A New Chicago Lakefront?

[Jules]

The city and state’s transportation agencies have worked since 2013 on the Redefine the Drive plan to reconstruct DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Grand to Hollywood avenues. Much of the road was built in the 1930s. Though it has been repaved and widened, many of its bridges and tunnels are deteriorating.

Lofty plans for the redesign have been floated in recent years, including tunneling DuSable Drive under Oak Street Beach or adding acres of lakefront space.

A final redesign plan has not yet been determined, but the new renderings will help Chicagoans “better understand the characteristics” of park, lakefront, pedestrian and bike space expansions that would be universal to any final plan, according to the news release.

A Bigger Oak Street Beach, No Dreaded S-Curve: How A DuSable Lake Shore Drive Overhaul Would Change The Lakefront

Designs have not been finalized, but researchers have new images of shoreline protection measures they could implement to stop flooding.

blockclubchicago.org

 

[Fat Point Jack]

Meigs Field

 

[Tacoma Mud Flats]

Dear Chicago, A Cautionary Tale From Seattle

Alaska Way 1930s

In the 1950's before Interstate 5 was built, traffic from Canada to Mexico ran through the middle of Seattle. The most common truck route was along the working waterfront, which had been a commerce street until the advent of cars - Alaskan Way - named in honor of the ships that left from those piers to go to the far north. Prior to cars, this route was railroad tracks, either along the shoreline bulkhead or suspended on wood piers away from the shore way over the tide line.

This was replaced by a modern raised expressway that connected the two ends of Highway 99 (Blue Star Highway) through the city.

The dream...

This modern route was called the "Alaskan Way Viaduct". Being a raised highway, it provided an everyman's view of Seattle or the waterfront as you transversed over the grimy working waterfront surface street area. As you drove by, you could view the Olympic mountains and smell salmon being smoked by Ivar's Acres' of Clams restaurant below. I used to drive down this route, top down, in any weather, at all times of the day just to get a dose of Seattle streaming by.

Seattle on the move

Fast forward to the aftermath of the last major earthquake (2002):

Seattle tore down its only free running expressway North and South despite voters' approval to rebuild a new Earthquake version with expanded capacity. The Governor overruled the will of voters and the mayor.

Instead we got a very expensive tunnel which cut the traffic lanes by one third, delivered two years late and with a toll which now must rise because not enough people use it.

The carrot for this better choice was to "Free the Seattle Waterfront" with promise of a lush open vista waterfront park that would run the length of the waterfront. No more nasty traffic, just a pedestrian Utopia to wonder about in - designed just for smelling the daisies.

Utopia Seattle?

Endless fanciful renderings of a vast lush tropical savannah-like park opening up the waterfront were offered to the gullible public during the various referendums and pre-construction planning hearing period.

The problem is, the (double stacked) viaduct had a three lane footprint, adjacent to a four lane surface street. It's not wide enough to support a Walt Disney World Fantasy Land size theme park, even if you planted over the entire seven lane wide available footprint with pixy dust.

The project soldiered on. The ole' Viaduct was torn down in 2017 and, well, suddenly 60,000 cars a day now found their way on the surface streets of Seattle for years as the construction project grew behind schedule. When 40% along the route, the mighty Swiss boring tool hit a buried 2" steel pipe scrap (horror of horrors!?! - the drill route was all supposed to be all soft butter apparently?) and the 30 meter long entire drill head had to be dug up, pulled out and replaced putting the project years and billions behind schedule.

Meanwhile all the grandfathered buildings that used border on the land side became 30 story high-rises because they are grand fathered to older code (gee, I wonder how the Governor was influenced to make her decision over the voters wishes?).

So now the tunnel and sea wall are done. How will our lush waterfront park be built?

Well first we need street level access, so that's a lane in either direction minimum (from the former four, two each way. We don't need parking, so the curb lane areas on both sides will be a bike lanes, of course. And we need a dedicated transit lane each way, but wait, let's run an express set of transit lanes through as well.

The result? Eight, nine, ten surface lanes (I can't keep up - they keep adding more), crammed into a seven lane footprint and a lush two foot wide vista planting strip for dogs to pee in. And that promised wide open vista of the Seattle waterfront, well enjoy the open cement view as you run across eight traffic lanes, two which are chock-a-block solid full of cars, the lowest denominator in the transportaion food chain, but the source of the tax money that floats the enterprise.

Welcome to NEU SEATTLE -- BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN UTOPIA FUNDED BY THE REMAINING CARS!

2023 - Just admiring our promised waterfront vista park-like setting...

