| Cumberland Road Medianscape, Chicago |
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| The Cumberland Road project area is a median project located in a four-mile stretch south of the Kennedy Expressway. Most important though is that it is the major entry into this northwest Chicago neighborhood, making the approach area to the Expressway a key planting zone. The Chicago Department of Transportation coordinated with Illinois Department of Transportation to provide an accompanying roadside parcel of land for planting embellishment.
This major arterial traverses residential and commercial development along with large forest preserve holdings. DLK’s challenge was to provide a planting design that would soften the wide and austere streetscape of heavily traveled Cumberland Road. By developing a consistent plant palette and a repetitive planting design composed of salt-tolerant species, DLK unified the variable medians, from wide, grassed medians, to narrow curbed or raised curb planting conditions. An additional benefit of the final DLK design is that it weaves a soft spine of trees through the various land use areas, thereby unifying the entire project stretch. |