Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Bloomingdale Trail

CMAP Seeks Its Own Dedicated Tax For Transit, Green Infrastructure

By Steven Vance | Nov 19, 2014 | 18 Comments

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning last week floated its own proposal to fix the region’s shortfall in transportation funding. It launched FUND 2040, a campaign calling upon the Illinois legislature to fund sustainable infrastructure through a quarter-cent sales tax across the Chicagoland region. CMAP says this increase would generate $300 million annually, which it […]

New Development, Investment Anticipates Future Bloomingdale Trail

By Steven Vance | Nov 17, 2014 | 15 Comments

The Bloomingdale Trail is attracting new investment along its length, including the construction of new multi-family and single-family housing. The blocks bracketing the multi-use path and adjacent parks (collectively known as the 606) saw less construction than their wider neighborhoods during the 2008-2009 recession — but now construction is picking up. Investors and developers are confidently […]

3 Big CDOT Projects Have Been Postponed, But the Delays Are Reasonable

By John Greenfield | Jul 18, 2014 | 46 Comments

In early June, I dubbed this the Summer of the Big Projects. The Chicago Department of Transportation was planning to start construction on, and/or complete, a slew of major infrastructure jobs this year. Now it seems more like the Summer of the Big Postponements. Over the last month, we’ve gotten word that three major initiatives […]

Eyes on the Street: Construction on the Bloomingdale Trail

By John Greenfield | Jun 26, 2014 | 16 Comments

Yesterday, Steven and I got a sneak peek at construction on the Bloomingdale Trail on a walking tour led by Jamie Simone from the Trust for Public Land, which is managing the elevated trail and linear park project for the city and the park district. Last Friday, there was some bad news and some good […]

A Blank Slate: Wells St. Extension Can Embody CDOT’s New Values

By Steven Vance | May 30, 2014 | 12 Comments

The Chicago Department of Transportation has a rare clean-slate opportunity to design a Street of Dreams — a street that incorporates many leading-edge safety features. That opportunity is phase three of their Wells-Wentworth Connector between Chinatown and the South Loop, a future southward extension of Wells Street that longtime South Loop resident Dennis McClendon calls “Riverside Boulevard.” […]

CDOT Forgets to Accommodate Cyclists During Bloomingdale Construction

By Steven Vance | Mar 14, 2014 | 22 Comments

Bloomingdale Trail construction charges ahead, with bridge work that involves closing Milwaukee at the viaduct, tonight at 8 p.m. through early Monday morning. Cars, trucks and buses will detour around the construction via North and Western, and pedestrians are advised to take a shorter detour via Oakley, Wilmot, and Leavitt Street to reach Wilmot. Winnebago, which […]

Let’s Measure What Happens With the Western Ave Shutdown This Weekend

By Steven Vance | Feb 4, 2014 | 19 Comments

Crews will be demolishing a viaduct over Western Avenue this weekend as part of Bloomingdale Trail construction, necessitating the closure of Western and diverting automobile traffic and CTA buses to Damen and California, each a half mile away. People walking or biking will be rerouted to the underpasses a block away on either side. The […]

The 2013 Chicago Streetsie Awards

By John Greenfield | Dec 30, 2013 | 6 Comments

Season’s Greetings Streetsblog Chicago readers. I hope you’ve had a joyful December and are gearing up for a fabulous New Year’s Eve. 2013 has been a banner year for walking, biking and transit in the Windy City, but there were so many landmarks and firsts, as well as a few discouraging developments, that it’s a […]

Educational Specialist Hired to Create Programming for the Bloomingdale

By John Greenfield | Dec 18, 2013 | 8 Comments

The Bloomingdale Trail, AKA The 606, is not just going to be a great transportation and recreation facility. It’s also going to be an important educational resource for students at the 25 schools located within a ten-minute walk of the 2.7-mile elevated greenway and linear park. Today the Trust for Public Land, which is managing […]

Mayor Emanuel Digs In to Kick Off Bloomingdale Trail Construction

By Steven Vance | Aug 27, 2013 | 3 Comments

At today’s groundbreaking of the Bloomingdale Trail component of The 606, Mayor Emanuel noted it’s been 100 years since the Bloomingdale Line, a freight railroad, was elevated onto the current viaduct. The trail will open in fall 2014, but Park 567 – located at one of the trail’s future access points – opened temporarily today. A different […]

Bloomingdale Trail’s New Name Revealed as Construction Begins at Park 567

By Steven Vance | Jun 21, 2013 | 14 Comments

At a community meeting Tuesday night at the McCormick-Tribune YMCA, planners discussed the final designs, construction schedule, and new name for the trail and “linear park” formerly known as the Bloomingdale. The newly coined appellation “The 606” is an umbrella term referring to the trail as well as five adjacent parks that will serve as […]

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