Chicago Development: River Bike Path
The series of natural waterways and man-made canals known as the Chicago River is a constantly changing and vital arterial connection for nearly the entire city. Long a "working river" that served as a crucial connection for Chicago's industry to the rest of the world via Lake Michigan, the river is undergoing an ambitious transformation that seeks to make it an important thoroughfare for pedestrians and cyclists.
The Active Transportation Alliance, a non-profit organization tasked with making walking, cycling and transit safe and easy options, has released their plan to more than double the current amount of trails along the river. The plan envisions the river and adjacent areas as a haven for pedestrians and cyclists and incorporates unusual solutions, including using floating trails to deal with the challenges of converting formerly industrial waterways into people-friendly waterfront paths.
The city of Chicago's history began at the confluence of the two branches of the Chicago River, known as Wolf's Point. It was here that the area's first non-Native American settler, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, built a cabin in what is now the River North neighborhood. The settlement is commemorated with Chicago's Municipal Device which, as any observant Chicagoan will tell you, is everywhere.
Throughout the 19th century, Chicago's growth could only be described as explosive. In 50 years, the city grew from a small trading outpost to the second largest city in the country, surpassed only by New York City. The river played a large role in this development, serving as the conduit for receiving raw materials and shipping finished goods. Industry flourished, particularly the steel and manufacturing sectors, and while this brought great prosperity to the city, it was not without its problems.
As the century wore on, the river began to show signs of the brisk pace of industrial growth. Both branches of the river began to resemble an open sewer more than a retreat from Chicago's relentless urbanity. Before any meaningful environmental regulations became commonplace, the city unceremoniously dumped industrial, human, and animal waste into the river, which, it should be noted, flows into Lake Michigan, the city's drinking water. To the surprise of no one, outbreaks of disease became alarmingly common. It became obvious to Chicago's politicians and civic leaders that action on a massive scale would be needed to save the city from this mess.
In 1848, an unprecedented plan was created to reverse the flow of the Chicago River. Engineers, many of whom went on to design and build the Panama Canal, devised a series of locks and channels to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. A key component of this system is was the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which was dug largely by hand, costing many of the predominantly Irish immigrant workers their lives. Permanent reversal of the river was finally achieved in 1900, making widespread waterborne illness outbreaks a thing of the past in the Chicagoland area.
Into the latter half of the 20th century, Chicago, like much of the country, began to deindustrialize. As steel mills and other heavy industries along the river began to shut their doors, the river -- once choked with barge and cargo ships -- became comparatively empty. The long-term pollution from these industries, however, remained. Groups like Friends of the Chicago River began cleaning up the trash and pollution that resulted from decades of neglect. The group also applied pressure the city to make long-term policy changes to ensure the health of the river and its waterfront.
The North Branch of the river received some of the first efforts at trail building. Ronan Park in the Albany Park neighborhood was an early example of green spaces and walkable trails being developed along the river. With the election of avid cyclist Richard M. Daley to the mayor's office in 1989, "city beautification" projects became a priority. One of his early acts was to create the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council, which recommended the creation of 100 miles of on-street bicycle lanes and 50 miles of bike trails along with installation of thousands of bike racks throughout the city. Later in 2002, the city redoubled its efforts and, with the help of the organization that would later become the Active Transportation Alliance, further encouraged cycling for both pleasure and commuting in the city.
According to the Active Transportation Alliance, efforts to improve 'active transportation' coupled with renewed interest in restoring the river to a more usable state provides a great opportunity for the city to encourage further river development. "While Chicago's lakefront park and trail system is second to none, the Chicago River has not yet reached its full potential as a community recreation and active transportation asset." they write in their Chicago River Trail Action Plan.
The development of projects — like the wildly popular 606 Trail, which was previously unused railroad tracks — gives a great reason for optimism. There are, however, significant obstacles to the ultimate goal of unifying both the north and south branches of the river. Most notably, the historically industrial use of the river has left the city with a patchwork of property types along the river, many that come right up to the waterway and don't offer the opportunity for trail construction. The problem isn't just industrial either -- some property owners in residential neighborhoods, like Ravenswood Manor, have constructed boat launches on the river that, while tolerated by the city, do present some challenges in creating a continuous path.
Enter an ingenious solution: a 'floating' trail. Second Shore, a company specializing in water-based development, is proposing a series of trail segments that float on pontoons. The segments, dubbed RiverRide, would connect portions of pre-existing trails to provide a continuous trail experience that would, for the first time, link the north and south branches to non-motorized traffic. Detailed in the proposal are additional trail amenities like solar panels on the floating segments, effectively eliminating the need for hardwired lighting and allowing for the segments to be adaptable as needs change over time.
Although Chicago would not be the only American city with a floating trail (Philadelphia and Portland have them) the current proposal would dwarf any previously seen designs. More importantly, rather than just being an impressively ambitious plan, this project would unify the north and south sides of the city for the first time using their shared river. Legendary Chicago city planner Daniel Burnham, who envisioned such a link more than 100 years ago, would likely agree that this is the sort of project he had in mind when he famously said "Make no little plans".