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| Chicago's riverwalk not without its roadblocks | |
| Aug 15, 2011 | |
| Vince Dixon, Reporter | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Pertains to Chicago Riverwalk, North Branch Trail, Chicago | |
| Some residences have installed gates blocking public access to Chicago River, but pedestrians cry foul Almost three decades after city ordinances began requiring new developments along the Chicago River to grant public access to the waterway, some residential developments struggle to maintain privacy and still adhere to the city's zoning rules. Two North Side residences have installed fences blocking portions of the public riverwalk, but property managers say the gates are safety measures against trespassers and potential crime. At Park Place condominiums at 600 N. Kingsbury St., the fenced-off riverwalk is supposed to be open to the public during Chicago Park District hours. But some nearby residents have complained that the gate has been occasionally locked. "There's nowhere to go," said Mark Holmes, 50, of River North, who walks by the gate on his way to work. The president of the Park Place board of directors, Andrew Estep, said the gate was not built to bar the public from the river, but to deter crime. "There's a dead end back there, underneath the bridge, where there's been a fair amount of criminal activity," Estep said. Since the 1980s, the city has tried to encourage the development of a continuous riverwalk, hoping to make the once squalid river as accessible and attractive as the lakefront. Chicago Zoning Ordinance guidelines adopted in 1983 required that new developments "provide public waterfront paths, plazas, overlooks, esplanades and access points where appropriate." More guidelines were added in 1998 requiring newer major developments to build 30-foot setbacks, landscaped with trees and vegetation, as well as comply with goals already set in the city's Chicago River Corridor Design Guidelines and Standards, an extensive urban planning document that promotes an open river. Since then, riverwalks have sprung up in front of new developments from downtown to River North. Still, the effort is not without its problems. At Park Place, built in 2002, residents became increasingly concerned about drug activity and prostitution near units facing the river, Estep said. A fence was installed, but to comply with the waterway ordinances, the site agreed to keep the gate unlocked during Park District hours, Estep said. Despite this, building staff have sometimes mistakenly kept the gate locked, Estep said. As a result, some pedestrians have complained, especially during walking seasons, said Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd. "From time to time, there is a communication gap between the property manager and the facilities folks," Reilly said. "Whenever we've received these handful of complaints, we intervene directly with the building to ensure that the gate is unlocked and open during regular Park District hours." After the Tribune visited the site and found the gate locked, the building's management promised to remind staff to keep the gate unlocked. Subsequent visits to the site showed the gate was open. While the fence only blocks roughly 135 feet of riverwalk, having complete access to even the small parts of the river path is important in keeping the river accessible, said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of the Friends of the Chicago River, an organization that promotes the waterway's preservation. "It's a public riverwalk, and you want to make sure it's continuous along the river," Frisbie said. "If it doesn't become accessible, the larger context for the greater good is thrown out." Another location that has struggled with privacy and security concerns while trying to keep in step with city ordinances is Kinzie Park townhomes and condominiums at 501 N. Clinton St., built in 1999. At the entrance to the riverwalk near the townhomes stands a locked fence and a sign that instructs members of the public who want to cross to first visit the site's gatehouse. A guard then opens the gate and instructs passers-by on what parts of the path are open to the public. The location started this procedure in November after members of the Kinzie Park homeowner's association became concerned about trespassing, said Steven Zuckerman, a member of the association. Pedestrians were venturing off the riverwalk and onto the private property, Zuckerman said. "Once inside, they were able to walk around the entire property," he said. "Our private property was no longer private because they didn't limit themselves to the riverwalk area." Pedestrians interviewed near the property said the public entrance is so obscured now, they thought they weren't allowed in, and instead use the riverwalk on the opposite side of the river. "It would be nice if it were more obvious," said Chicagoan Katie Frantz, 34, who works nearby and often eats her lunch near the river. "I don't think you should have to go through any gatehouse to get to it." Chicago resident Scott Noorman, 41, said the access requirements at Kinzie Park seem "strange" and discourages people from walking there. "It just doesn't look that inviting at all," Noorman said. |
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