Half of Northwestern's Yearly Gift Will Be Spent on Sheridan Road

EVANSTON, IL - Half of Northwestern University's $1 million gift to the city of Evanston this year will be spent on the Sheridan Road improvement project.

Last year, Northwestern pledged to donate $1 million a year to the city for five years. Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl and University President Morton Schapiro announced the details of how the gift will be used this year on Wednesday.

The $500,000 allocated to the Sheridan Road project will include the addition of new bike lanes on the road between the south end of the campus at Chicago Avenue to Lincoln Street. A two-way protected bike lane on the east side of the street will also be added.

According to a University news release, the portion of Sheridan north of Lincoln Street will be rebuilt in 2018.

The other half of the Northwestern gift to be used in 2017 will be split between support for Evanston Fire Department paramedics ($180,000), support for at-risk youth job training programs ($160,000), support for Evanston's Youth and Young Adult Division ($100,000), support for additional police safety cameras ($30,000) and support for the mayor's discretionary fund to assist families impacted by violent crime ($30,000).

Photo by Tim Moran / Patch