Mobile Booths Take 45th Ward Participatory Budget Vote to the People

OLD IRVING PARK — The voting never ends in the 45th Ward, where the polls are now open in Ald. John Arena's participatory budgeting process.

Among the projects vying for $1 million in aldermanic discretionary funds is a renovation of Disney II Magnet School's Kedvale campus field.

The project would alleviate flooding issues and also encompass field resurfacing to create a multi-functional space for Disney II students and the neighboring community.

Making it even easier to cast a vote for Disney II's $100,000 request: mobile voting booths set up Tuesday and Wednesday at the school's Kedvale and Lawndale locations.

The schedule for the booths:

• 3:30-6 p.m., Tuesday, 3815 N. Kedvale Ave.
• 5-8 p.m., Wednesday, 3900 N. Lawndale Ave.

To encourage teens to engage in the political process, any ward resident 14 years of age or older is eligible to cast a vote, according to Owen Brugh, 45th Ward chief of staff.

Mobile voting booths will also be on site during Wednesday's 7 p.m. meeting of the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association, 5320 W. Giddings Ave., as well as 3 to 6 p.m. Friday at the Jefferson Park Transit Center.

Other projects include:

• Street resurfacing — Residents will vote on what percent of the budget should go toward repairing the ward's streets, from zero to 100 percent.
• Bike lanes on Milwaukee from Lawrence to Addison, $60,000
• Campus improvements at Farnsworth Elementary, $100,000
• Storage shed for community garden at Laramie and Ainslie, $4,552
• Pedestrian bump-outs at Milwaukee and Cuyler, Milwaukee and Warner, Milwaukee and Giddings, Central and Belmont, and Central and Leland, $88,000 total
• Pedestrian refuge islands on Cicero at Pensacola, and Lawrence at Lavergne, $60,000 each
• Lighting and pedestrian improvements under the Kennedy Expressway at Pulaski and the sidewalk adjacent to the Kennedy from Pulaski and Dakin to Byron and Parkside, $45,000
• Three people spots — Six Corners, Lawrence and Milwaukee, and Lawrence and Austin, $30,000 total

Participatory budget voting in the ward runs through May 1 at the 45th Ward office, 4754 N. Milwaukee Ave. The final chance to cast votes is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., May 2, at the Wilson Park Field House, 4630 N. Milwaukee Ave.

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