Has anyone tried to ride the LFP during lockdown?
Wondering if you could bandit sections without getting into trouble.
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The city shut down the lakefront and adjacent parks March 26, worried about people who gathered at the beaches or crowded the Lakefront Trail.
CHICAGO — The city’s lakefront will stay closed even when Chicago enters the next phase of reopening, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.
Lightfoot, speaking during an online Q&A with the Economic Club of Chicago, said a number of changes will come to Chicago when it enters Phase 3 of the reopening plan: workplaces will reopen and people will be able to go to shops.
But “we will not be ready to open our lakefront,” Lightfoot said.
The city shut down the lakefront and adjacent parks March 26, worried about people who gathered at the beaches or crowded the Lakefront Trail.
Since then, people have pushed the mayor for answers as to when the lakefront would reopen and when people would be able to enjoy the lake or go boating.
Though the state has started reopening parks and is allowing people to fish in boats (with just two people per boat), the city has said boating is still not allowed and the lakefront is closed.
Other cities have handled similar issues differently.
Seattle, which was hit hard by COVID-19 early in the pandemic, opened all of its popular public parks last weekend. Instead of closing them off, the city hired park ambassadors to monitor popular outdoor areas to keep people moving and make sure people were adhering to social distancing guidelines. Barbecues, picnics or other large gatherings remain prohibited.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/05/13/no-june-beach-days-for-you-...
(IMHO, this is a little extreme.)
I rode from Evanston to the Loop via Clark and Wells, them returned via Milwaukee, Elston and California. I took some pix on the way south and while in the Loop.
Seemed like an early Sunday morning before brunch, even though it was midmorning on a weekday. In short, as long as things are closed down, I doubt the lack of the 606 and LFT will be a practical problem.
Nice! Riding on the city streets, with less car traffic, has been glorious. One still has to pay attention no matter what. But for me personally is getting to know neighborhoods, and their little uniqueness I've missed in the past.
+1 E.L.
Thanks!
Yep we might not get to call this "lucky" but the timing was great in a way, because everything looked nice - spring flowers, trees budding/blooming and such, and it wouldn't have happened this way in July or December. I do miss the lakefront, but this part was sort of a fortunate silver lining in it all as you point out.
Some sections of the LFT are now open to cyclists and joggers. From Diversey Harbor northbound, most access points are open and I believe between 31st and 55th you can gain access to the LFT.
My boss said he went for a run on LFT between Monroe and Shedd this weekend and nobody stopped him. I accidentally ended up on the trail between 67th and Marquette Dr, same thing (didn't realize what was going on with LFT construction and ended up in a spot where LFT was by far the safest way out of my "bike on LSD next to all the cars" predicament).
It's been over a week that they've been letting folks out. Rode up to a guy on Saturday morning at Lawrence and asked "can I hop on here or should I sneak in elsewhere?" he said he didn't care . Plenty of joggers and bikes out there.
*LSD construction, not LFT construction
Here is the latest announcement...
From 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. each day, the trail will be open to people who follow the city’s “keep it moving” strategy while doing activities like walking, running and cycling. Even as the trail reopens, some sections remain closed due to rising lake levels and erosion.
Some of it's going to be awkward with these closed sections, and there's going to be some people forgetting which path is the bike path and which is the foot path in some spots. I'm going to wait a day or two then I'll be out there! https://wgntv.com/news/coronavirus/millennium-park-reopen-with-rest...
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