Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail

Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail Place 2nd!

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:51:57 -0600

Second place for The Friends of The Bloomingdale Trail at the Patagonia "Voice Your Choice" campaign!

FBT was awarded with $1,500 of grant money from Patagonia for our strong turnout and support.

Openlands won first place with Active Alliance coming in at 3rd. We lost with a small margin of 15 votes to Openlands.

We would like to thank everyone who came out to vote and helped spread the word to others! A big thank you to the crew at Patagonia for including us this year and for supporting us and other green initiatives!

A special thank you also goes to Julia Kim, who took great initiative in getting FBT involved with this event and donated her time and presence to the campaign.

With your continued help and support, next year will get first place!

Vote For Your Favorite Green Trail!

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:53:13 -0600

Patagonia has partnered with The Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail, in Voice Your Choice (VYC), an awareness-raising campaign created to help people get involved in local environmental issues and show their support for local groups.

This year, Patagonia Chicago, located at 1800 N Clybourn Ave has chosen FBT as one of the local enviro orgs to showcase important work with the future Bloomingdale Trail.

You are invited to be heard and make a difference by casting your vote.

Here’s how it works:

From now till October 24, 2009 vote (in store only/no purchase necessary) to help decide how Patagoina should distribute $5000 dollars in grant money to three local environmental organizations.

The top vote-getter will be awarded $2500, with the second- and third- place organizations receiving $1500 and $1000 respectively.

The Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail Board Member Julia, will be there this Saturday, October 17th from 10 AM to 3 PM to share the latest news with the trail. FBT needs your support so stop in and cast your vote and share your favorite BT story!

2nd Annual Service Day A Great Success!

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:41:27 -0600

A Very Successful 2nd Annual Albany-Whipple Service Day!

25 neighbors and nature enthusiasts came out on October 10, bore the cold and the wind and helped clean up the park.

We planted 100 daffodil bulbs, weeded, mulched, racked leaves and picked up debris.

There were small organic pumpkins for painting (and eventual consumption), face painting, donuts from our friends at Dunkin Donuts and coffee donated by Starbucks. The event was very successful and we are very proud of what we accomplished!

The event was very successful and The Trust for Public Land and the Friends of the Bloomingdale trail would like to thank everyone who came out to help and support the park!

2nd Annual Albany-Whipple Park Service Day

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:00:16 -0600

Save the Date- Saturday, October 10, 2009

9:30am - Noon

Before the winter brings its snow, give Albany-Whipple Park a chance to grow!

Come weed, plant bulbs, clean up, paint pumpkins, have fun and spend time with your neighbors and bring some gloves for digging!

Join The Trust for Public Land and The Friends of The Bloomingdale Trail at the 2^nd Annual Service Day at Albany Whipple Park (1811 N Albany Ave)

Sign up to join the Albany-Whipple Park Committee and receive emails relating to the Park and Bloomingdale Trail events!

Delicious coffee provided by Starbucks, Donuts to munch on, and refreshing Apple Juice!

If you have any questions or concerns please contact:

Laura Uhlir

The Trust for Public Land

120 S. LaSalle Street, 2000

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Direct line: 312-857-9820 ext 102

laura.uhlir@tpl.org

Sponsored By: The Trust for Public Land, Friends of The Bloomingdale Trail and Starbucks Starbucks location: 2543 N California

Public Meeting Regarding Albany Whipple Park

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:45:22 -0600

The Chicago Park District is holding a meeting for the public to learn more about the development of the Albany Whipple Park.

The meeting will be held at Simons Park field house, 1640 N. Drake, at 6pm on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.

The Trust for Public Land and Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail would greatly appreciate your presence and input at this important meeting.

Please join us and bring your questions, concerns and ideas!

Please Contact The Trust for Public Land with any questions.

Andrew Vesselinovitch

120 S. LaSalle Street, 2000

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Direct line: 312-750-9821

Email: andrew.vesselinovitch@tpl.org

Amigos Y Vecinos de la Via Bloomingdale:

!Estamos considerando el primer paso hacia la realizacion de la via Blomingdale!

El distrito de parque de Chicago tendra una junta para el publico para aprender mas sobre desarrollo del parque Albany Whipple

La junta se llevara a cabo en el Simon Park Field House

1640 N Drake el Martes .Septiembre 1, 2009. a las 6:OO p.m.

El fidecomiso de tierra publica y amigos de la via Blomingdale apreciamos grandemente su presencia y tiempo en esta importante reunion

Unase a nosotros traiga sus preguntas

Preocupaciones o ideas

Invite a sus amigos y vecinos

Andrew Vesselinovitch

120 S. LaSalle Street, 2000

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Direct line: 312-750-9821

Email: andrew.vesselinovitch@tpl.org

Bloomingdale Trail/After School Matters/Oral History and Photo Essay Rollout

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:44:19 -0600

The Trust for Public Land-sponsored After School Matters program will be rolling out its product at a small party this Wednesday, August 5, between noon and 2pm, at 1800 N. Artesian. An oral history and photo essay report, focusing on the neighborhoods along the Bloomingdale right of way, east of California Avenue, will be available to be picked up. Meet the youth that produced this and have some food!

