Bike and pedestrian upgrades coming to Broadway Avenue
Residents can expect more accessible pedestrian intersections, bike facilities, and bus shelters.
Transit improvements are coming to a major thoroughfare in the downtown area.
The Regional Transit Authority, which provides financial oversight of Metra, Pace, and the Chicago Transit Authority, awarded Harvey $55,000 for bike and pedestrian improvements along Broadway Avenue.
Improvements will include bus shelters, more accessible pedestrian intersections, and new roadway bike facilities.
The Access to Transit program provides funding to municipalities to assist with engineering and construction costs associated with small-scale capital projects. That could look like filling sidewalk gaps or bicycle-covered parking that improve transit access.
Applications opened in March and were due in May. Ten cities across Cook and McHenry Counties were awarded Access money.
Harvey officials will apply the funds toward Phase I engineering, which is an environmental impact study. Studies include reviewing nearby land use and impacts to traffic or the natural environment.
The second phase is the actual design component, determining what materials are needed, the construction plan, and costs. So, it’ll likely be a few years before residents see the final results, according to an RTA spokesperson.
When the Access program launched in 2012, funding was only reserved for Phase II, meaning municipalities had to finance Phase I costs. For some communities like Harvard, which also received funding, that proved to be a challenge.
“Since 2018, we’d been talking back and forth with CMAP and the RTA about how it’s unfair for smaller communities to compete for this money if Phase I engineering wasn’t on the table,” said City of Harvard Administrator David Nelson about the funding in an RTA blog post in March. “The funding for Phase I was very helpful to allow us to compete now for construction dollars. It really allows these smaller communities to get in the game.”
Beginning in 2020, RTA now offers the“Category B” option, exclusively for communities with lower tax bases or median incomes, to provide help with phase I engineering. The Broadway Avenue improvements are Category B.
Only six of the ten projects will be selected for phase II funding next year, assuming the RTA obtains federal funding.
Harvey will be eligible to apply for additional Access funding for phase II at that time, according to an RTA spokesperson.
The Access program has funded 37 projects totaling $22.5 million in RTA, local, and federal dollars to date.
Sign up for The Renaissance Letter, our free email newsletter
Get the latest headlines from the Harvey World Herald right in your inbox.
Amethyst J. Davis is responsible for spearheading the growth and development of the HWH, including outlining the editorial trajectory and content. She also produces “The Renaissance Letter,” our biweekly email newsletter, edits content, and fact-checks stories prior to publication Amethyst was an administrator at New York University before launching her journalism career. She is also a member of the Sounding Board, the community advisory board for Chicago Public Media, which includes WBEZ Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times.
In 2022, Amethyst was a Casey Fellow with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Black News & Views, where she covered health and COVID-19 for the NABJ’s newly launched digital news service. She is a sought after speaker on community journalism and has given talks at institutions like DePaul University and the University of Kansas. Amethyst is a regular guest on City Cast Chicago.
She was invited by Harvard University to submit a 2023 Nieman Lab prediction, which taps the smartest in media and journalism nationwide to offer thoughts on the future of digital media. Under her leadership, the HWH has become one of the nation's most-watched hyperlocal newsrooms. The HWH has received national coverage in publications like Poynter, Harvard University's Nieman Lab, the National Press Journalism Club Institute, and Editor & Publisher.
Amethyst is a Brooks Middle School ('11) and Thornton Township High School alum (‘15) and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from NYU (BA'19). She is an alumni of the Data and Policy Summer Scholar program at the University of Chicago.
More in Health from The Harvey World Herald
Environmental hubs. A comprehensive plan: Climate resilience projects in the south suburbs take root
In 2023, the south suburbs will see improvements in the climate preparedness arena from a variety of projects — including a stormwater management pilot project, Harvey’s first-ever comprehensive city plan, and more.
Advocates want more Harvey residents involved in south suburban tree canopy equity efforts
“Historically, the voices of those for whom these impacts are most real have been ignored,” wrote Chief Health Officer and Nordson Green Earth Foundation co-founder Sheetal Rao.
Buildings set for demolition in Harvey
As of January 2023, there are 24 properties the Buildings Department will demolish. Here's what they are.
Here's your chance to weigh in on development around Wood Street
UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital and its nonprofit arm wants residents' input to guide future development projects around the hospital.
What to know about the winter storm coming ahead of the holiday weekend
Temperatures could plummet into the single digits. Exposed skin can develop frostbite within 30 minutes.
Passenger shelters and retail space coming to Harvey Pace Bus Transportation Center
The groundbreaking, set for 2024, will coincide with renovations to the 154th Street Metra Station across the street.
Family Christian Health Center to get $130,000 boost to expand dental services
Headquartered in Harvey, the nonprofit healthcare organization will use the funding to expand its dental services at their Lynwood location.
Harvey to pilot new market-based approach to stormwater management
In 2023, Harvey will begin piloting StormStore, which allows landowners to build needed stormwater management projects at a lower cost by generating credits and selling them to developers.
Senior housing complex in downtown Harvey, known as the 'YMCA building,' getting $15 million renovation
“It’s a new beginning,” said George Ellis, who's lived at the building for seven years. “It’s a blessing to all my fellow tenants—a change.”
Senior residents reeling from the emotional and financial costs of basement flooding
After a wetter spring than normal, residents have struggled to remove sewage and stormwater from their basements. The costs are growing as they throw money at plumbers and pumps hoping to quell the flooding.
Harvey's aging water and sewer lines slated to get $3.5 million overhaul
The federal government appropriated funds to the city in March when Congress passed the spending bill, paving the way for repairs to Harvey's aging infrastructure.
COVID-19 Dispatch: State officials urge caution due to uptick in COVID-19 cases
The IDPH is urging caution due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases in some parts of Illinois. Nationwide, cases are up, prompting the CDC to extend its mask mandate on planes and public transportation.
State closing community-based testing locations March 31 citing low demand, end of federal funding
Sites are now seeing about 50 people per day, state officials said. And there's a stockpile of tests in case of another surge, they added.
COVID-19 Dispatch: What we know about BA.2, the latest subvariant that has the White House on alert
Previously dubbed "stealth Omicron," BA.2 is believed to be driving the latest surge in Europe.
COVID-19 Dispatch: Omicron surge over but vaccination trends show Harvey not out of the woods, just yet
Data show only 48% are Harvey residents are fully vaccinated as compared to 65% of all Cook County residents.
How to get more free at-home COVID-19 tests
During his State of the Union remarks, President Joe Biden announced more kits were made available to order.
Major changes to Illinois mask guidance are now in effect. Here's what you need to know.
The changes come as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to decline.
Demand for testing decreasing as Omicron recedes, state officials say, but testing concerns linger
Changes in testing and possible mask guidance come as health experts identified BA.2, a more contagious version of Omicron.
Tracking COVID-19: Confirmed cases in Harvey down 80% over past month
The decline follows a statewide and national plunge in cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Here's where you can get a COVID-19 test in Harvey
Find vetted testing locations here.
Send the Harvey World Herald your COVID-19 questions.
You've got questions. We can get you answers.
