On Wednesday, July 25, MPC is hosting our 2012 Annual Luncheon: The Cities That Work, featuring an insightful and provocative dialogue between the mayors of Chicago, Gary and Milwaukee. Follow our blog over the next few weeks as we feature posts from guest authors and members of our staff on issues that unite the tri-state region.
For more details or to purchase tables or individual tickets for the July 25 event, visit MPC's web calendar.
The most obvious common thread between Chicago, Milwaukee, and Gary is, of course, the lake. Lake Michigan is the original reason these cities exist, and for many of these cities’ residents and businesses, proximity to such an attractive natural resource is the appeal of locating here. While these cities already make use of their scenic lake vistas, work is underway to take even better advantage of the recreation opportunities the lake has to offer and connect people even more directly to this asset.
Enter the Lake Michigan Water Trail, a multi-state effort to designate an official recreation trail for non-motorized watercraft with official beach access points along the more than 1,600 miles of Lake Michigan shore. Last summer, as part of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, a 75-mile segment of the Trail, from downtown Chicago through Indiana to New Buffalo, Mich., was the first part to be declared a National Recreation Trail. Official designation of water trails ensures legal access points to the water and increases publicity and awareness, providing more recreation choices for local residents and tourists.
The Indiana segment is a key component of the Marquette Plan, a regional plan to increase Northwest Indiana’s public lakefront access to 75 percent of the shoreline between the Illinois border and Portage using greenways and waterways; and the 2007 recipient of MPC’s Burnham Award. Indiana's portion of the trail is also a significant part of the Northwest Indiana Regional Greenways and Blueways Plan, to protect and improve land and water corridors in Northwest Indiana, developed by the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission and Openlands.
Work on the Illinois segment has been by Openlands, and is included in planning for the Illinois Coastal Management Program, the Millennium Reserve, and the Northerly Island restoration, the latter of which is the site of the start of the national trail. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is in the process of inventorying and improving access to 450 miles along their 523 miles of Lake Michigan coast.
By increasing access to public recreation sites—a main objective of the Water Trail—the entire megaregion will realize an array of benefits, including public health improvements, greater public awareness of environmental issues, an uptick in tourism and related economic benefits, and livability improvements that could improve adjacent property values and attract new employers and residents.
Ensuring that the Water Trail is well-connected to greenways and bike trails, both along lakefronts and in adjacent municipalities, will be critical to extending health, environmental, and economic benefits to neighboring communities. Providing people with easy access to Milwaukee’s bluffs and beer, Chicago’s beaches and entertainment, and Gary’s dunes and recreation will strengthen this region and its ties to these natural assets.
Abby Crisostomo joined MPC as a research assistant in spring 2011 and was hired as an associate for the water resources project a year later. She focuses primarily on environmental planning with an emphasis on water resources policy, planning and management.