CAPS "Smoke-Out" at Albany-Whipple Park

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:29:16 -0600

CAPS 1421 will hold an outdoor meeting and 'Smoke-Out' (hot dogs, chips, and water sponsored by the 14th District CAPS office) this coming Weds. July 22nd at the new Albany-Whipple Park located at 1800 N. Whipple/1800 N. Albany. The 'Smoke Out' starts at 6:30 p.m. with a short CAPS meeting at 7 p.m.

This is a joint venture by CAPS 1421 and the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail. Come join with neighbors and friends as we 'greet' the new park.

Hot dogs, chips, and water will be provided. But please feel free to bring dessert.

Firm selected for initial design and engineering!

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:48:59 -0600

Very excited news: the Chicago Department of Transportation announced today that the City of Chicago has chosen a design firm, ARUP North America Ltd, to begin the initial design and engineering of the Bloomingdale Trail! ARUP was selected in the bid process of the RFP that the City issued last year.

Full text of the CDOT press release follows:

CDOT NEWS
PRESS RELEASE
July 15, 2009

CONTACT: Brian Steele, (312) 744-0707

City selects firm for Bloomingdale Trail work

ARUP team has experience on similar projects

The City of Chicago has selected ARUP North America Ltd to begin preliminary design and engineering work on the Bloomingdale Trail, a project to convert an unused elevated rail line to a 2.7-mile multi-use path.

ARUP was one of 23 firms that responded to a request for proposals seeking qualified firms for the work. The City selected five teams for interviews about their vision and qualifications for the Trail project. The five teams each included strong interdisciplinary experience (design, architecture, planning), experience with other projects of similar magnitude, and success in incorporating community input into creative and sustainable design.

ARUP was chosen following team interviews, reference checks, and extensive deliberation by a committee comprising several city departments and agencies including the Department of Zoning and Planning, Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Park District. The team showed outstanding strengths in all of the criteria.

ARUP is a global firm with expertise in the design, engineering and construction disciplines. Among its projects are engineering the “Water Cube” aquatics center for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, the world’s largest highly sustainable public space.

The ARUP team features nine sub-consultants, including:

Chicago-based Ross Barney Architects, which has worked on several Chicago projects including Wacker Drive and the Chicago Riverwalk
Brooklyn-based Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, which worked on New York City’s High Line, similar in concept to the Bloomingdale Trail
Chicago-based Burns & McDonnell engineers, which has worked on many large Chicago infrastructure projects.

“We are looking forward to working with ARUP to turn part of Chicago’s industrial heritage into a green oasis,” said Beth White, Chicago Area Director, The Trust for Public Land. “We applaud the city for its commitment to this visionary project and we are proud to be a partner in such an inclusive planning process that also calls for the highest standards for design and innovation.”

The project entails extensive civic and community involvement from the Trust for Public Land, the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail and other entities. As part of the design process, Trust for Public Land will host a future public design charrette process in conjunction with CDOT.

The Bloomingdale Trail will run from Ashland to Ridgeway using the elevated rail embankment along Bloomingdale Avenue (1800 North). The project was recommended in the Logan Square Open Space Plan produced by the Dept. of Planning and Development (today known as the Dept. of Zoning and Planning).

Chicago has approximately $3 million in federal and local funding for project design. CDOT is still working to identify construction funding for the project.

Come join us this Saturday!

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:50:51 -0600

Don't forget to join us this Saturday, 10 A.M. at Churchill Park on Damen Ave. for a day of exploration, as we walk, bike, run the Bloomingdale Trail!

Bike the corridor. Run beneath its viaducts. Stroll along the mural-covered walls. Visit the new Albany-Whipple Park with its sod sofa and future trail access. Finish up with family friendly activities and a picnic back at Churchill Park. All ages are welcome. $5 suggested donation for adults benefits FBT.

Spread the word

We need your help getting the word out about the event. If you have a Twitter account, please tweet this message. If you have a Facebook account, please share this event.

Let's use the tag bloomingdaletrail on Flickr afterwards for any photos we take of the event. Also, check out our Flickr group and consider adding your pics to it.

One week to go!

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:33:31 -0600

We're just a week away from our big Walk, Bike, Run the Bloomingdale Trail! event, starting 10 A.M. next Saturday at Churchill Park.

We are looking for Friends of the Trail to help with set-up, check-in, water distribution, signage, and safety along the tour route. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Ben at helphand@gmail.com. To thank you, our friends over at Weegee’s Lounge (3659 W Armitage Ave) will have an open bar (draught beer and well drinks) from 3:00 to 5:00 for all event volunteers.

You can also download the flyer for the event by clicking here.

See you next Saturday!