The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by SandyGeorgia 21:30, 16 June 2009 [1].


BP Pedestrian Bridge[edit]

Nominator(s): TonyTheTiger (talk · contribs), Torsodog (talk · contribs), Ruhrfisch (talk · contribs)

I am nominating this for featured article because I have finally gotten a good copy editor (Ruhrfisch (talk · contribs)) involved in the article. He has cleaned up the text, gotten the images winnowed down to a useful quantity, provided us with a great template map of the entire park and helped us clean up the references. I think it is really headed in the right direction.TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 23:33, 6 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. He has already agreed to close the PR when I nominated this, so the PR will close momentarily.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 23:35, 6 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  1. Do people actually call it "the BP Bridge", or has it acquired a nickname? Big civic projects have a habit of being renamed by the public, despite their official name, and just looking at this one suggests a whole bunch of nicknames.
    • Even some of the references use this name. It does not have any other nicknames like the Silver Snake or something if that is where you are going.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 20:17, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Does the bridge have a problem with suicides? That low-barrier/freeway combination looks to have all the hallmarks of a suicide bridge.
    • I have not heard of any such stories. The park (including this bridge) is closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, which are probably suicide hours.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 20:17, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
      • I googled BP Bridge and Suicide and did not find anything on this either, Ruhrfisch ><>°° 00:29, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Was it assembled in situ, or built offsite and shipped to its present location?
    • In place. The Gilfoyle book has pictures of the progress.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 20:19, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
      • I added "on site" to the sentence CMF used 57,000 square feet (5,300 m2) of materials, and built special heated enclosures so that work could continue throughout the winter on site. Is this (hopefully) clearer? Ruhrfisch ><>°° 00:29, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  4. It could do with some critical comments in the "Aesthetics" section. At the moment, I see lots of people saying how great it is, but no design – let alone one this modern – is uncritically received; there must be at least some prominent Chicago and/or architectural figures who think it's an eyesore.
    • I am not as familiar with the refs on this as Tony is, but I did not see much negative criticism. There was a news story where some ordinary Chicagoans said it looked like a UFO or spaceship or some other things, but I am having trouble fidning that now. Thanks, Ruhrfisch ><>°° 04:33, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  5. The whole "has to close during winter" thing could do with some expansion. Firstly, if it's documented, just how the decision to build something that can't operate in the cold got approved by people who were presumably aware of Illinois weather; secondly, if there are any plans to remedy this (replacing the flooring? roofing?).
    • There is no known plans to alter the bridge, AFAIK. Yes they did not notice the winter care problem until it fell into their laps. This was Gehry's first bridge. Like the article says they noticed it after the bridge was built. They have since built the Nichols Bridgeway, which is heated.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 20:23, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  6. What happens when the bridge is closed? Does the park have to shut down as well, or are the alternative routes sufficient?
  7. Has it had any impact on the surrounding area? As those who've followed my bridge-and-rail series will know, one of my pet themes is just how big an impact bridges and stations have on their surrounding area; has it lead to increased people visiting the area and a knock-on effect on businesses near the park?
    • The whole park was newly opened when the bridge opened. The park is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. It is hard to attribute this to the bridge in isolation since the park has more than a dozen features.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 20:28, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
      • This is a repsonse to points 6 and 7 really. Even when the bridge is closed there are many other ways to enter the park and the more populous areas are across the other three streets (not Columbus Drive) - part of the original purpose of the bridge was to increase ease of access to the Lakefront and points east across Columbus from the rest of the Loop. Ruhrfisch ><>°° 04:22, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Is "a continuous five percent slope" accurate? That would mean one end is almost 50 feet higher than the other. Certainly possible, if it exits onto a hill, but it doesn't seem all that likely, and "on the level" photos like File:Bpbridgepole-2.jpg don't show any obvious slope.
    • I am not an expert on this subject, and am not sure I understand your point.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 20:29, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
      • Might not have worded it very clearly – what I mean is, "continuous 5% slope" to me sounds like it slopes 5% uphill/downhill the whole way (i.e., for every 100 feet horizontally it rises 5 feet vertically) – but in the photo it doesn't look like it's sloping much at all. A very minor point but just wondered if it was accurate. – iridescent 20:40, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
        • I think I understand what your concern is here. The bridge slopes up, flattens out, then slopes down as you walk from one end to the other. --TorsodogTalk 21:16, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
          • As I understand it there are some accessibility guidelines that at no point should the slope exceed 5%. Thus, I think the bridge has a maximum 5% slope. Let us know if you think the text needs further clarification.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 21:31, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
            • Thanks - I have tweaked the continuous slope sentences to try make them clearer - diff. Ruhrfisch ><>°° 03:24, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  9. This one will probably get me shouted at by Tony (the other one) and Sandy as I'm sure it breaches some policy or other, but I think it could do with some transport information (nearest station, nearby landmarks). I'm fairly familiar with 1990s Chicago (that is to say, before this was built), yet I just had to look on Google Earth to figure out "ah, that's the thing they were building next to Randolph Street Station". I'm not talking about "a block south on Wabash and two blocks east on Monroe" type directions, but just something like "to the northeast of the Art Institute of Chicago".
    • All of that is in the more general article about the park. I am not so sure how much of that should be repeated in the articles for each feature.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 20:31, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
      • Fair enough, although I still think it ought to at least say something like "in the north of Grant Park". I imagine a lot of people reading this particular article will be people using Wikipedia to plan vacations, to whom this kind of information is useful. I always say that WP:USEFUL is a stupid guideline; the whole point of Wikipedia ought to be to be as useful to our readers as we can. As I say, though, your article, and certainly not something I'd oppose over. – iridescent 20:45, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
        • You are a bridge guy and I am not. I personally don't think people would plan a trip just to visit the bridge. I think people using WP to plan a vacation would be taking in the whole park. Even in Chicago, no one would say go to the north end of Grant Park. Once, we say it is in Millennium Park, that is sufficient. Millennium Park is about as famous as it gets in Chicago. It is the second most popular tourist attraction in the city. More than the Sears Tower, etc. I would add anything you request, but am not so sure anything further is really relevant here.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 21:38, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
          • You know Chicago far better than me; like I say, my knowledge of it is all 10+ years out of date. Also, I know it from the perspective of someone living in IN, so my view is probably skewed by a "the nearer it is to Randolph Street Station the more likely I am to know it" bias. If you and Ruhrfisch both think it's not necessary I certainly defer to you in this case. – iridescent 22:03, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
            • I have not seen the bridge in person (alas) and though I love Chicago I have not been there in several years, so my knowledge is also out of date. That said, the article does describe Millennium Park as being in the northwest corner of Grant Park and west of Columbus Drive in the first paragraph of the "Preliminary plans" section, and the wikilinked map at the bottom does show the surrounding streets. I would be OK with adding something like "The new park is also north of Monroe Street and the Art Institute, east of Michigan Avenue, and south of Randolph Street." at the end of that paragraph. Would that be better? Ruhrfisch ><>°° 03:44, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Think that's all of them. As I say, none of them are outright problems, just things that I think ought potentially to be there. – iridescent 20:11, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
A couple questions though. First, the following notes are only cited once:
56 ^ Jencks, p. 257
57 ^ Waters, p. 161
58 ^ Feuerstein, p. 131
...yet they are singled out as references. They provide some context and are interesting in my opinion, though listing them in a reference section seems slightly misleading to me since they don't mention this bridge. May I suggest moving them into the notes section for that reason. DVD 04:21, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I have moved the single-use refs.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 05:27, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Second, they are linked to google books with search words highlighted. Would it be better to link to the pages in google books without the search words? DVD 04:21, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I would have to ask for technical assistance on unhighlighting because I surely can not manipulate the URL myself.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 04:52, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, I unhighlighted them. DVD 04:58, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. What did you have to do?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 05:20, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Just trimmed them back to the page number, where it says for instance pg=PA250. The main clue is after that the search words are listed with pluses between them, so you just delete that part back to the page number. Not easy to explain but pretty easy to do, just take a look at the last edit I made to the article. DVD 05:35, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Dabomb87 (talk · contribs) Looking good...

