The strip between the sidewalk and the curb is easy to ignore until a tenant trips or a limb comes down. Here's how Chicago landlords and property managers keep parkway trees and sidewalks safe, legal, and presentable.
The parkway is that strip of grass and trees between the public sidewalk and the curb. Most owners barely think about it, but it is one of the more legally tangled pieces of ground touching your building. In Chicago the parkway is city-owned right-of-way, yet the adjacent property owner is expected to keep the grass cut, the weeds down, and the walkway clear. That split creates a lot of confusion for landlords in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and Rogers Park, where old two-flats and greystones sit close to mature parkway trees.
The short version: the city owns the land and the trees, but you are on the hook for basic upkeep and, in practice, for keeping the sidewalk safe for tenants and passersby. Knowing where that line falls is the difference between a quick 311 request and an expensive, avoidable mistake.
Every tree planted in the parkway is managed by the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation Bureau of Forestry. That means you cannot legally top, prune, or remove a parkway tree on your own, and hiring a private crew to hack one back can bring a fine plus the cost of the city's damages. Owners in Andersonville and Ravenswood, where the tree canopy is dense and old, run into this constantly when a limb starts scraping a third-floor window.
The correct move is to file a 311 request for city trimming or removal. It is free, it creates a paper trail, and it puts the liability where it belongs. What you can do without permission is minimal clearance pruning of small branches blocking the public walk, but when in doubt, let the city handle the saw.
August and September are the smart months to walk your parkway and look up. Chicago's summer storms and lake-effect wind loosen deadwood, and you want problem limbs reported before the freeze-thaw and heavy snow of winter finish the job over a tenant's parked car or back porch. Look for cracked branches, limbs rubbing the building, dead sections with no leaves, and anything hanging over the sidewalk below roughly eight feet.
File a 311 trimming request for each hazard and save the request number. Photograph the limb the day you report it. If a branch later fails and damages property or injures someone, that dated request is your evidence that you acted responsibly and that the tree was the city's to maintain. Logan Square and Bucktown owners with tall silver maples especially should not skip this walk-through.
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