During my years at Metra, the Bloomingdale Line was an old unused rail line extending east from Tower A-5, or Pacific Junction on the old Milwaukee Road, where the West Line split off from the North Line (today they are Metra’s Milwaukee West Line through Galewood and Elmwood Park to Elgin, and the Milwaukee North Line through Glenview and Deerfield to Fox Lake). The old Bloomingdale Line is elevated, and sometimes was a handy place for our track maintenance guys to park their work trains to clear the main line tracks during rush hours.
Now the lowly Bloomingdale Line has been transformed into the beautiful 606 Trail, publicized widely in recent weeks. Transformed from a grungy, crumbling elevated rail line, the 606 is now beautifully paved for walking, running, cycling or simply hanging out. The path itself is a strip of concrete about 10 feet wide with additional rubberized walking/running strips on each side. The trail right-of-way also has attractive landscaping, complete with a sprinkler system, plus benches, decorative lights and water fountains — a pleasant place to simply hang out. It’s nice to see what can be accomplished when someone is handy with money.
Of course our Monday-Wednesday-Friday morning bike group had to see what this new trail was all about. Finding a good route from Oak Park to the 606 took a couple of tries, but we have now settled on a more bike-friendly route via Augusta, east to Kostner Avenue in the city, and then north, across North Avenue to Cortland, where we turn east to pick up the trail at Ridgeway Avenue, its western terminus.
Even though the entire 606 Trail is less than three miles long, it’s a pleasure to ride. And to my pleasant surprise it isn’t completely flat. Some of the old railroad fill has been excavated between the concrete walls, creating several gentle ups and downs along the route. The only critique I’ve heard is that the vegetation beside the trail is overgrowing the walking/running side strips, squeezing walkers and runners onto the concrete, creating more possibilities for traffic congestion. And I’m told that weekends are busy on the 606, so our weekday mornings are probably the best times to ride.
Exiting the trail at its eastern end near Ashland Avenue, we then turn onto Elston and Milwaukee Avenues, pedaling down to the Fulton Market district for our mandatory breakfast stop before returning to Oak Park. Total round trip is a little over 20 miles. Â
We have also noticed lots of residential remodeling and construction all along the trail, so the 606 has become a catalyst for neighborhood improvement. On a recent walk along a portion of the trail, my wife and I talked to a young lady walking her corgi who lived in an adjacent townhouse facing the 606. She and her husband bought their house about a year ago, but since the trail opened she said an identical townhouse sold for $30,000 more. Increasing property values, and they love the location.
So if you ride, run or walk, give the 606 a try.