The Bloomingdale, which is being
built on the old rail embankment of the
same name, will stretch across four eco-
nomically and culturally diverse neigh-
borhoods in Chicago’s Northwest Side,
providing a gorgeous space for strolling,
running, biking and relaxing. Meanwhile,
in the city’s near south suburbs, the
Cal-Sag Trail—a 26-mile multiuse path
that will run almost entirely along the
banks of the Cal-Sag (short for Calumet-
Saganashkee) Channel and the Calumet
River—is partly completed and should be
finished by 2018.
Both greenways are great examples
of how grassroots advocacy, efforts by
municipalities and national nonprofits,
and federal funding can combine to cre-
ate projects with big economic, environ-
mental and health benefits.
High Hopes for the Bloomingdale
White leads me up the embankment at a
trailhead in Julia de Burgos Park, named
after the late Puerto Rican nationalist and
feminist poet who is a hero to many resi-
dents of Humboldt Park, the largely Latino
community to the south. The railroad right-
of-way runs about 16 feet above street level.
It averages only about 30 feet wide, but it
ThoMAS’ PhoToGrAPhiC SerViCeS
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