Amid residents' complaints about intrusive festivals in Douglass Park, another concern has emerged: motor vehicles blocking the area's protected bike lanes.

Since 2015, South Siders living near Douglass Park have complained to city of Chicago officials about the impact of large festivals, such as Riot Fest, that they say disrupt their community.

In the last several years, the number of large festivals inhabiting Douglass Park has grown to three, and now includes the Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash and Heatwave music festivals.

The deluge of fests has prompted residents, organized under the auspices of Únete La Villita, to create a formal petition to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Park District, asking that they "remove the mega festivals from Douglass Park and put them in a location that does not disturb" the community.

The on-line petition names a number of problems caused by the festivals, such that the park "is fenced off for a minimum of 46 days of summer; youth and adult sports leagues have been displaced . . . the grass is destroyed".

Not singled out by the petition: blockage of the area's protected bike lanes.

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