By Jim Vail
News-Star
One of our
dear readers who works as a nurse heard several of her elderly patients who
enjoy walking along the North Lakefront Trail complain that the recent
reconstruction project that has resulted in separate bike and walking pathways
has made life more difficult on their joints.
The removal
of the gravel along the paved trails is making for sore joints and an
uncomfortable walk.
“The changes
are part of the Lakefront Trail Separation project,” Michele Lemons, Chicago
Park District communications director, wrote in an email to this newspaper.
“Some segments of the completed 18 mile trail include a crushed stone shoulder
while other segments do not due to space constraints (ie. mature trees, grading,
lighting, lake edge, bridge widths, etc.). The Chicago Park District included
the crushed stone shoulder into the new design wherever possible.”
Lemons said
she is checking with various departments about complaints, but so far she is
not aware of anybody complaining to the park district about the lack of gravel.
Some people
have complained that the park district went nuts with creating super-wide
swaths of blacktop, to the detriment of green space and drainage, in areas
where the pedestrian and bike routes aren’t physically separated, but are
painted side-by-side on the same broad path, such as between Montrose and
Recreation Drive.
“So did the
park district cop out here, or was it a case of not being able to make an
omelet without cracking some eggs,” said John Greenfield, who edits Streetsblog
Chicago. “It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s certainly understandable that
some people, especially seniors, are upset that they have fewer opportunities
for low-impact exercise now, even if they’re benefitting from the safety
improvements.”
The Chicago
runners group also weighed in on the problem.
“One of the
greatest amenities has been the soft surface side path along nearly all the
Lakefront Trail,” Dale Erdmier, communications and marketing manager for
Chicago Area Runners Assoc. (CARA) told this newspaper. “We highly value the
soft surface path, and we continue to advocate to the Chicago Park District for
retaining all that we still have, to see areas lost returned, and to identify
ways to replace lost path with new options.”
Running and
walking on gravel, which was plentiful before the construction, made it easier
on joggers and seniors’ joints.
Greenfield,
who covers all areas of city transportation on Streetsblog Chicago, said the
Lakefront Trail project should include as much soft-surface side paths as
possible.
“In general the
Lakefront Trail separation project has been a big improvement to the shoreline
path, which has reduced the potential for crashes between pedestrians and
cyclists,” he stated. “That’s a win for seniors, for whom a collision and fall
could easily have life-changing consequences.”
But he noted that
removing the gravel is not helpful.
“On the other
hand, if the project has resulted in the removal of a significant amount of
soft-surface paths for walking and running, that’s not a good thing for
seniors, or anyone else who wants or needs low-impact physical activity. As
such, the park district should take steps to ensure that there is no net loss
of soft-surface path mileage, even if that means tearing up some of the new
asphalt.”
The question is
did the park district make a good-faith effort to put in crushed limestone
wherever possible, or was it simply more convenient to lay down asphalt and
took the easy way out, Greenfield said.
“I’d be
interested to know the total mileage of crushed limestone side paths that were
lost,” he said.
Inside Publications
also reached out to Active Transportation
Alliance – a non-profit advocacy organization that works to improve conditions
for bicycling, walking and transit and engage people in healthy and active ways
to get around. However, as of press time, they have not responded to the case
of missing gravel along the lakefront paths.
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