Water Taxi From Lincoln to Logan Square? Help Shape Chicago River's Future

IRVING PARK — The Chicago River has a murky past, and now residents are being asked to help define a clearer future for the city's "other" waterfront.

Want more restaurants along the North Branch? Could water taxis connect Lincoln Square to Logan Square? Are there opportunities for new parks or more nature trails? Now's the time to speak up.

Great Rivers Chicago — a partnership between the City of Chicago, Metropolitan Planning Council, Friends of the Chicago River and others — is in the process of developing a long-term, coordinated vision for the Chicago River as well as the Calumet and Des Plaines rivers.

The project's organizers are kicking off a series of open houses, 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday at Horner Park. Members of the community are invited to share their ideas on everything from water-quality management to potential recreational usages.

An RSVP is requested so the meeting's planners can determine staffing and material needs.

Patty Wetli discusses some ideas about the future of the river:

More than 170,000 people live with a quarter mile of one of the city's rivers, but these waterways have been underappreciated and underused, river advocates say.

“I love every one of Chicago’s 28 miles of lakefront,” Josh Ellis, director at the planning council and the lead for Great Rivers Chicago, said at the program's launch in March. “But we have more than 100 miles of riverfront. Our rivers link our economy, environment and communities, and they have incredible potential for so much more."

In addition to Thursday's open house, three more have been scheduled:

• Oct. 8, far South Side, 6:30-8 p.m., Rowan Park fieldhouse, 11546. S. Avenue L

• Oct. 28, near South Side, 6:30-8 p.m., Ping Tom Park fieldhouse, 1700 S. Wentworth Ave.

• Nov. 4, near North Side, 6:30-8 p.m., REI Community Room, 1446 N. Halsted St.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: