Nichols Park Advisory Council installs new bench by 55th Street bus stop

staff writer

(Left to right) Nichols Park Advisory Council members Dave White, Van Bistrow, Dan Brown, Tom Inglis and 3-year-old Thaddeus Inglis sit atop a bench they installed near the bus stop at Kenwood Avenue and 55th Street on Monday, August 14, 2023.

Weary riders waiting for the #55 (Garfield) bus in Nichols Park can now take a load off in the shade of a nearby tree, courtesy of the park's advisory council.

Installed by NPAC members last week, the plastic bench wraps around a large tree near the stop at 55th Street and Kenwood Avenue, which is situated just south of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, 5480 S. Kenwood Ave.

The #55 runs from the Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Dr., to Midway International Airport. Though the bus is a popular route for Hyde Parkers traveling to the green, orange and red line trains, the stop is situated in the middle of an almost mile-long stretch without benches. This was a particular problem for older adults and veterans in the community, NPAC president Van Bistrow said, as many of them rely on public transportation.

“It’s a no-brainer that it’s something people will use,” said Bistrow, who’s been a part of NPAC for the past 25 years. “It’s in the shade, it’s a pleasant location, but it’s close enough to the bus stop to be very useful for that.”

The bench project was funded by an $1,800 grant from the American Association of Retired Person’s (AARP) Community Challenge Grant Program, which provides “small grants to fund quick-action projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages.”

After the council received approval from the city’s Park Enhancement Committee, the bench was installed in one afternoon.

(Left to right) Nichols Park Advisory Council members Dan Brown and Dave White (right) install a new bench for #55 bus riders on August 14, 2023.

“We paid the guy a little extra from the delivery truck to wheel it right up to the tree,” Bistrow said. “It was going to storm later that day, and so we were in a bit of a hurry, and we got it done before the rain started.”

Among the four NPAC volunteers who helped install the bench was David White, the council’s secretary of seven years.

“The advantage to having us do this is we’re in the park every day and we can keep an eye on it, keep it clean (and) keep it maintained,” said White.

“We thought, given the beautiful trees in Nichols Park, that this would be something that would allow people to use the park, but also give them respite while waiting for the #55,” he added. “As soon as we put it up, we had people coming up to us and thanking us profusely for putting this there, because they take that bus everyday like me.”

staff writer

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Updated: August 31, 2023 @ 3:58 am

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