  • changed
  • removed "as it is"
  • changed
  • changed
  • changed
  • nice edit. changed
  • There is a lot of date format inconsistency in the references in general. When I get a chance, I will format all dates to Month 00, 0000 and remove the links. --TorsodogTalk 14:56, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • LOL... I wish I would have known there was an easier way. I just got 3/4 of the way through the page doing it all manually before I realized you had done it already with a script! Either way, thanks for the help. --TorsodogTalk 16:12, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thanks for catching this. I changed the sentences to ... the city charged $10 for lawn seating at an August 31, 2005 Tori Amos concert, leading to protests.[46][47] On the day of the concert, officials closed the bridge—which is generally open to the public—until 7 a.m. the next day.[48] and cut out the parts not supported by the source. Is this better? Ruhrfisch ><>°° 02:35, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Well, it is remotely possible that the bridge closing had nothing to do with the Amos concert. The sources don't really give us enough to work with. The only one that mentions the bridge at all is the letter to the editor. I think David Cane makes a good point about the last two paragraphs in that section. The details don't help readers understand the bridge any better. We wouldn't be losing much if we just deleted them. Zagalejo^^^ 04:30, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Please see my comment on the bridge closure for private events below (I am definitely in favor of keeping those in). I am on the fence about including the Tori Amos concert closure with the current refs. I think it definitely belongs in an article about the park itself and about the Pritzker Pavilion, but am not sure if it belongs here. I will defer to Tony and Torsodog on keeping this in or not. If it were deleted, the text could read something like In addition to weather-related closures in the winter, the bridge has had controversial event-related closures in the summer. These closures have been part of larger park concerns. In both 2005 and 2006, the bridge and almost all of Millennium Park was closed for a day ... Thanks, Ruhrfisch ><>°° 20:08, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Image niggles as follows:

That is it. Images are appropriately licensed. Jappalang (talk) 07:51, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.