Quote:
Originally Posted by 2PRUROCKS!
Some of the functional purposes would be to create a more substantial breakwater that would increase the harbor size and yield more boat slips and revenue. There is currently a tremendous shortage of slips relative to demand and the city is embarking on various plans to expand these. The revenue generated form the increase in slips could be used to help pay for the eco-bridge.
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There is a shortage of boat slips, not a shortage of mooring cans. Monroe harbor is tied for the cheapest rates in the Chicago Harbor system (with Jackson Park outer harbor). Yes, the location is excellent, but there is a significant inconvenience in getting to your boat once you are at the harbor.
Take a look at the multi-year waiting list (you can download it from the Chicago Harbors website). People are waiting for boat slips; they aren't waiting for mooring cans. If you are willing to "settle" for a mooring can, you'll have one in the spring no problem.
The Parks Department is doing the correct type of expansion right now - building a harbor with
boat slips at 31st street and adding
boat slips near Navy Pier.
This project can't pay for itself from harbor revenue. If they doubled the number of mooring cans at Monroe Harbor they'd have to lower rates just to fill them up, and it wouldn't do anything to help the waiting list. This is like advocating building a tower consisting of nothing but studio apartments to solve a problem of not enough apartments for families with children.
Now, what I could see them doing is to build the expanded breakwater and move all the existing mooring cans into the new space and then building boat slips into the newly vacated space close to the shoreline. This might actually work
well if you want to bring in new revenue. But as far as I can tell, this is not their plan.