Editorial: Some smart ideas for State Street, that great street, but how about getting cops out of their cars?

A new report is out from the Urban Land Institute filled with ideas for improving the iconic Chicago street where they do things they don’t do on Broadway.

We’ve said before that State Street, which has some 35,000 theater seats within a block or two and is the main thoroughfare of Chicago’s recovering entertainment district, is enjoying the benefits of the pendulum swinging back to the Loop from once-ritzier North Michigan Avenue.

Boul Mich is dependent on retail and anyone who has checked out the number of holiday shoppers on its sidewalks this week can tell you the crowds are not what they were. No surprise, with chintzy decorations inside the once-grand Water Tower shopping mall and the huge retail complex across the street from the mall sitting vacant. Many of the toniest retail names have shifted to Oak Street, leaving Michigan Avenue in a state of quiet crisis.

But the patch around State Street has a different set of assets. There’s the big collection of historic theaters, all hopping this week with everything from “Hamilton” to “The Wiz” and “BOOP: The Betty Boop Musical” and the Teatro ZinZanni dinner attraction to a holiday show by the Cirque du Soleil. Millennium Park and the Chicago Riverwalk are right there. There’s an education district at the south end of State Street, including the Harold Washington Library, and, of course, the remnants of what once was a fleet of magical department stores in the middle. Even here, though, retail remains challenged and restaurants reluctant to invest in the late-night crowd. After a show, it can be challenging to find anywhere open to grab a drink and some supper.

So what does the Urban Land Institute, which was invited to weigh in on State Street’s future by the Chicago Loop Alliance and others, suggest? It argues State Street should become “a playful, engaging and welcoming space, framed by a world-class cultural district, compelling public art and streetscape, historic architecture, distinctive retail, community care and support, and collegiate ferment.”

Looking past the marketing speak and political nods, the plans include redesigning the physical layout of State Street “with features such as curbless streets and retractable bollards so it can easily transform into a festival space.”

Those of us with long memories remember the sad, old State Street pedestrian mall, mercifully nixed in favor of bringing back traffic and the associated vitality. We don’t need to go back to that. But Midtown Manhattan has found the kind of compromise around Times and Herald squares that could work here: some vehicular traffic but also more room for pedestrians, hanging out, and for markets, greenery and special events.

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The plan also suggests encouraging more Parisian-style restaurants and bars (a fine idea, in theory), better illumination of buildings, play spaces, “themed” retail zones (also common in New York), flashier CTA stations (especially at State and Lake) and, crucially, more residential development.

Those all are great ideas, especially the concept of more apartments and condos soaking up some of the vacant space. We’d add figuring out how to use that notorious empty train station under the now-struggling Block 37 and making it possible to get from O’Hare Airport into the heart of the Loop.

All these ideas, of course, need funding. More importantly, they’re dependent on partnerships with developers and other private business, which means that red tape has to be shredded and onerous costs and regulations kept in line so that these businesses can actually expect to succeed. The report also mostly glides past what we hear the most from readers: a perceived lack of public safety is keeping people away.

If retail smash and grab is the main problem on Michigan Avenue, State Street now has to worry more about Chicagoans and suburbanites being afraid of walking back to the train, especially late at night. Solving that problem first requires an acknowledgment of its validity.

So we’d add another idea: Get the cops we see on and around State Street out of their squad cars and talking to folks, be it on foot, bike or horseback. Let’s bring back some of the old flavor of a street long at the center of Chicago’s grid and that once symbolized the beating heart of the Midwest.

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