Landscape, Urban Design + Planning, Transit + Infrastructure

Chicago Riverpark

Chicago, Illinois | Unbuilt 2021
Riverpark 9

The Chica­go River­park is poised to be an ameni­ty for the City of Chica­go; expand­ing on what exists, mak­ing con­nec­tions, and bridg­ing bar­ri­ers. When it fin­ished its final phase in 2016, the Chica­go River­walk con­nect­ed Chicagoans to the well-loved lake­front at riv­er lev­el. How­ev­er, street lev­el, where much of the life and activ­i­ty of Chicago’s Cen­tral Busi­ness Dis­trict takes place is ~20 feet above riv­er lev­el; a lega­cy of the 1909 Plan of Chicago. 

Wack­er Dri­ve, which runs along the main and south branch­es of the Chica­go Riv­er, serves as the pri­ma­ry thor­ough-fare for traf­fic but has seen vol­umes decline over the past decade. By remov­ing one or two lanes from the road­way, an expand recre­ation­al and pedes­tri­an zone next to the River­walk is cre­at­ed while main­tain­ing need­ed-vol­ume and access on the exist­ing roadway.

The River­park pro­pos­al includes a bicy­cle path, reliev­ing con­ges­tion along the river’s edge and pro­vid­ing a more com­fort­able place to ride. Per­haps most impor­tant­ly for the cyclist, the River­park include a path that con­nects Upper Wack­er Dri­ve to Colum­bus Dri­ve, the Chica­go Riv­er, and the Lake.

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Riverpark 1

Existing Wacker Drive Condition

Riverpark 8 A

Existing Conditions

Riverpark 8 B

Proposed Alignment

Much of Wack­er Dri­ve has sev­en lanes (includ­ing park­ing). This num­ber is no longer jus­ti­fied by the exist­ing, antic­i­pat­ed, or desired num­ber of motor vehi­cles. Remov­ing one or two lanes from the road­way presents an oppor­tu­ni­ty to build on the suc­cess of the Chica­go River­walk with expand­ed pedes­tri­an and cycling infrastructure.

Riverpark 10
Riverpark 12

Build­ing on the his­tor­i­cal intent of the dou­bled-decked road­way, the Chica­go River­park can enhance, beau­ti­fy, and mod­ern­ize Wack­er Dri­ve. On the upper deck, vehic­u­lar traf­fic for plea­sure can be extend­ed to co-min­gle with pedes­tri­ans, while the low­er lev­el should be revi­tal­ized to encour­age increased through-traffic.

Riverpark 16 A
Riverpark 11

Build­ing on the suc­cess of the Chica­go River­walk; a pub­lic ameni­ty of ines­timable val­ue, the Chica­go River­park can fur­ther serve as an eco­nom­ic cat­a­lyst for the city’s thriv­ing cen­tral busi­ness dis­trict and con­nect Chicagoans to the Chica­go River. 

The park has the poten­tial to democ­ra­tize the urban boule­vard with space that is focused on tran­si­tion­al move­ment, and pedestrians. 

61st and Drexel 2
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