CHICAGO — Parking will be reduced along Bloomingdale Avenue across several neighborhoods through 2014 as construction begins for the Bloomingdale Trail on Monday, officials said Thursday.
Motorists will be allowed to drive on Bloomingdale Avenue, but parking will not be allowed from the planned trail's eastern border at Ashland Avenue to its western border at Ridgeway Avenue, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
The trail, which has been years in the making, will run along the former train tracks on elevated Bloomingdale Avenue as a "linear park." The peripheral entrances and parks to the trail encompass the broader "The 606" project.
Groundbreaking kicked off in August for the project, which will run through the Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Humboldt Park neighborhoods.
A cul-de-sac in the 1700 block of North Ridgeway Avenue will be closed and serve as a staging area for construction crews starting Thursday, officials said. Starting Monday, "no parking" signs will line Bloomingdale Avenue.
Parking will not be allowed until the opening of the park, expected by the end of 2014. CDOT warns that cars parked along Bloomingdale Avenue will be ticketed and towed.
The first phase of work will focus on Damen, Western and California avenues and Whipple Street and involve the removal of paint, including murals, from viaducts and embankment walls to "assess the structural integrity of the concrete."
Embankment walls along Bloomingdale Avenue will be tented due to removal of lead-based paint.
Also restricted during construction will be Dog Friendly Areas at Walsh and Churchill parks, the eastern end and Whipple Street entrance to Jule de Burgos Park. The Albany entrance and playground will remain open, a statement said.
The cost of the trail has been estimated at $91 million, and the city said it was being paid for with a mix of public and private funds.
