A community controversy was set to be addressed at a public meeting in the Lincoln Park Cultural Center on Tuesday, Jan. 29, just as this issue of Inside was going to press. At issue is the construction of a running track, soccer field and related seating area in Lincoln Park. The area under consideration is north of the North Ave. drive connecting Lake Shore Dr. with LaSalle St., and west of the new Chicago Historical Society Parking facility.
The project is to be funded equally by Chicago Latin School, which is located at North Ave. and Clark St., the Chicago Board of Education and the Park District. Opponents say that Latin School, which has limited athletic field availability, will monopolize the field and effectively foreclose usage by others.
Interviewed in advance of the meeting, Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) indicated that she is listening patiently to community comment. “The issue should be open to community comment. It seems to me,” Daley told Inside, “that the issue is not so much as whether to have the track constructed but whether it should be spotted in this location.“
Community activist Sharon O’Brien agrees with this assessment. “This construction will require giving up open space in the park and uprooting some of the trees there. I have no problem with a running track or a soccer field, but this simply is the wrong place for it. It seems to me that Latin School, by their contribution to this project, is buying the use of public land for their own purposes.”
Daley disagreed. “Certainly the Latin School would have the use of the installation, but they would have to reserve time for the facility and it would be open to other groups, especially Lincoln Park Academy, as well as to the general public.”
Daley is reserving her judgment for public feedback. Only five people appeared at the preliminary meeting that was held in December. Among attendees were representatives of Friends of Lincoln Park and the Lincoln Park Advisory Council. “Both of these groups seemed open-minded about the project,” said Daley.
O’Brien, who refers to the area under discussion as “my front yard,” argues that other sites for this construction should be considered, sites which would create a less dense use of the parklands. In the immediate area of this proposed track are the Zoo and the Farm in the Zoo. O’Brien believes that by adding the track, especially in the event of a citywide track meet or other such event, too many people would be confined to too small a space, overusing park lands that are already in short supply.
Ald. Daley said she continues to welcome comments from the community on this proposal.
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