PUBLISHED: 04-13-09

Olympic Village may close lakefront

Public access limited to make room for proposed Olympian-only beach

If Chicago is chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, large portions of the city’s lakefront path could be closed to the public for about a month because of plans for a private beach for athletes staying at the proposed Olympic Village on the South Side.

During the Olympics and the Paralympics, in addition to a “lockdown” period beforehand, the path from 26th to 31st streets, and possibly from Soldier Field, would be diverted away from the lakefront, because of security concerns, bid officials said in a media briefing on April 4.

Lenny Gilmore THE CHRONICLE -- A cyclist rides down the lakefront bike path on April 9. Some cycling groups are concerned over plans for a portion of the lakefront path to be closed before and during the Olympics if Chicago hosts the games.

Doug Arnot, Chicago 2016 director of venues and games operations, told the Chicago Tribune that bid officials are working with city and state transportation officials to “ensure a connection with the bike paths” and that Chicago 2016 would propose a “Bike the Drive” during the games as a solution.

The paved lakefront trail, managed by the Chicago Park District, stretches 18 miles along Lake Michigan, running from Hollywood Avenue to 71st Street. Historically, the trail and lakefront have always been free and open to the public, so the plans to limit public access to parts of the lakefront, even temporarily, have some Chicagoans feeling uneasy.

Josh Landry, 23, said he thinks the plans to close parts of the lakefront are “overkill” and that planners should try as much as possible not to impact public space.

“To take away and privatize [the path] just for something that’s not even that important isn’t necessarily the best idea,” Landry said. “It’s going to make a lot of people who live here upset.”

Landry, a junior film and video major at Columbia and an avid bicyclist, said he uses the lakefront trail three or four times a week during the summer, often riding the entire length of the path.

It would be a shame, particularly, to close off part of the trail during the summer months, as the weather in Chicago is so inhospitable most of the year and the summer months is the best time to enjoy the lakefront, Landry said.

“We only get three months of summer, and half of that isn’t even that great,” he said. “In the winter, even if you wanted to, there’s not as much chance to use the lakefront path because they don’t clear it as often.”

Victoria Liu, 34, was out for a jog along the lakefront trail near the Museum Campus on April 8, something she said she does regularly. But Liu said she doesn’t really mind if part of the trail closes temporarily.

“If the path is closed, it wouldn’t be a big inconvenience to me,” Liu said. “Not compared to what we can gain from having the Olympics in Chicago.”

Margo O’Hara, director of communication for the Active Transportation Alliance (formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation), said the lakefront trail is one of the most popular paths not just for bicyclists, but also for rollerbladers, joggers, tourists and anybody just out for a stroll.

Additionally, many Chicagoans who bike to work use the trail as a commuting route. These people would need to find an alternative route to make their trips to and from work.

“The [lakefront path] is one of the best ways to see the city,” O’Hara said. “If the Olympics are here and they break [up the path], it would just be such a missed opportunity for visitors to see and experience Chicago in a way that people who live here have been doing for years and really enjoy.”

The Active Transportation Alliance’s vision for the Olympics, O’Hara said, is one that expands transportation options and increases accessibility for alternative modes of transportation in the city. Other modes of transportation, such as the CTA, could receive more ridership if the lakefront path is unavailable.

“It’s a huge opportunity, and I hope it leaves a legacy that we can be proud of,” she said.

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