Riders on the Jackson Park Express bus talk describe commuting inconveniences as they weigh in on the transformation of their neighborhood into an elite tourist destination.
A CTA No. 6 Jackson Park Express bus picks up a passenger on South Stony Island Avenue at East 60th Street, near beside the Obama Presidential Center construction site in Jackson Park, on Nov. 3, 2022. Lane and street closures have lengthened commute times for those traveling past the site on the No. 6 bus.
“It’s an inconvenience to them now, but it won’t be an inconvenience to them tomorrow. When it gets it’s going to be beautiful,” said Monson, 58, a city worker who lives in walking distance of the center’s campus, which is expected to be completed by fall 2025. “It will do nothing but enhance the community around it.”While the area undergoes this metamorphosis, residents are increasingly finding their daily routines upended by preparations for the center.
Mike Medina is a self proclaimed Woodlawn historian who can discuss the history of jazz, historic buildings and the racial history of the area Nov. 19, 2022. Titus said communication with riders could be vastly improved but said he plans to stick with riding the bus line that averaged 4,000 weekday rides last year, according to the CTA. “I’ve just sucked it up and waited for the 6 because it’s most convenient for me to get on that bus, but lately it’s been a little bit more difficult.”
If the center succeeds in adding value to the greater community and spurs a new business district, it would be a return to form for the former prairie that turned into a thriving business district with grand hotels, nightclubs, theaters and restaurants following the World Columbian Exposition of 1893.
Medina, 48, an unofficial neighborhood historian, runs a Twitter channel, McKie’s Disc Jockey Lounge, where he posts old photos of the neighborhood in its musical heyday. The channel is named for a legendary jazz club owned by disc jockey McKie Fitzhugh inside what had been the Strand Hotel at 63rd and Cottage Grove in Woodlawn.
In a written statement, a spokeswoman for the Obama Foundation touted the organization’s public engagement and its commitment to community concerns, such as local hiring, support for small businesses, youth programs and beautification.“We will continue to work closely with the city to mitigate short-term traffic congestion as we work to build a world-class beacon of hope, and the economic catalyst that the South Side has deserved for so long,” the statement read.
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