Back in 2016, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel wanted to separate bikes from pedestrians on this city’s beautiful Lakefront Trail, so as to alleviate cyclists, joggers and walkers from getting into each other’s way. He called up Citadel’s Ken Griffin and Griffin immediately came through with a $12 million donation. That got the job done fast (especially by today’s standards) and the trail became both safer and more enjoyable for all.
We thought of that moment when we read the Chicago Park District’s fascinating new framework plan for the future of Grant Park, the 376-acre verdant space that sits betwixt the majestic buildings of the Loop and our epic Lake Michigan and that dates back to the city’s founding.
Grant Park, of course, also is the site of many of this city’s major festivals and special events, including Lollapalooza and many others. But in recent years, it is has not received the attention or the investment enjoyed by Millennium Park, the culturally focused campus immediately to its north.
Grant Park, dissected by roads, generally lacks cohesion. And, frankly, it lacks a brand.
There’s a lot to like in the Park District’s ideas for improving Grant Park (some of which have been around for a while). They include designating Monroe Street, Jackson Drive, Balbo Drive and Columbus Drive as so-called “park streets,” and/or “park boulevards,” with bike lanes, planted medians, shady seating and street parking, all designed to encourage people to walk down what currently are broad, intimidating, do-not-linger roadways. The Park District imagines trolleys on Columbus (although we’d note that we don’t even currently have a trolley to the massive attraction that is Navy Pier, a higher priority). Beyond that, the plan calls for more concessions and public art, better lighting, new trees and landscaping, and more seating throughout the park’s acreage. All good ideas.
Simply put, the Park District wants to make Grant Park more like the great urban parks in other storied cities like Hyde Park in London or Central Park in New York. All of that can be done, the plan implies, while still allowing the southern section of the park to host festivals, which have become vital economic generators.
We are particularly fond of the plans to better connect the park to the lakefront. The plan proposes a new footbridge from Maggie Daley Park over DuSable Lake Shore Drive to what presently is an underutilized hilly area, thus creating an Instagramable lookout spot. A little south, the plan suggests, DuSable Lake Shore Drive could be decked over (the plan uses the terms “sinking and capping”) so as to allow people visiting Buckingham Fountain, long one of the city’s premier attractions, to be able to walk directly at the same gradient to the Queen’s Landing at the lake without dodging multiple lanes of fast-moving traffic on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. That would be transformative, even if the decking was not all that broad.
Better yet, the Park District says Queen’s Landing itself could be expanded in all directions with new terracing and a new water taxi stop. Add in new concessions and this could make the area as appealing as the so-called Ledge, a waterfront draw for teenagers in Lincoln Park to the north.
If that expansion of lakeside public space went sufficiently far south it could then seamlessly connect to the Shedd Aquarium, which is currently in the midst of a major expansion, including a new entry pavilion and garden.
Anyone paying attention can see that it’s the southern section of the Loop (roughly south of Madison Street) that has struggled the most in terms of a pandemic recovery, and Grant Park’s footprint, which goes all the way down to Roosevelt Road, would be an asset for the businesses immediately to its west, especially if lovers of The Bean could be drawn south by comparably successful public art projects. And the more people who are in the park, the safer those folks feel.
If you think about it, working on the intersection of Grant Park and Lake Michigan is a logical step to take now because it would better connect Navy Pier (and its new marina for transient boats) with the Museum Campus by ameliorating what’s basically a no-go area in the middle where Lake Shore Drive is so close to the lake that pedestrians feel squeezed. Many cities, of course, are rediscovering their waterfronts; Chicago never had that problem, thanks to our forebears, but we still can improve how people visit and stroll aside the shimmering waters.
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Plus, lest oldsters forget, Buckingham Fountain is romantic. Wedding parties love it. And this is a city that could do to step up its appeal in that regard.
A two-pack of fountain and lake, hand in hand, sounds good to us.
Of course, duty calls, so we also have to take off our rose-colored glasses and ask the unpleasant question of who might pay for all of these great ideas.
“Sinking and capping” is not cheap. Neither is building and expanding terraces. We doubt the Park District could handle this on its own. So if any of our remaining billionaires, a shrunken crew, are reading this, how about it?
By stepping up you might even remind the current city administration of your great value to our town.
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