven’t visited the one on Lincoln last year, a People Spot is a unique way of transforming the public way into a more pedestrian-friendly area. For example, on Lincoln, crews transformed two on-street parking spots into a seating area attached to the sidewalk.

The new People Spot at 3551 N. Southport Ave. in front of Uncle Dan’s will be 20 feet longer than the one on Lincoln, making it 600-square-feet of additional open space. And while some residents were irritated the People Spot pulled parking spaces off Lincoln, this time, the Lakeview Chamber found a way around that.

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“For the second location, we sought out businesses that were willing to surrender their loading zones to use for the better part of eight months,” Way said. “Uncle Dan’s is willing to give up their loading zone for people to have an alternative open space to sip a cup of coffee, read a book or whatever.”

The second location is a result of the positive response received from residents about the Lincoln location, and Way said while they’d like to add even more, it’s all about finding the right location.

The Chamber is even working on programs associated with the new Southport location, like Uncle Dan’s doing sporting equipment demonstrations, or showing a movie.

“Because this one’s bigger, we can play around with the design more,” Way said. “The one in front of Heritage has bistro tables and chairs, but we’re toying around with putting benches with rollers at Southport, and having different seating options. We’ll also make enhancements to the one on Lincoln Avenue, like maybe putting a bike-up coffee bar at the end.”

The People Spots are run like public parks, with hours and rules about drinking and smoking. They’re installed for roughly eight months, and then stored away for the winter.

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