Forget Aerial Gondolas, People Just Want The Chicago River To Not Smell

IRVING PARK — Entrepreneurs are proposing pie-in-the-sky tourist attractions like aerial gondolas and ziplines for Downtown's riverfront, but the folks who live upstream along Chicago's "other" waterway have a slightly more practical goal:

Could it not smell?

For the last year, the Metropolitan Planning Council — in partnership with the City of Chicago and Friends of the Chicago River — has been developing a long-term, coordinated vision for the Chicago River, as well as the Calumet and Des Plaines rivers, as part of the Great Rivers Chicago initiative.

The planning council spent last year gathering community input through outreach events that included a series of public meetings last fall.

Patty Wetli explains the smell along parts of the Chicago River.

On Wednesday night at Horner Park, Josh Ellis, a director at the planning council, presented the top priorities captured from residents along the Chicago River's North Branch: better access, recreation and improved aesthetics.

"Some folks want to fish, some want to read a book — people just want to get to the riverfront," Ellis said.

Recreation means more than sports, he said, with people requesting things likes movies in the parks along the water.

Aesthetics boiled down to litter and odor, with residents complaining that "the river smells bad and it's full of garbage," Ellis said.

The purpose of Wednesday's forum was for the planning council to get more details on the aforementioned priorities before making its final recommendations.

"The main ideas of 'easy to get to, cleaner and active' — those were consistent across the city," said Ellis.

The question now becomes does "better access" mean getting to the river via biking, walking or car? What kind of litter and where — in the river or along its banks?

Depending on responses, recommendations could include microloans to support riverfront concessions owned by neighbors, filling in gaps along the North Branch's bike trail, and finding resources for boat patrols that could skim trash from the river.

Great Rivers Chicago launched in March 2015, funded by $350,000 in grants from the Joyce Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust and ArcelorMittal.

According to Ellis, the final "vision document" will be released this summer.

The ultimate goal of the Great Rivers project is to create a connection between Chicagoans and the city's rivers similar to the affection most residents have for the lakefront.

"The rivers are absent from our civic life," Ellis said. "We want the rivers to welcome people in — and when you get there, it won't stink and be covered in litter."

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