City to replace Northwest Side resident-built benches as advocates say more are on the way
A pair of yellow and blue colored benches built by a local group to place at bus stops without pedestrian seating will be taken down by the city this week — and replaced with ones up to municipal code.
The two benches — at Damen Avenue and Thomas Street, as well as Division Street and Oakley Boulevard — were placed without seeking permission from the city, said Sam Kovnar, 25, founder of the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance.
But they were enough to get the attention of the 1st Ward office, which told Kovnar the city was expected to be placing ones up to specifications at the bus stops, but offered to work with him to get more “decorative” benches down the line, according to emails reviewed by the Sun-Times. The current resident-made benches bear colors of the Ukrainian flag.
It was exactly what the group had hoped for in putting them there in the first place, Kovnar said.
“It’s very encouraging to have the support of the ward office,” Kovnar said. “We were worried the city would take them away and not replace them with anything. … We definitely want to build more. The question is how many and how soon?”
A handmade bench sits at the North Damen Avenue and West Thomas Street bus stop in Ukrainian Village on the North Side, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
At a meeting Thursday, the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance voted to build three additional benches, with plans to invite the public through social media to help design and paint them before being placed around Humboldt Park over the next month.
A spokesperson for the 1st Ward said the office was “excited about the push for more benches to make our neighborhoods more accessible.”
“To have residents who care so much for their neighborhood is inspiring,” 1st Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata said in a statement. “Hopefully we can help them build on these efforts in 2027.”
The Chicago Department of Transportation didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kovnar said they haven’t heard if the benches will be returned to them, and expect them to be destroyed, though they are hesitant to remove them since they don’t have a timeline for when city-approved benches will replace them.
Going forward, though, Kovnar is hopeful the city will be willing to work with his “rag tag” group of bench designers to help identify places across the city where people are in need of a place to sit.
“We’d love to be able to work with [the city], since we’re already going through this the roundabout way,” Kovnar said. “This could be a lot easier if we had a direct dialogue with CDOT.”
The Chicago Transit Authority has almost 11,000 bus stops in Chicago, but many of them don’t have benches as part of a city push to deter loitering.
But benches play an important role in the community, Kovnar said. In addition to ensuring those waiting for buses — especially riders who are elderly or have disabilities — have a place to sit while they wait for buses, they can beautify an area and help residents feel more connected.
“It’s what makes a neighborhood feel like a place as opposed to a road,” Kovnar said. “Having a place to sit and make that comfortable, it can go a long way toward making the wait easier.”