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Frequent contributor Calvin Brown sent these photos of the new underpass on the Lakefront Trail at the new 31st Street marina. View all the photos. The underpass and rerouting of the path should reduce some of the conflicts seen in the past: beachgoers cross the path without paying much attention to trail traffic; people (workers, I presume) driving on the path to access to the beach house and lifeguard shack.
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Photo by Public Building Commission of Chicago (PBC).
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The complex also received these dead, painted trees of different colors along with a new soft-surface playground. Read more about the amenities at the Chicago Sun-Times. One thing that always bothers about infrastructure projects like this one is the removal of tall, mature trees that provide a lot of shade (see below). Now we have to wait decades for the saplings (seen in the second photo) to be helpful.
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Mature trees that were removed. I watched construction crews cut and uproot dozens of them. It was saddening.
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In just a three hour period in August 2010 I spotted these four cars driving on the Lakefront Trail at 31st Street beach. I predict fewer people will need to drive on the Lakefront Trail as better automobile access is provided to the facilities.
The Public Building Commission of Chicago, a semi-public construction agency in charge of building new fire houses, police stations, schools, libraries, and parks, has posted more photos of the path and harbor amenities.
Good to see development at 31st beach