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Chicago’s first protected bike lane on Kinzie St. increased ridership by 55 percent without increasing traffic congestion for cars.

Wild Mile adds to dynamic Chicago River Trail

Feb 27, 2019 | by Steve Simmons

Update April 24, 2019: The final public meeting for the Wild Mile Chicago will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on April 25 at Leslie Hall (1111 N. Wells St., Chicago, 60610). Please RSVP to info@wildmilechicago.org. 

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Adding green space along the Chicago River will create a dynamic experience for people walking, biking and running on a 27-mile continuous river trail.

The city has taken an exciting step toward this vision with a plan for the Wild Mile Chicago , a 17-acre floating park along the North Branch Canal.

Approved in the North Branch Framework Plan, the park will run in-stream from North Avenue south to Chicago Avenue.

Enhancing natural areas around the river would create attractive destinations easily accessible via a trail. A continuous trail will transform areas around the river into vibrant open spaces and connect people to jobs, shopping districts and recreation opportunities.

We’re pleased to support this initiative, which is led by the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, and supported by two of our partners, Near North Unity Program and Urban Rivers. Active Trans is participating in the Wild Mile Advisory Committee.

We’re working to ensure the plan prioritizes safe east-west access to the park for people on bike and foot and we want to ensure that the project supports a trail along the river.

It’s important the city prioritizes safe access along this stretch of the Chicago River given near-term opportunities to add trails at Lincoln Yards, which begins just north of the Wild Mile and eventual connections to the trail at Lathrop Homes and the 312 RiverRun Trail.

Stay tuned for more opportunities to share your ideas for the Wild Mile Chicago. A public meeting will be held in April on a date not yet announced.

In the meantime, please review the presentation and design ideas from a recent meeting and submit comments.

If you haven’t already, please join the campaign for a continuous Chicago River Trail.

Image courtesy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill