Final plans for Park 567 at Milwaukee and Leavitt revealed

Community members viewed the final site plan for Park 567 with Jamie Simone from The Trust for Public Land (TPL), after the Bloomingdale Trail public meeting Yates Elementary School, 1839 N. Richmond, on Mar. 8.

Located at Milwaukee and Leavitt site, the new small park will be an access point for the Trail. With groundbreaking planned for summer the completion date is expected to be late Fall 2012.

To fence or not to fence the perimeter of the park presented concerns for many in the discusses about the site in the three meetings about the location. Some say that a fence makes it a dog run while others say that no fence makes it a safety concern regarding children. According to Simone, "This new design works with or without a fence. The previous design did not work with a fence. This is the final site plan and is closer to what is real, though there are still some details to be worked out," explained Simone, Program Director for TPL's Urban Parks Program.

In the plan, boulders are placed in the grassy areas. "Boulders give seating opportunities without sleeping opportunities," commented the Wicker Park Committee's Ed Tamminga, an architect. Mary Tamminga agreed saying that, "The boulders are better than benches." The consensus of the Tammingas and Bucktown Community Organization's Sam Marts, also an architect, was that they liked the plan. Marts added that the boulders brought in the idea that it was a native American ruin.

Simone went on to say that they have not as yet designed the landscaping part of the Park.