A report on the progress so far on the Navy Pier Flyover, a half-mile bridge for recreational users on Chicago's Lakefront Trail.
John Hilkevitch begins an article about the development of Chicago's Lakefront trail with a provocative question:
"The original section of the Great Wall of China went up in about 20 years. The 110-story Sears Tower was erected in only three years. So how long does it take to build a roughly 2,700-foot-long pedestrian bridge in Chicago?"
The cause for the consternation at the heart of the article is the $60 million Navy Flier Flyover:
"When completed in 2018, the 16-foot-wide bridge will eliminate close encounters between vehicles and nonmotorized traffic by permanently rerouting one of the most heavily used sections of the lakefront trail away from the lower-level sidewalk along the Lake Shore Drive bridge near Lake Point Tower. Bikers, pedestrians and others will no longer cross Grand Avenue and Illinois Street at street level."
As Hilkevitch details the project, scheduled to be completed in three phases, and the safety concerns raised by users in its current state. Hilkevitch also answers the original question above: at least four years, if the target completion date is met after a January 2014 launch.
Read the full story: Lakefront trail project on a slow and risky path
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
Chicago Announces ‘Better Streets for Buses’ Plan
The plan establishes a ‘toolkit’ of improvements to make the bus riding experience more reliable, comfortable, and accessible.
Chicago Dismantles Leland 'Slow Street' Three Months Early
Citing neighborhood concerns, the city is ending the Slow Street program on Leland Street as more parks and beaches reopen, but advocates want to see more permanent traffic calming measures.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
Boston has spent millions making the Green Line more accessible — and there’s no end in sight
While the city has invested millions into expanding and adding platforms to the Green Line to make it more accessible, new train cars set to arrive next year will be too tall for disabled passengers to board without raising the current platforms.
Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US
Transit systems in rural communities are much more reliant on federal funding to provide their services.
How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities
After hurricanes, fires or other calamities, the original residents of a community are often replaced by younger, wealthier residents.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello