Next Step for Bloomingdale Trail: Creating an Identity
Next Step for Bloomingdale Trail: Creating an Identity - The planned 2.7-mile Bloomingdale Trail and five linked parks -- envisioned as an elevated pedestrian and bicycling corridor splashed with artwork and landscaping -- will assume a new, overarching identity when the multi-use recreation system assumes a fresh moniker: The 606. Construction on the $91 million public-private venture is expected to begin this summer with the elevated trail portion to open for use by the fall of 2014. Click on the headline for the full article.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on
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Then again I guess Courtland could be spruced up to get across and it's got a bike lane for most of the way. But then it ends at Clybourn. A bike lane from there down to North Ave would connect it pretty well, and from there something to reach the lake would be a nice addition.
I wish I could edit my earlier post and not have to make a new one.
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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on
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+1 more
Brendan Kevenides said:+1
Cameron 7.5 mi said:That article is everything that's frustrated me about the whole Bloomingdale project. If half the energy that's gone into branding, identity building, etc. had gone into designing and building a park, we'd have something by now.
I'm waiting for when the next step to involves a shovel.
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Not everywhere within Chicago is 606.
I work near Mars Candy / Galewood train stop. our Zip Code is 60707 (Elmwood Park).
Mars: 2019 N. Oak Park Ave. 60707-3345 with a 773 phone.
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:They have valid points. There are both cities in Illinois called Bloomingdale and Bloomington. Also, getting a corporate sponsor other than Bloomingdale's department stores (do these even still exist?) could be tricky. I just wish they went with a name more fitting for the neighborhood, not some generic-sounding name that literally could be anywhere.
On the point of corporate sponsors, I hope we don't end up in a situation like Millennium Park, where literally everything has a corporate name on it. e.g. McDonalds Cycle Center, BP Bridge, AT&T Plaza, etc. It makes me a bit sick to my stomach.
Also stupid: "The 606 – named for the 606 zip code prefix all Chicagoans share". The trail won't go though all neighborhoods, nor is it even centrally located or easily accessible for all Chicagoans, so this tagline is BS.
Duppie 13.5185km said:Ha! Maybe those maligned marketing guys do have a point there.
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:Bloomingdale trail. That's precisely why they changed the name.
Davo said:What's wrong with, oh I don't know, the bloomington trail. That seems like a nice name to me and it attaches the history of the area better than 606.
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Permalink Reply by Duppie on
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That sounds like an alternative that would actually be feasible.
Some more advanced (i.e. less feasible) options:
1. Build a pedestrian overpass over the UP right of way and drop peds/bikes onto N Besley Ct.
2. Build a new pedestrian bridge over the river next to the rail bridge. With Finkl moving out later this year, I am thinking that this area will be redeveloped fairly soon, given the vicinity to Lincoln Park. Now would be a good time to start a discussion about how to fit in east west bike traffic.
Well, a man can dream...
Cameron 7.5 mi said:There actually are some workable (but not perfect) options to continue east, but as with much of this project I feel like the desire to do something great has gotten in the way of doing something good.
The existing tracks cross over Ashland and then under the Kennedy to where they once connected with the Union Pacific tracks that parallel Elston. The space under the Kennedy between that tracks and Cortland is a large open piece of state controlled land that IDOT sometimes uses to stockpile materials. If the trail continued over the existing Ashland bridge and then a path was built in the IDOT controlled area to take people down the old rail embankment and connect to the existing east/west route on Cortland then there would be a logical path for trail users to continue east to Lincoln Park. Ideally the rest of this unused IDOT space could be turned into something like the skate park under the Kennedy on Logan.
Not taking advantage of the rail right of way crossing Ashland always seemed like a missed opportunity to me.
Tricolor said:If only there was some way to get the trail a little farther east over the highway, river and tracks into Lincoln Park/Old Town. It doesn't even look like there are any viable streets that can do it.
It's roughly at the same junction that still serves rail customers around Kingsbury Street and Goose Island.
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Before we switched to a region database that managed zip codes for us the typical 'Chicago area' we used at work were zip codes between 60000 and 60899. Our new region is larger and extends into Wisconsin and Indiana, with smaller sub regions available.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on
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I believe this is how the Dutch organize their interurban trails.
