HUMBOLDT PARK — Earlier this month, a first-time visitor to The 606 had an interesting question: "Where's the White Sox stadium?"
Twenty-year-old West Humboldt Park resident Mike Hendricks was there to save the day in his role as one of the trail's new ambassadors.
"I was like White Sox?" Hendricks said. "You're not even on the right side [of town]. These are Cubs people over here, luckily you asked me and not anybody else."
The ambassador program, which launched two weeks ago on the trail, is aimed at educating trail users to make sure it runs smoothly.
Paul Biasco explains what the 'etiquette police' are there to do:
The 10-foot-wide paved trail features a two-foot padded running track on each side, and the main issue the ambassadors have faced are large groups who have clogged up portions of The 606.
The new ambassadors on the trail are the result of a partnership between The Trust for Public Land and Chicago's Youth Service Project.
The 20 ambassadors vary in age from 15 to 24 and all of them live in neighborhoods surrounding the trail.
Their job is to act as a roaming information kiosk about the trail — giving directions, helping answer questions and enforcing proper etiquette on the elevated trail.
Many of the users on the trail might not have experience running and riding on a similar trail such as the Lakefront Path.
Most often it's a simple request to stay to the right and if possible try to limit your group to walking two-by-two.
Also, keep your dogs to the right as well as small children.
"We've seen elementary groups up here, their teachers are saying to them two-by-two, stay on the blue and it really works for them," said Caroline O'Boyle, a program coordinator for the Trust for Public Land. "Grownups should think about that, too."
The ambassadors are also keeping log books of observations they make to pass along to the Trust for Public Land and the Chicago Park District to help improve the overall user experience.
So far they've noticed crowds congesting on a portion of the trail on the bridge over Milwaukee Avenue, skateboarders have a favorite spot for tricks and that a lot of pet owners aren't picking up after their dogs.
Hendricks and the other ambassadors dressed in T-shirts with The 606 logos are there to politely reprimand those scofflaws.
The new trail, which stretches across four Chicago neighborhoods, has become an attraction for tourists as well, something that Hendricks didn't expect when he took the job as an ambassador.
The youth ambassadors are also acting as ambassadors for the trail in their own neighborhoods, encouraging friends and neighbors to explore The 606.
"I understand it's new but some people haven’t heard of it at all," Hendricks said. "I was able to put people up on the game about it. Especially at night time, it's beautiful."
Two pairs of youth ambassador teams will stroll the length of the Bloomingdale Trail seven days a week from 1 to 9 p.m. through Labor Day.
From Labor Day through Oct. 13, the ambassadors will limit their weekday trail shifts to 5 to 9 p.m., while still starting at 1 p.m. on weekends.
"I’m taking long walks in the park every day," Hendricks said. "We get to communicate with the people in the neighborhood and we get to see how the neighborhood changes from here to down there. It’s really interesting.”
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