Traffic Patterns
A 230,055 sf last mile distribution facility on a parcel that has sat vacant for years. The property already has industrial zoning and a long history of industrial use — what's changing is that it will once again be active, generating jobs and tax revenue for the neighborhood.
The full independent study was prepared by a third-party traffic engineering firm. The high-level findings:
Surrounding intersections have sufficient reserve capacity to absorb the traffic the facility is projected to generate.
Employee traffic will be reduced by the site's proximity to the CTA Orange Line Kedzie station and existing bus routes (CTA 51 and 51/52).
Arrivals and departures will be scheduled to deliberately avoid the morning and evening rush hours that residents are most concerned about.
Truck traffic is limited and primarily overnight, when local streets are quietest.
Through-traffic on neighborhood side streets will be prohibited — enforced by site signage and operator policy — so the facility does not push traffic onto residential blocks.
The study identifies a focused set of improvements at and around the site. We are committed to fund and deliver:
51st & Kedzie: extending the southbound left-turn lane by 100 feet, retiming the signal to give more green time to that turn, and adding a westbound right-turn lane with a right-turn overlap phase.
51st & California: adding northbound and southbound left-turn arrows.
California Avenue at 50th Street: restriping for new left-turn lanes — with no loss of on-street parking and no street widening.
Pedestrian safety: replacing older pedestrian signals with modern countdown timers at 51st & Kedzie, 51st & California, and 48th Place & Kedzie (the CTA Orange Line crossing).
Transit improvements: adding bus shelters at the CTA Route 51 stop on 51st at Albany and at the CTA 51/52 stop on Kedzie, plus a new crosswalk at Kedzie near the 4838 Kedzie shopping center.
The traffic study does not call for a broader Kedzie Avenue corridor improvement — the analysis shows the targeted fixes above are sufficient to handle the projected traffic. Even so, we recognize that Kedzie is a corridor the community cares deeply about, and we are open to working with the Alderman, CDOT, and neighborhood groups on additional Kedzie improvements that go beyond what the study requires. We see this as an opportunity, not an obligation, and we want to be a good neighbor for the long term.
A well-run distribution facility on a long-vacant industrial site, with scheduled off-peak deliveries, a transit-served workforce, prohibited through-movements on residential streets, and a package of intersection and pedestrian safety upgrades funded by the developer — that's a net improvement for traffic, safety, and the local economy compared to the status quo.
