Officially, the 606 trail on Chicago’s Northwest Side reopens Monday.
But unofficially, it’s already being used.
Despite the city order shutting it down in March, warm weather — and plenty of opportunity — has been too tempting for some.
Several cyclists, runners and stroller-pushers were on the trail Thursday morning. Traffic barriers meant to block people from a trail entrance at California and Bloomingdale venues lay on the pavement. Police tape used for the same purpose had been shorn.
The Lakefront Trail also reopens. When both are officially open, there will be restrictions, including hours of use (6 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and reason for use, namely, just exercise or transit.
Both trails will have “social distance monitors” in place to enforce proper spacing.
The 2.7-mile 606, also known as the Bloomingdale Trail, has been closed since March.
Earlier this week, the city announced that when the Lakefront Trail reopens Monday, hours will be from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., but only for exercise and transit, and with social distancing enforced by monitors along the route.
The city also announced that billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin has donated $4.75 million to repair parts of the lakefront trail that were damaged by storms and high water levels over the winter. The contribution actually was made in April, and work started then on repaving parts of the path while the trail was closed. The money also will go toward additional work to fortify parts of the trail, especially on the South Side, to better protect them in the future.
Griffin had donated $12 million in 2016 to help complete separate bike and walking paths long the 18-mile pathway.
Recent protection efforts along the lakefront also include a project from at 49th Street by the Chicago Department of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps added more than 2,000 tons of rip rap and concrete blocks along the shore starting at 49th, south to 50th Streets. That area had eroded severely over the fall and winter, according to the city. The Lakefront Trail also is being rebuilt in that area; that project will take about three months.
