As any parent of toddlers will tell you, it’s much harder to clean up a mess than it is to make one. Crayoned walls and torn screens happen in a matter of seconds; repairing the damage can take hours. The same dynamic applies to the natural environment. When one generation leaves a mess, their descendants can spend millions just to restore the status quo.
That’s precisely what’s happening on the south edge of the Menomonee Valley today. The Burnham Canal, which runs from 7th to 15th streets just north of Bruce Street, is undergoing a complete restoration, and it’s high time.
