CHICAGO | General Developments

[msu2001la]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

also the whole "bioswale"/permeable alley initative seems to have completely petered out...that should have just as big of a commitment but its mostly lip service.

I don't know about the green alley program, but CDOT is definitely pushing sustainable/green infrastructure in all of their current streetscape projects where existing soils allow.

Here's six current/recent street projects that involve infiltration planters, permeable pavement and/or bioswales:
Lawrence Ave between Clark and Western
Argyle between Broadway and Sheridan Road
Cottage Grove between 77th and 83rd
Leland between Clark street and the Lakefront
State street between 35th and 55th
Oak Park Avenue between Irving Park Road and Forest Preserve Drive

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

i mean, i also understand that the quarries didnt empty out as quickly as projected but still....by the time you get it built and online you've missed the moving target (which is not to say flooding is going away, but even with the additional capacity id be shocked if this can accomodate some of the storms we've had in recent years). also the whole "bioswale"/permeable alley initative seems to have completely petered out...that should have just as big of a commitment but its mostly lip service.

Well, the equally big change is in the requirements for on-site detention.

Setting aside feel-good initiatives for bioswales and green alleys, all new developments in Chicago on sites of 15,000SF or larger, or with 7500SF of impervious surface, must comply with the Stormwater Ordinance that puts limits on how quickly water can flow out of a site. This does little to mitigate the impacts of existing buildings and surfaces, but definitely puts a big brake on the increase of stormwater. (On the negative side, it may lead to more open retention ponds for large developments outside of the densest neighborhoods. Hello, goose poop.)

That's only the city, though - Chicago is the most fragmented metro area in the US, and getting all those tiny little suburbs to enact similar standards is a serious challenge.

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

as someone who has vacationed on mackinac island every summer of my life for the past 4 decades, and crossed the mackinac bridge countless times, i've never once witnessed that phenomenon of separate water in the two lakes.

It's a bit to the west of the bridge itself, I think I usually see it either before getting on the bridge or soon after. It could just be a depth change making it look darker.

[Chi-Sky21]

I know Loyola University Lakeshore campus has done a lot of work recently in regards to stormwater. Kind of interesting.

http://www.luc.edu/sustainability/in...iesstormwater/

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

It's a bit to the west of the bridge itself, I think I usually see it either before getting on the bridge or soon after. It could just be a depth change making it look darker.

you're undoubtedly seeing an abrupt depth change causing the water to look different, as in the picture below.


source: http://brech.com/np/edifice/index.html

the actual waters in the two halves of lake huron-michigan are identical and show no differentiation from each other as one often see when rivers of two different water types flow into each other and remain separate for miles downstream.

[wierdaaron]

...k but my point about water being neat still stands

[BVictor1]

Strand Hotel renovation/facade restoration
6300 Block of S. Cottage Grove
06/18/15

[Jim in Chicago]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

chicago's unrelenting flatness: a dream for cyclists and a nightmare for civil engineers for over 200 years.

This could just as well describe the Netherlands, and yet they've figured it out.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Jim in Chicago

This could just as well describe the Netherlands, and yet they've figured it out.

as are we.

and much like the netherland's delta works (1958-1997), massive and exorbitantly expensive infrastructure projects like TARP are built on the time scale of generations. this kinda stuff doesn't happen overnight.

[brian_b]

Did anyone make it down to the Ickes Homes redevelopment meeting and have any more information than what dnainfo is reporting?

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150...ter-demolition

It would be nice to have more photos of the posters they used.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

as are we.

and much like the netherland's delta works (1958-1997), massive and exorbitantly expensive infrastructure projects like TARP are built on the time scale of generations. this kinda stuff doesn't happen overnight.

Yup. Big Dig: 25 years (almost a decade behind schedule), $14+ billion dollars (nearly 200% cost overrun), and, based on my understanding, for a project not as large in scope.

Calls for action on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel (only two miles?) in Seattle began in the early aughts. The site-specific boring machine, Bertha, which began its work in July 2013 and was supposed to finish by September 2014, has been stalled since December 2013. Work isn't supposed to be completed until 2017, though I'm not sure if that time frame includes recent problems. Again, my understanding is that the scope of this project is neither as large as the Big Dig nor Deep Tunnel.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

as are we.

and much like the netherland's delta works (1958-1997), massive and exorbitantly expensive infrastructure projects like TARP are built on the time scale of generations. this kinda stuff doesn't happen overnight.

Yes, some feel the 'grass is always greener...'
London needs to spend billions doing something similar to Chicago
good summary video of the issue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfT1TSycNu4

[lu9]

I found this pair of new homes interesting. I particularly like what was used along the sides.

(excuse the poor quality iphone shot)

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by brian_b

Did anyone make it down to the Ickes Homes redevelopment meeting and have any more information than what dnainfo is reporting?

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150...ter-demolition

It would be nice to have more photos of the posters they used.

I wish I had. I knew that Dowell was planning on having a town hall, but my energy was just gone. It seems foolish to build less units than were originally there, especially now that there's a green line stop at Cermak.

[urbanpln]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

It seems foolish to build less units than were originally there, especially now that there's a green line stop at Cermak.

The new proposed plan will be fairly dense. Six to seven acres were taken out of the site to build Jones College Prep an athletic field, and there is more vacant land on the east side of State Street that is prime for more mixed use development.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

It seems foolish to build less units than were originally there, especially now that there's a green line stop at Cermak.

Agreed. Scrap the townhouses and walk ups, just go full mid rise. With the amount of land available I see no reason they couldn't comfortably fit 1,500 units by only constructing midrise structures.

Atrium Village is planning 1,500 units on 7.4 acres
River South is planning 2,700 units, and park space, on 5.8 acres

and yet, CHA thinks 867 units on 12 acres is acceptable.

[wierdaaron]

Christ on a bike, McCaffery and Antunovich? So much potential for that spot to be a gateway to a new McMotor Row district, but I can't think of a combination of names that would give me less hope. Sounds like a good amount of retail though.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by urbanpln

The new proposed plan will be fairly dense. Six to seven acres were taken out of the site to build Jones College Prep an athletic field, and there is more vacant land on the east side of State Street that is prime for more mixed use development.

So... what stops them from going vertical? I'm guessing the athletic field is on the ground and not in the sky

[Mr Downtown]

You're asking what makes CHA unenthusiastic about highrises?

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

You're asking what makes CHA unenthusiastic about highrises?

No one said wrap them in chain link fencing.