City Council Moves to Reimagine Palmer Square's Streets — and You Can Walk the Park's Famous Trees Before It Happens
By Socialhood News · Palmer Square ·
Something significant is stirring at the edges of Palmer Square Park. On September 23, 2026, the Chicago City Council introduced and referred a formal order directing the Commissioner of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study for a pedestrian-focused redesign of the public ways immediately surrounding Palmer Square Park. It's an early but meaningful step — the kind of city-hall action that rarely makes headlines until it suddenly reshapes a neighborhood — and for the residents who bike, stroll, and push strollers around the park's perimeter on Kedzie Boulevard, it's worth paying attention to right now.
The order, listed as Or2026-0028783 in Chicago Councilmatic, was introduced and referred on the same day, September 23, signaling that it has begun moving through the City Council's legislative process. A feasibility study doesn't guarantee a redesign — it's the city's way of formally asking whether a pedestrian-first vision for the streets around the park is workable — but the fact that it was introduced at all reflects a growing neighborhood conversation about how those surrounding roadways function. Palmer Square Park sits at 2200 N. Kedzie Ave., and the streets that frame it have long been a study in tension between through-traffic and the people who use the park on foot and by bike every day.
The timing is notable. Palmer Square Park earned its Level I arboretum accreditation from the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program in September 2025 — the first Chicago Park District location ever to receive that designation through ArbNet, a program administered by The Morton Arboretum. That accreditation recognized the park for maintaining a thriving tree canopy and preserving nearly 30 varieties of trees, including a historic Elm Grove. A park of that standing — officially recognized as one of the city's most carefully stewarded urban forests — makes a compelling case for streets that prioritize the people who come to experience it.
And if you want to experience that canopy up close before the city starts drawing new lines on the pavement, Openlands has timed a perfect opportunity: a free Tree Tour at Palmer Square Park is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The 90-minute walk will be led by local TreeKeepers — trained volunteers from Openlands' long-running urban forestry program — and will focus on tree identification characteristics. No previous experience with tree ID is needed, and a map of the park's trees is available through Openlands ahead of the event.
The TreeKeeper program, run by Openlands, has deep roots in Chicago's Northwest Side. Just last week, WTTW featured TreeKeeper Bruce Wexelberg, who aged an ash tree stump to showcase its 98-year life — a reminder of how much living history is embedded in the city's urban canopy, and how much institutional knowledge the TreeKeeper volunteers bring to events like this one. Walking Palmer Square's accredited arboretum with that kind of guide, in mid-October when the leaves are turning, is about as good as a neighborhood Saturday morning gets.
Taken together, these two developments tell the same story from different angles. The City Council's feasibility order asks what the streets around Palmer Square Park could become for the people who love it. The Openlands Tree Tour invites neighbors to deepen their connection with the park itself — to learn the names and shapes of the trees that have made this seven-acre green space worth protecting, worth gathering in, and, apparently, worth redesigning a streetscape for.
The Openlands Tree Tour at Palmer Square Park is free and open to all experience levels. It takes place Saturday, October 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Palmer Square Park, 2200 N. Kedzie Ave. The park is accessible via the Western Brown Line 'L' station at Western. To stay informed on the City Council's pedestrian redesign feasibility order (Or2026-0028783), residents can track its progress at chicagocouncilmatic.org. If you have thoughts on what pedestrian-friendly streets around the park should look like, now is the time to make your voice heard — with your alderman, and with your presence at the park itself.
Sources:
1. https://chicago.councilmatic.org/legislation/or2026-0028783/
2. https://openlands.org/event/tree-tour-at-palmer-square-park-2/
3. https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/palmer-square-park-logan-square-arboretum/
4. https://news.wttw.com/2026-chicago-festival-guide-summer-fall-events