Quoting the Urbanist quoting the Seattle Times Editorial Board Suckups:

“When the park is finished, it will be an asset to the community and a vast improvement from the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which loomed above the waterfront and cast a gloom from Pike Place Market to Pioneer Square. Indeed, building a tunnel, tearing down the elevated roadway, and creating more green space counts as one of Seattle’s greatest civic achievements for which we all should be proud,” the Seattle Times editorial board wrote...​

​

What did it take to convince the Blethen brain trust that a nine-lane waterfront highway is actually an asset that anchors a great public space? Apparently, some saplings will do the trick.​

​

“Traffic noise will be part of the new park, too. But so will plants and trees,” they wrote. “Saplings of Sycamores, Lodgepole Pines, Green Mountain Sugar Maples and many other varieties of trees and plants are in the ground. [A good place for them - TMF]​

​

While vaguely admitting some parts of the project may have been oversold, the Seattle Times stressed the improvements its watchdog schtick the editorial board maintains for transit projects, bike lanes, policing alternatives, pro-housing zoning changes, and social housing investments. ​

​

“No major project ever turns out looking exactly like its architectural drawings, but Waterfront Park is delivering on its promises,” Blethen and company wrote. “With more private fundraising needed, it has the opportunity to create a corridor with trees and art and public-beach access and bike lanes. It will be far better than what existed before.”​

​

Just where to put all these trees and art? Get rid of the car lanes perhaps, the source that pays for the entire enterprise through taxes?

And now they want nine lanes on the waterfront I understand. Pocket park maybe?

 

[Glenn McCarthy]

 

[Autonomous]

As long as there is room for the tents & tarps it's all good.

 

[shaggy]

The city and state’s transportation agencies have worked since 2013 on the Redefine the Drive plan to reconstruct DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Grand to Hollywood avenues. Much of the road was built in the 1930s. Though it has been repaved and widened, many of its bridges and tunnels are deteriorating.

Lofty plans for the redesign have been floated in recent years, including tunneling DuSable Drive under Oak Street Beach or adding acres of lakefront space.

A final redesign plan has not yet been determined, but the new renderings will help Chicagoans “better understand the characteristics” of park, lakefront, pedestrian and bike space expansions that would be universal to any final plan, according to the news release.

A Bigger Oak Street Beach, No Dreaded S-Curve: How A DuSable Lake Shore Drive Overhaul Would Change The Lakefront

Designs have not been finalized, but researchers have new images of shoreline protection measures they could implement to stop flooding.

blockclubchicago.org

Welp, If the state gets involved it could happen. Bears might be convinced to slow role Arlington heights with this kind of state $$ involved. Can't imagine traffic whilst that is under construction.

 

[Rum Runner]

The city and state’s transportation agencies have worked since 2013 on the Redefine the Drive plan to reconstruct DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Grand to Hollywood avenues. Much of the road was built in the 1930s. Though it has been repaved and widened, many of its bridges and tunnels are deteriorating.

Lofty plans for the redesign have been floated in recent years, including tunneling DuSable Drive under Oak Street Beach or adding acres of lakefront space.

A final redesign plan has not yet been determined, but the new renderings will help Chicagoans “better understand the characteristics” of park, lakefront, pedestrian and bike space expansions that would be universal to any final plan, according to the news release.

A Bigger Oak Street Beach, No Dreaded S-Curve: How A DuSable Lake Shore Drive Overhaul Would Change The Lakefront

Designs have not been finalized, but researchers have new images of shoreline protection measures they could implement to stop flooding.

blockclubchicago.org

So where are the homeless tent cities? They need a place to live as well.

 

[shaggy]

So where are the homeless tent cities? They need a place to live as well.

put em in soldier field...

 

[Ventucky Red]

The city and state’s transportation agencies have worked since 2013 on the Redefine the Drive plan to reconstruct DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Grand to Hollywood avenues. Much of the road was built in the 1930s. Though it has been repaved and widened, many of its bridges and tunnels are deteriorating.

In Oslo, soon to be in Stockholm, they put the motorway underground and left the waterfront to pedestrians and bikes (pedal and electric). As for resupplying the shops and resturaunts, special delivery vehicles can do this before 11:00 AM.

Meigs Field

Fuck you Daley

 

[Jules]

Fuck you Daily

A lot of Chicagoans hated Meigs because it considered an elite airport. Not that I'm supporting Daley's tactics. I'm only saying Meigs was basically a private airport few Chicagoans could enjoy. Now everyone can use that property.

 

[Ventucky Red]

A lot of Chicagoans hated Meigs because it considered an elite airport. Not that I'm supporting Daley's tactics. I'm only saying Meigs was basically a private airport few Chicagoans could enjoy. Now everyone can use that property.

Not looking at what was done, many forsaw this coming, and there was already a process in place.

I am looking at how it was done... And yes, Fuck Daley!

 

[ropetrick]

I thought that the dynasty was the Daly family.

 

[Point Break]

……….and Chicago Fire just lost two firefighters on two separate fires in the last 3 days.

Tough week for CFD.