Following in the footsteps of the High Line in New York City, Chicago opened a 2.7-mile elevated park, which has already been extremely popular in its first week. Here we round up the initial reactions to The 606, as the new park is called.
"Chicago’s long-awaited bikeway and elevated park, The 606, opened last weekend (on 6/6, no less) to a rush of pedestrians and cyclists who were eager to test out the new 2.7-mile trail after years of planning, design and construction," according to Chris Bentley.
The 606, formerly called the Bloomingdale Trail, "is as much a highway for bikes as anything else, due in part to its having been largely funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) improvement program."
Steven Vance created a time-lapse video of the entire length of The 606, which you can watch here. Vance also wrote for Streetsblog Chicago to explain how he made the video.
Bicycling west to east on the Bloomingdale Trail from Steven Vance on Vimeo.
Writing for Landscape Architecture Magazine, Zach Mortice offers more details about the funding and political support necessary for the park as well as more details about the design of the route.
Read the full story: RIDE CHICAGO’S NEW ELEVATED PARK AND BIKE PATH, THE 606, WITH THIS TIME-LAPSE VIDEO
Bloomingdale Trail Gets New Name and Final Plan
Final plans for what will become the longest elevated park in the world where unveiled this week in Chicago. The 2.7-mile rail-to-trail conversion has been branded as The 606, a nod to the zip code digits shared by the neighborhoods along its route.
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
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The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello