Events – Page 22 – Grid Chicago

Bloomingdale Trail public involvement process reached a milestone this week

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A view of the Bloomingdale Trail at Spaulding Avenue. At least one person in the audience asked for a rail car or two remain in the new park. Photo by Colin Clinard.

On the evening of Tuesday, October 4, 2011, I attended the final presentation from the Bloomingdale “charrette weekend” at the McCormick Tribune YMCA, 1834 N Lawndale. The charrette weekend hosted invited stakeholders and members of the public who gathered with the design team to learn about the Bloomingdale Trail history, devise the topics they cared about, and express ideas and concerns about the project. For 16 hours on Monday and Tuesday, the design team synthesized all of the conversations, contribution, and ideas into a final presentation that took about 90 minutes to examine.

What follows is a detailed description of who said what about the project. I’ve divided the article into many sections with bold text headings for easier reading. I imagine that this article will evolve as people ask me questions. Continue reading Bloomingdale Trail public involvement process reached a milestone this week

How to call Open Streets on State Street a success

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Quality over quantity.

To know if you were successful in doing something, you’d have to evaluate the outcome against your goals. Several of my friends who attended Open Streets on State Street (from here on called Open Streets) called it a success. But the simplest definition of the word says that an aim or purpose has been accomplished.

I talked to Julia Kim, the Open Streets manager at Active Transportation Alliance (Active Trans), Adolfo Hernandez, director of advocacy and outreach at Active Trans, and Ty Tabing, the executive director of the Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA) to understand what their goals for Open Streets were.

But co-writer John Greenfield and I will tell and show you what happened in the seven, car-free blocks on State Street between Lake Street and Van Buren Street. Continue reading How to call Open Streets on State Street a success

Media gallery from Open Streets on State Street

Photos and one video of Open Streets on State Street by John Greenfield (JG) and Steven Vance (SV).

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A north to south video tour of Open Streets filmed by Brandon Gobel and Steven Vance from the cargo deck of a Bullitt bike. SV

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Families playing in the imagination playground. Adolfo Hernandez at the Active Transportation Alliance described his experience, saying, “I saw people, moms with kids, were instinctively picking up the blocks and putting them together”. JG

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The only time this artist could sit in the middle of State Street to paint the northern view. JG

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Even the kids were breakdancing. JG

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Hula hoops were everywhere. And in use. JG

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People practicing capoeira. SV

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Playing real-life four square. SV

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Mike Garcia of Brickheadz breakdancing for the Illinois Center for Broadcasting camera crew. SV

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This drawing was creating one square at a time by multiple people. SV

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Winners of the three-legged race. SV

More photos

Grid Shots: No cars on State Street edition

Yesterday, Open Streets on State Street happened in downtown Chicago. And thousands were there to enjoy the breakdancing performances, open skate park, and dance for fitness lessons.

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A skateboarder jumps off the ramp in the skate park at State Street and Van Buren Street open to anyone. There were even skateboards to borrow. Continue reading Grid Shots: No cars on State Street edition

Can Saturday’s Open Streets on State Street convince City Hall to fund the next ciclovía?

[flickr]photo:6198220998[/flickr]2009 Open Streets: left-to-right, in orange shirts, Lucy Gomez-Feliciano, Adolfo Hernandez, Rob Sadowsky

[This article also runs in Newcity magazine.]

“On State Street, that great street, I just want to say
They do things they don’t do on Broadway”
– “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town)” by Fred Fisher

The question is, can Chicago do on State Street what New York City already does successfully, not on Broadway but on Park Avenue; what San Francisco does on Grant Avenue; and what Bogotá, Colombia, does on Calle 11?

Born in Bogotá, “ciclovía” (Spanish for “bike path”) events close streets to motorized traffic, creating safe spaces for citizens to bicycle, jog, stroll, play and mingle, encouraging healthy recreation and social interaction. Ciclovías are now popular around the world, and most of America’s bike-friendly major cities are holding successful events, but the model still hasn’t gained a foothold in Chicago.

This could change after Saturday’s Open Streets on State Street ciclovía, when for five hours the sight, sound and smell of hundreds of automobiles, cabs and buses on the famous thoroughfare will be replaced by thousands of people enjoying a giant block party. The free event takes place from 10 am to 3 pm, with State Street closed to traffic between Lake and Van Buren. Vehicles will be permitted to cross the route at Madison and Monroe.

Continue reading Can Saturday’s Open Streets on State Street convince City Hall to fund the next ciclovía?

Weekend events: two ciclovías, two Bloomingdale Trail charrettes, and two bike rides

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A car-free Ridge Avenue in Evanston, Illinois. Photo by Esther Chicago.

It’s a busy weekend for bicycling events and the next step in the Bloomingdale Trail design process. The weather forecast on AccuWeather.com shows sunny and 60°F on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Open Streets
10 AM to 3 PM
1 N State Street

Enjoy the ultimate urban playground as State Street opens for pedestrians only to play, walk, bike and enjoy healthy recreation in the heart of the Loop on a seven-block stretch of State Street, from Lake Street to Van Buren Street, into an urban playground for all ages, Saturday, October 1, from 10 AM to 3 PM.
Continue reading Weekend events: two ciclovías, two Bloomingdale Trail charrettes, and two bike rides