The Chainlink

I heard that the Northerly Island path was taped off today. Anyone hear anything about this? Is it just the beach entrance or can we still get on via the parking lot entrance? I imagine this has to do with the planned expansion of the Charter One Pavilion...

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OK, got it. Well put, thanks.

Jason said:

The opposition to it is by the "Grant Park Conservancy and Advisory Council" as quoted in the article above. The whole lakefront is pretty much paved over, and there is little natural spaces left. That island is home to a lot of migrating bird species. The Flint creek wildlife rehabilitation is there too. When Daley killed miegs he promised it would not become another tourist attraction and build a bunch of shit on it. Of course he went ahead and did it anyway. Now they are quadrupling it the size, which will no doubt affect the area. 4 times the litter etc... And seriously, do we really need another fucking concert venue? There is millenium park, and petrillo right there (underutilized?). And a shit ton of other venues throughout the city. I mean come on, the last thing this city needs is another concert venue. Why take one of the few places along the lake that isn't paved over and ruin it?

h' 1.0 said:

Mixed feelings here. I like it the size it is, and have seen some great shows for under $30, and it's crazy-easy for me to ride to.  Sometimes living in Chicago can be a negative because you have so much more competition for bigger name bands when they come here and end up having no choice but to pay ridiculous prices (or give it a pass.)  So in a way losing a venue that is too small for big names is a bit of a downer.
But I think the question about opposition may have had to do more with losing greenspace? Maybe whoever raised it can elaborate on what we're losing?

The downside to the expansion is that some of the racing community used it as a track of sorts to do intervals on bikes.  It's usually pretty empty and a nice central, conveniently accessible paved loop where you could go fast on your bike without worrying too much about running into other people.   

First of all it's man made just like the rest of Chicago no "natural habitat" destruction.

I'm for the expansion to make it more like Jones Beach where they have numerous fests during the summer season, what better place to see 311 but the beach?

They are also proposing a camp ground (pay to camp out on weekends) which I would do as well.

I agree, Northerly Island was a pocket of prairie habitat that was fairly isolated from people using the LFT.  Maybe if that plan to create the interconnected ecosystems on the south side of the island goes through, it'll be alright but that's not going to happen for years if it happens at all.  It might not have been all-natural untouched old growth forest or anything but that's the case for a lot of the national and state parks out there so to say that it doesn't matter if gets trashed for a concert venue is a bit short-sighted.

kiltedcelt said:

Yeah, what Jason said. As to the later point that we're not really losing anything "natural", that's bullshit. So much of the LFP area is completely taken over with monoculture grass fields and other park space that is of almost no use to migratory bird species. It was really nice to be able to do a turn around the path out there on Northerly Island and see various passerines as well as raptors hunting. Kiss that all goodbye with a major expansion that will drive away a lot of the wildlife. It's great that there has been some work done on the prairie restoration areas south of there, but it sure would be nice if it had been left as it was before this planned expansion. I totally agree that in a city as large as Chicago, there really is no need for another damn outdoor concert venue, especially with Grant Park literally a stones throw away. Of course it all smacks of more shit done to line some politician's pocket without any real chance for public comment. Or maybe there was and nobody gave a shit. Maybe I'm one of the few people in this city who would prefer to see some more green space and a little less commercial development.

I wonder if there will be problems bringing a bag into the new concert venue.  I plan to have a pannier.  I have been reading about backpacks becoming a security issue in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.  I recall going to a football game at Northwestern in the Fall of 2001 where there was a driving rainstorm.  Nobody was allowed to bring an umbrella or a bag into the stadium as they were understandably overly security conscious. The fans were wet and miserable.

Good question. We may have hassles at many venues in the wake of the Boston bombings.

David Barish said:

I wonder if there will be problems bringing a bag into the new concert venue.  I plan to have a pannier.  I have been reading about backpacks becoming a security issue in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.  I recall going to a football game at Northwestern in the Fall of 2001 where there was a driving rainstorm.  Nobody was allowed to bring an umbrella or a bag into the stadium as they were understandably overly security conscious. The fans were wet and miserable.

Nothing should be a problem in my bag other than a Park Tool, a pump, a spare tube and tire levers.

At the risk of saying something as inane as "we can't let the terrorists win" we can't let the terrorists win. If we learned anything from 911 it should be that our rights and freedoms are always more important than our safety. To accept anything short of that is to spit in the face of everyone who fought and died to win our (government's acceptance of our) freedoms. To prohibit bags is to prohibit utility biking and we cannot let that happen. There is no option to "leave the bag in your car" when you have no car.

Just announced-- Counting Crows and Wallflowers July 7.

And it looks like they've fenced off the southern portion of the island so you can't really can't use northerly island at all unless you hop through a hop in the fence or something.  At least, we'll have a new concert venue like the ones in grant park with some cool bands right?

Apparently it is the worst venue ever.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/charter-one-pavilion-at-northerly-island-ch...

(FYI the first review is fiction and didn't happen)

It is ridiculous they paved over more lakefront green space and made this shitty concert venue. Sell your Phish tickets now! YBW

S said:

And it looks like they've fenced off the southern portion of the island so you can't really can't use northerly island at all unless you hop through a hop in the fence or something.  At least, we'll have a new concert venue like the ones in grant park with some cool bands right?

Well, they also managed the regrade/trash the southern portion of the island with piles of dirt.  I guess the spiel about being a nature preserve/refuge only counts if no one is offering cash.  I'll believe the plans for the nature habitats on the rest of the island when it actually happens.

Jason W said:

Apparently it is the worst venue ever.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/charter-one-pavilion-at-northerly-island-ch...

(FYI the first review is fiction and didn't happen)

It is ridiculous they paved over more lakefront green space and made this shitty concert venue. Sell your Phish tickets now! YBW

S said:

And it looks like they've fenced off the southern portion of the island so you can't really can't use northerly island at all unless you hop through a hop in the fence or something.  At least, we'll have a new concert venue like the ones in grant park with some cool bands right?

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