Pedestrian refuge islands at 6 Corners removed after recently being installed

by BRIAN NADIG

Two pedestrian refuge islands which were installed last summer in the Six Corners shopping district have been removed because they reportedly were installed incorrectly.

“(The city Department of Transportation) will need to reinstall them. As you might imagine, we’re frustrated by this,” Alderman John Arena’s chief of staff Owen Brugh said in a statement. The area where the medians had been located has been paved over.

Information from the department was not available at press time. The islands were proposed in 2015 as part of a planned expenditure from the Portage Park Tax Increment Financing District.

Refuge islands are raised medians intended to provide pedestrians in a crosswalk a safe place to wait in the middle of the street when traffic is not yielding to them. Several islands are being installed on Milwaukee Avenue in Jefferson Park and Gladstone Park.