CHICAGO | General Developments

[J_M_Tungsten]

"We don't want people to have fun or enjoy museums or life"- Friends of the Park

[the urban politician]

^ Lol

FOTP cares about parking. That's it.

If Lollapalooza came with their own parking lot, they wouldn't be complaining

[i_am_hydrogen]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Lol

FOTP cares about parking. That's it.

If Lollapalooza came with their own parking lot, they wouldn't be complaining

The arrogance and sense of entitlement that FOTP displays never ceases to amaze me. They think they can dictate every issue that involves the parks.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

Lollapalooza 2017: What is the City of Chicago Getting?
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/...hicago-getting

“We need to have a conversation again about whether a giant festival like Lollapalooza is an appropriate use for a public park, given the fact that so many residents have moved to the Loop area and their public space is uninhabitable perhaps for weeks,” said Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry, who says her group is preparing a guide to present to public officials on how to regulate the use of public parks for concerts.

Parks are meant for festivals. This group is the absolute worst.

[the urban politician]

I propose a name change: Friends of the Parks becomes....

Buttholes of America

You like? I find it fitting, Old Boy...

[Vlajos]

What kind of idiot would give a dime to FOTPLs?

[i_am_hydrogen]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Parks are meant for festivals. This group is the absolute worst.

This isn't the Lucas Museum. They have zero chance of preventing Lollapalooza. Rahm would never allow that. It's too much of a cash cow for the city.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

This isn't the Lucas Museum. They have zero chance of preventing Lollapalooza. Rahm would never allow that. It's too much of a cash cow for the city.

I wish we could sue this idiot group out of existence. They should have to cover all the tax revenue the city lost from the museum they stopped to save a parking lot.

[marothisu]

What is FOTPLs angle here? That the park is meant for the public and that Lolla costs money? That it ruins some grass that Lolla actually gives money to the city now to repair? Not sure how they would argue this lawfully like they did with Lucas

Regardless, they're proving how ridiculous they are with this

[Mr Downtown]

There's a lot of unhappiness among South Loop residents about the congestion and disruption Lolla brings each summer. Michigan and State are gridlocked for the whole week, South Side buses can't get through, sirens are pretty much nonstop on State, much of Grant Park is fenced off and inaccessible—some parts for several months, until the turf is replaced. Condo buildings have to put up security fencing and pay for extra guards and cleanup.

I don't mind Lolla personally, but it's a fair question whether such an enormous festival is compatible with a park that's also intended to serve local residents.

[marothisu]

So basically, a bunch of people who live downtown or right next to it are complaining about stuff like traffic congestion. No sympathy. They also live near Soldier Field which has tens of thousands of people come for football games and large concerts.

People are so inconsistent. Downtown Chicago is congested most of the year. If they don't like it, they shouldn't live in one of the densest and busiest parts of the entire country. There are plenty of other nice ave quiet parts of the city they can go. People who choose to live downtown and complain about "disruption" like a lot of traffic are the absolute worst.

[k1052]

I wondered if there was a way for FOTP to become even more reviled. Seems there is.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by marothisu

So basically, a bunch of people who live downtown or right next to it are complaining about stuff like traffic congestion. No sympathy. They also live near Soldier Field which has tens of thousands of people come for football games and large concerts.

People are so inconsistent. Downtown Chicago is congested most of the year. If they don't like it, they shouldn't live in one of the densest and busiest parts of the entire country. There are plenty of other nice ave quiet parts of the city they can go. People who choose to live downtown and complain about "disruption" like a lot of traffic are the absolute worst.

Precisely. I think Chicago is about 50 years behind the curve on this. In New York, massive amounts of tourism and congestion are a fact of life, and when you live in the midst of it you must accept it.

For large amounts of well-to-do people to live in such an environment is a relatively more recent phenomenon here, and perhaps there are growing pains.

But FotP just doesn't speak with a broad enough voice. They too often represent a heavily suburban, culturally conservative mindset (hence they are fine with Soldier Field parking lots used for tailgating--something they can relate to--but Lolla seems alien to them).

[Mr Downtown]

^From what I know of FotP membership, they're very little suburbanites. But they are mostly lakefront residents, to be sure.

Their lodestar principle is for citizens to have some voice in how Chicago parks and forest preserves are run. Secondarily, they would mostly say that parks should be used as parks, not as private building sites or private festival grounds.

For many years they have opposed that Soldier Field parking lot, and have pointed out that it was the city that reneged on its promise to remove the Soldier Field lot.

Like any small nonprofit advocacy group, they have to pick their battles, and they've also been working to be more representative of Chicago's minority communities, communities that may have different priorities—like being able to park when they take the family to the beach. So they backed away from a fight over the new 31st Street parking area, and famously backed down from opposing the Obama Center.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Grant Park is "Chicago's Front Lawn" it's not "intended for local residents"... Also, when grant Park was created there basically were no "local residents" because the loop was almost completely commercial and industrial...

Here's a novel idea: don't move next to the second largest business district in the country if you don't want to be inconvenienced by major events a few times a year...

[HowardL]

Not quite the same thing but a close enough anecdotal perspective. I live on Lake Shore at Addison. Lincoln Park and Belmont Harbor are my front yard. Lake Michigan is my water feature.

I absolutely love that so many people use "my" front yard as if it were their own. I love that the Marathon, Bike the Drive, the Pride Parade and Cubs Games all punctuate the typical, day-to-day, hum-drum rhythm of life with something different.

It's a mindset thing. When I get off the L at Addison and step into the madness of a Cubs game letting out, cool. I'm not not annoyed; I'm happy that I live close to something that so many people from outside the neighborhood like to come to and be part of.

[Stained]

I live in the Loop and have no problem with Lolla or any other big event. I am not really inconvenienced at all. I enjoy seeing the city crowded and bustling.
With all of the negative perceptions going around and the city's financial troubles, it makes me happy to see people here from all over spending money and enjoying themselves. Some people just like to complain about things because they forget that they are not the most important ones in the world.

[JK47]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

For many years they have opposed that Soldier Field parking lot, and have pointed out that it was the city that reneged on its promise to remove the Soldier Field lot.

What a weak argument. The city found a beneficial way of converting the parking lot into parkland and the Friends of the Parking Lot helped blow it up.

Can't really respect people who can't accept the consequences of their action. They helped preserve the parking lot as a parking lot. They earned their moniker.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by JK47

What a weak argument. The city found a beneficial way of converting the parking lot into parkland and the Friends of the Parking Lot helped blow it up.

Can't really respect people who can't accept the consequences of their action. They helped preserve the parking lot as a parking lot. They earned their moniker.

Yep, I would repect them if they actually raised money to build and maintain parks rather than be stupid.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Grant Park is "Chicago's Front Lawn" it's not "intended for local residents"...

Then why did Bob O'Neill (head of both Grant Park Advisory Council and Grant Park Conservancy) testify before Plan Commission that the giveaway of LaSalle Park to the British School was perfectly fine, because South Loop residents could use Grant Park?

Would you say the same thing of Central Park? That it's perfectly fine for a private company to fence it off for a week, close the transverse drives, and tell everyone on the Upper East and West Sides that they should just stay indoors with the windows closed, because the park was already there when they moved in?