Title
REQUEST TO INITIATE 45-DAY NOTICE PERIOD
TO NAME PARK #572 AS BLOOMINGDALE TRAIL PARK
Body
To the Honorable Board of Commissioners
of the Chicago Park District
I. Recommendation
It is recommended that an order be entered authorizing the General Superintendent or his designee to amend the request to initiate a 45-day period to solicit public input to name Park #572 Bloomingdale Trail Park, pursuant to VII, Section E (1) of the Code of the Chicago Park District.
II. Explanation
In 2004, the City of Chicago in collaboration with the Chicago Park District completed the Logan Square Open Space Plan, which identified strategic opportunities to develop open space in a community area that was recognized as the most underserved park communities in the City.
In 2012, the Chicago Park District began the design improvement plans for the Bloomingdale Park and Trail that would ultimately lead to the transformation of a piece of Chicago’s industrial heritage into an actively used recreational greenway. The conversion of a 2.67-mile under-utilized freight railroad embankment along Bloomingdale Avenue (1800N) from Ridgeway Avenue (3800W) east to Ashland Avenue (1600W) provides a grade-separated park with a multi-use recreational trail. The design of the Bloomingdale added approximately 13 acres of open space that serves the greater Logan Square, Humboldt Park, and West Town Community Areas.
In 2015, the new park open that included a new multi-purpose path, rehabilitation of thirty-eight bridge structures, replacement of three (3) bridges, and up to thirteen (13) universally accessible access points. The Bloomingdale is an expression of art and is intended to represent a cultural expression, invoke participatory arts, be innovative urbanism, and involve art and sustainability. Integrated Arts in the Bloomingdale include the Phenological plantings, Ridgeway Observatory, and the Damen Arts Plaza.
III. Park Naming Procedures
Chapter VII, Section E of the Code of the Chicago Park District, (the Naming Ordinance), which governs the naming and renaming of parks and park features, states that if a proposed name honors a person, the (i) person shall have been deceased for a least one (1) year prior to consideration; and (ii) the person shall have demonstrated a continued commitment and made an extraordinary contribution to civic betterment, locally, nationally or internationally.
Pursuant to the Naming Ordinance, this request to rename and name parks have been forwarded to the Secretary of the Chicago Park District, who shall (i)file a copy of this request with the Board of Commissioners (or appropriate Committee); and (ii) initiate a notice period of at least 45 days to provide notice and solicit public input. Such notice shall be posted at the respective subject park field house (or for any park without a field house, at the nearest field house) and it shall be sent to advisory councils located within a one (1) mile radius of the subject park. At the conclusion of the notice period, the General Superintendent or his designee may in his discretion recommend to the Board that it approve the requested renames and names.