[BCNnet] 9/13 Chicago Park District north lakefront planning meeting

[birdperson at juno.com]

Bird People,

Over the past few months, the Chicago Park District (CPD) has been revisiting its Lincoln Park Framework Plan for the north lakefront.  The district has held two planning meetings and circulated a survey of focus group questions, which many of you completed (thanks!).   

The next Park District north lakefront planning meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, September 13, at 6:30 p.m. at Margate Fieldhouse, 4921 N. Marine Drive (free parking is available in the lot behind the building).  This will be an open meeting in contrast to earlier meetings which were by invitation only.  Please join us on September 13 and give the district your feedback on the north lakefront parks, especially the natural areas you love to bird, botanize, and restore.  For those who submitted surveys, it is important to reinforce your comments in person at a public meeting; this can be more important than the feedback the CPD receives on paper.  

Some of the great short- and long-term recommendations many of you made for the natural areas are 1) year-round or three-season bathrooms, 2) more and better signage (interpretive signs, "no dog" signs, etc.), 3) better CPD garbage removal, and 3) stronger enforcement of the dog ordinance.  These are just a few of the important issues and improvements that will be discussed next Tuesday.

I look forward to seeing many of you there.  Please email me privately if you have any questions about the 9/13 meeting or the planning process.  

/Leslie Borns

Site Steward, Montrose Dune Habitat