Ambitious Plan Would Create Fully Open Chicago Lakefront, Add 500 Acres Of Parks

Sea changes could be coming to Chicago's iconic lakefront landscape if an advocacy group gets its way.

A plan released Tuesday by the non-profit Friends of the Parks proposes adding 500 acres of new parks and beaches to make continuous and publicly accessible the 30 miles of Chicago lakefront from Evanston to Indiana.

The Last Four Miles: Completing Chicago's Lakefront Parks represents the culmination of three years of public hearings and architectural and engineering research into how to fulfill Daniel Burnham's 100-year-old vision for a publicly accessible lakefront.

"The lakefront in Chicago, unlike other waterfront cities in the U.S., is public and was created with much sacrifice for all to enjoy," said Erma Tranter, the group's executive director, in a press release. "The notion that the lakefront belongs to all of us has been deeply imbued in our character from the time of the city's incorporation."

Under the Last Four Miles plan, two miles of new parks would be created on both the south and north lakefront at the following locations:

South Side:
• Between 71st and 75th Streets
• Between 79th Street and Calumet Park at 95th, encompassing the former U.S. Steel manufacturing plant.

North Side:
• Between Ardmore Avenue and Loyola Park
• Between Touhy Avenue and the Chicago-Evanston border.

The areas are two of Chicago's most park-starved, with less than two acres of park space for every 1,000 residents. That's far below the National Recreation and Park Association standard of 10 acres per 1000 residents.

The plan would cost between $350 million to $450 million, Tribune architecture crtitic Blair Kamin reports.

The proposed parks would include beaches, recreational fields, the pedestrian/bike trail, natural areas and landscaping to promote aquatic and wildlife habitat. Some versions of the plan include peninsulas that jut out into the lake and create calm areas for swimming or kayaking.

The additional public parks and beaches would reclaim existing landscapes that include the former U.S Steel and Youngstown Steel plants, a waste disposal facility for contaminated sediments and waterfront that's currently fenced off.

Previous efforts to close the gaps have been met with suspicion, particularly by lakefront property owners who fear Lake Shore Drive would be expanded or that new development would take place between them and the lake.

"Our vision of completing the lakefront parks does not involve roadways, does not involve marinas, does not involve commercial development," said public trust and policy director Eleanor Roemer. "It is strictly a park project."

Despite the sense of completion projected by Friends of the Parks, the plan is far from winning acceptance in City Hall. Neither Mayor Daley nor the Chicago Parks District has endorsed the plan and the Tribune's Kamin characterized the response of the district's planning and development director as "tepid."

See renderings of the proposed plan:

(Above) Enjoying the north view of the city skyline in the new parkland and beach on the eastern edge of the old US Steel property (79th - 92nd).

Walking North along new lakefront path in Rogers Park between Howard and Rogers Avenue.

Looking South at the new lagoon and parkland on the old US Steel property (between 79th and 92nd) adjacent to Lake Michigan and the Calumet River.

Facing South on proposed Edgewater peninsula park (north of Ardmore to Granville).

Watch a CLTV report on the plan:

Comments

[Talossa]

11:33 AM on 06/14/2009

Thanks to our long tradition of Socialist mayors, Milwaukee already has a fully public waterfront­. :-)

[chrisk2009]

06:01 PM on 06/10/2009

This is absolute fantasy- with the poor economy, loss of jobs, and tax stress being put on Chicago-Co­ok County residents, I find it disappoint­ing that FOTP is willing to invest their energy and our stimulus money into making the lakefront more developed. What more could the residents in the higher income zip codes need —Lincoln Park, Edgewater, South Shore and Gold Coast etc?? What Some of our beaches our now devoted to dogs!

I encourage everyone to drive west or far south in the city and take a long walk around the neighborho­ods that have been 'left behind' by our Mayor and the FOTP board--Hom­an Square, Washington Park, Albany Square, Englewood, Garfield Park etc...Thes­e citizens deserve better and the children need more green space.

Further, the benefits don’t even come close to matching the costs. FOTP knows this but doesn’t want you to know. They are attempting to sell you a project without giving you the necessary informatio­n to properly evaluate it. Shame on them!

But it will be a shame on all of us as our tax bills are increased even more to pay for this boondoggle­. I found this website to be helpful and encourage everyone to visit--www.stopth­elandfill.­org

[factotem]

07:20 PM on 06/11/2009

Chicago's unofficial motto is "Make No Little Plans," spoken first by Daniel Burnham. They rebuilt the entire cty after the 1871 fire. In the same period, they gave the world the steel skyscraper­. They boosted the entire ground level of downtown up one whole story. They reversed the flow of the Chicago river.

It is a beautiful city and the citizens are very proud of it.

Chicago will do this.
I guarantee it.

[Lakeview Greg]

02:32 PM on 06/10/2009

Sounds so nice. But I have a question. What about all that Olympic Games constructi­on that King Richie wants to do? You know, the tennis stadium and redoing a harbor or two so people can watch rowing races or whatever. After the Olympics, what happens to these buildings that will be on the lakefront? What good is a park if it has a huge giant concrete building and parking lot where the grass and playground should be? By the way, all those boulders along the lakefront are from the depression years, when the Army Corp of Engineers shored up the lake shore to stop erosion. Is that whole thing going to have to be redone? How much more landfill will have to be planted? Like ChiGuy, I wonder. Oh, me? I live just south in Lakeview near the totem pole.

[BVictor1]

04:44 PM on 06/10/2009

Well of course the harbors will be permanent. Chicago has the largest municipal harbor system in the country with almost 5,000 spaces, but there's also a waiting list for more boats.

The majority of the structures built for the Olympics will be temporary. There will be improvemen­ts left at Northerly Island, but I don't think what will be left is written in stone yet. There will be more beach space created around 31st Street.

Much of the shoreline has already been rebuilt. The Army Corp of Engineers has been rebuilding the revietment­s for almost the past decade.

I do believe that the financial estimates are way to low to what will actually have to be spent. Remember, this is 4 miles of new parkland. We have to think of the cost of the fill, plantings, layout, drainage, etc...

I hope that the Chicago Park District's plan is more ambitious than Friends of the Park.

[Lakeview Greg]

11:38 AM on 06/12/2009

You don't live near the lake, do you?

[Ladyrantsalot]

01:57 PM on 06/10/2009

There's plenty of lakefront to enjoy already. I wish there were more restaurant­s along the shore. That would be nice.

[ChiGuy]

01:18 PM on 06/10/2009

I live in Rogers Park, one block from the lake that I visit and walk along on a VERY regular basis.
I would have to see MUCH more detail concerning this before I would be OK with it.

[CherrySpring]

11:54 PM on 06/10/2009

" I live in Rogers Park"...th­at explains a lot.

[westreal]

01:03 PM on 06/10/2009

Excellent plan. Make it happen

[Ravyn]

02:35 AM on 06/10/2009

Looks wonderful. If it could become a reality within the next 5 years, I'd seriously consider staying in Chicago long term.