Skate Park & Performance Space Proposed for Grassy Field at South End of Grant Park

Birds-eye view of proposed skate park and public area (via DNAinfo Chicago)

DNAinfo has a great post (with renderings) outlining a proposal to reshape an empty grassy field at the south end of Grant Park (approximately Roosevelt and Prairie):

Early renderings for the new skate park proposed on a 3-acre plot in Grant Park depict a Seussical combination of public plaza space and classic skate park features. 

DNAinfo.com Chicago has obtained images of what Grant Park Conservancy President Bob O'Neill calls "very preliminary designs" of the skate park set to be built between Michigan Avenue, Roosevelt Road and Columbus Drive next year.

There are some other interesting renderings here.  The performance space looks nice:

Performance space (via DNAinfo Chicago)

In other interesting news reported on by DNAinfo, the idea of a "tree-lined" protected bike lane on Roosevelt between State and Columbus has been discussed:

The Chicago Department of Transportation is considering building a two-way bike lane on Roosevelt Road that would be protected not by plastic poles or parking spaces, but a line of trees. 

Construction of a skate park in Grant Park could coincide with construction to build a bike lane that would connect the Roosevelt Road CTA station to Soldier Field, Museum Campus and Northerly Island, said Bob O'Neill, head of the nonprofit Grant Park Conservancy.

While this sounds interesting, it also sounds like a nightmare for an already busy street that cuts through the Sloop.  As always, the devil is in the details.  It sounds like this is in the early conceptual stages, so before anyone gets bent out of shape, let's see what the concept looks like (if it even happens).

(Hat tip: TT!)