New Report Looks At Public Perceptions Of Lakefront Trail
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 6, 2013 2:00PM
This photo by Steven Vance shows the hazards encountered at certain points along the lakefront trail on an average day.
A report released Tuesday on public perceptions of the Lakefront Trail by its users concluded—surprise!—parts of it are hella crowded.
The report, "People on the Trail," reached out to 1,600 users of the trail, which is shared by bicyclists, pedestrians and people crossing it to reach the lakefront's beaches, and found that they were least satisfied by the stretch of trail between Fullerton Parkway and Randolph Street, while the area south of Museum campus gets the highest praise. (I've been saying this for years.)
The report was commissioned by the Active Transportation Alliance, Friends of the Parks and the Chicago Area Runners Association. Active Trans executive director Ron Burkle said, “With so many people using the trail every day for so many different purposes, it can lead to a lot of close calls between people walking, running, biking or skating. It’s important that we maintain the lakefront as a place that works for all of us, and that’s going to require some improvements to the Lakefront Trail.”
The report recommends redesigning lakefront access points to make it safer and easier to access the trail and the lakefront, as well as alleviating trail congestion and reducing crashes by creating new paths to separate higher-speed bike traffic and lower-speed foot traffic. The redesign of the "Lakeshore Flyover" near Navy Pier is part of Mayor Emanuel's ambitious trade show and tourism makeover plan.