Cameron 7.5 mi said:This number thing has real potential. Just think how much simpler maps would be if trails just had numbers instead of names. Also, the current names are terrible. The Green Bay Trail doesn't even specify if it means the bay or the city, but either way it leaves you almost 200 mi short. The Prairie Path barely even goes through any grassy fields.
The Major Taylor Trail could be the #1 to give it a sense of history and commemorate the race that made Mr. Taylor a world champion. The Prairie Path could be the #630 in honor of the shared area code of the west suburbs. I'm sure there are lots of numbers that could be much more meaningful identifiers than most of the current names given to trails.
Jennifer on the lake said:I propose we rebrand the Lakefront Trail as The 378, which incorporates the first digit of each of Chicago's area codes, thus connoting unity and links among neighborhoods. The new name will dispel confusion about where it is located, since some people might have used to think the trail went around Lake Calumet. Dropping "trail" from the official name also communicates that The 378 is more than just a path from point A to point B, but also provides recreational opportunities for local residents.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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Jennifer on the lake said:
I propose we rebrand the Lakefront Trail as The 378, which incorporates the first digit of each of Chicago's area codes, thus connoting unity and links among neighborhoods.
Ha! Good one. ;)
Cameron 7.5 mi said:
The Major Taylor Trail could be the #1 to give it a sense of history and commemorate the race that made Mr. Taylor a world champion.
I like that suggestion.
The Green Bay Trail doesn't even specify if it means the bay or the city…
Um, it runs parallel to nearby Green Bay Road, one of the north shore's major north-south routes. Click the link above to look at the map.
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Green Bay, along with McClory should just be called the North Shore Trail since it's the former North Shore right of way. It would be nice if it went into Milwaukee proper rather than ending in Kenosha, but it doesn't.
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Nearly all of the off-street trails I can think of (save for the Prairie Path and Major Taylor) are named for what they parallel. Lake Front Trail, North Shore Channel Trail, Green Bay Trail, etc. To avoid confusion, why not call it the "Bloomingdale Avenue Trail"? Adding "Avenue" removes the ambiguity of whether it is referring to the city or street.
Cameron 7.5 mi said:I was being sarcastic about how ridiculous the 606 branding is. Naming trails after their parallel streets is a fine approach, whether it's a major street Green Bay Ave, or a minor street like Bloomingdale Ave. I don't think people are anymore likely to think that the Bloomingdale Trail goes to Bloomindale than they are to think that the Green Bay Trail goes to Green Bay.
Anne Alt said:Cameron 7.5 mi said:
The Major Taylor Trail could be the #1 to give it a sense of history and commemorate the race that made Mr. Taylor a world champion.
I like that suggestion.
The Green Bay Trail doesn't even specify if it means the bay or the city…
Um, it runs parallel to nearby Green Bay Road, one of the north shore's major north-south routes. Click the link above to look at the map.
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Permalink Reply by Night Owl on
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Constructing a bridge over the UP/Metra lines would be extremely difficult given space requirements.
IDOT requires a vertical clearance of 25' for bridges above rail lines while the ADA requires a ramp grade increase of no more than 2 percent. Since the Kennedy is overhead, it would be difficult to fit the western ramp that would be required for a 25' high bridge. From a design standpoint an at-grade crossing is easier, but from a political and safety standpoint it is much, much more difficult.
Duppie 13.5185km said:That sounds like an alternative that would actually be feasible.
Some more advanced (i.e. less feasible) options:
1. Build a pedestrian overpass over the UP right of way and drop peds/bikes onto N Besley Ct.
2. Build a new pedestrian bridge over the river next to the rail bridge. With Finkl moving out later this year, I am thinking that this area will be redeveloped fairly soon, given the vicinity to Lincoln Park. Now would be a good time to start a discussion about how to fit in east west bike traffic.
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This is exactly what they did. The trail is "The Bloomingdale Trail." The structure as a whole and access parks are "The 606." The Lake Front Trail is still the Lake Front Trail even though it goes through parts of Lincoln Park, Grant Park, Burnham Park, and Jackson Park.
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:Nearly all of the off-street trails I can think of (save for the Prairie Path and Major Taylor) are named for what they parallel. Lake Front Trail, North Shore Channel Trail, Green Bay Trail, etc. To avoid confusion, why not call it the "Bloomingdale Avenue Trail"? Adding "Avenue" removes the ambiguity of whether it is referring to the city or street.
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