Pedestrian safety upgrades for Cicero-Peterson one of many proposals on 39th Ward PB ballot 

by BRIAN NADIG

Pedestrian safety improvements at the Cicero-Peterson intersection, playground repairs at Sauganash Park and the installation of an accessible ramp at North Park Village Nature Center are among the projects listed on this year’s participatory budget ballot in the 39th Ward.

Ward residents age 14 and older are being asked how to spend $500,000 of the ward’s annual allocation of $1.5 million in discretionary funds for infrastructure improvements. Most of the remaining $1 million is expected to go toward side-street resurfacing.

The voting will continue through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, June 12. Online voting is available at  https://www.participatepbchicago.org/processes/PB39-2024/f/84/budgets/14/projects

Residents can vote for several projects as long as the total cost of the selected proposals does not exceed $500,000.

The following items are on the ballot:

$240,000 for the installation of traffic calming measures such as bumpouts to improve pedestrian safety at Cicero and Peterson avenues.

$50,000 to create accessible ramp cutouts along the curb between the greenspace and the parking lot at North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski Road.

$75,000 to repair or replace the playground surface at Sauganash Park, 5861 N. Kostner Ave.

$150,000 to renovate the outdoor basketball court at Mayfair Park, 4550 W. Sunnyside Ave.

$65,000 to add pickleball striping to the tennis courts at the east end of Peterson Park, 5801 N. Pulaski Road, to allow pickleball within the existing paved surface.

$25,000 to repair the deteriorating asphalt on the edge of the ramp for the Sauganash Trail at Sauganash Park.

$50,000 to add art and beautify the train bridge viaducts at 5000 N. Elston Ave. and 4500 W. Foster Ave.

$100,000 to improve safety and functionality of the splash pad at Eugene Field Park, 5100 N. Ridgeway Ave.

$500,000 to install protected bike lanes on a 1/2-mile stretch of Elston within the boundaries of the 39th Ward (exact location to be determined).

$150,000 to install new tree grates for the 50 trees and tree pits in the 3200 to 3400 blocks of West Bryn Mawr Avenue.

$180,000 to create an outdoor pavilion space for students and community events at Von Steuben High School, 5039 N. Kimball Ave., and to fund new public art along the river path at 5100 N. Ridgeway Ave.

$30,000 to expand the sidewalk for accessibility to allow better access where a fire hydrant and a sign pole obstruct passage near Foster Avenue and Pulaski Road.

2024 marks the fifth year that Alderman Samantha Nugent has held a community vote to determine how to spend a portion of the 39th Ward’s discretionary, also called “menu,” funds. The vast majority of alderpersons do not hold participatory budgeting votes.

Residents from the ward submit project ideas for what they would like to see in their community, and a committee of volunteers review the suggestions and turn them into proposals.

The proposals are then sent to city departments for feasibility review and cost estimates. The PB committee then meets to decide which projects will be placed on the ballot and sent out for a community vote.

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