Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears...
... that, starting today, and continuing for a while, vehicles will not be able to turn north onto Bridge from McCormick.

... that the falconcam for the peregrines at the Main Library is back. Visit: www.epl.org/falconcam to watch the activity of the peregrine falcon nest – four eggs this year. The nest, which can't be seen from inside the library, is in the same location as last year – the column cap just west of the main entrance.

... that the Chicago and Evanston police had a joint roll call last week, for a show of strength and unity along Howard Street, their common border. Speaking of Howard Street, TG hears there is some lane disruption around Paulina, as rehab of the CTA station there has begun.

... that yard-waste pickup has begun and will continue through gardening and lawn-tending season, that is, until Nov. 30. Remember, put your yard waste in paper yard-waste bags (buy them at local stores) or in the City bins (buy them at the Civic Center for $81.56). Don't mix yard waste with your regular garbage. On the other hand, if you just compost the stuff, think how mulch you will save. For information about the yard-waste program, call Streets and San at 847-866-2940.

... that it's No-Leaf-Blower season until after Sept. 30. Report violations – and, if possible, violators – to the Evanston Police Department, 847-)866-5005. A violation can result in a $75 ticket.

... that NEIS, the Nuclear Energy Information Service, which has been in Evanston for about 25 years, is moving to Chicago: 3411 W. Diversey, Ste. 16, Chicago, IL 60647. Dave Kraft, the head of NEIS, is a dedicated watchdog.

... that the cleaning schedule for streets is available on www.cityofevanston.org. Call the Public Works Division of Streets and Sanitation, 847- 866-2940, if you need more.

... that today is Bike to Work day. A kickoff at the Civic Center was planned for this morning and TG planned to be there. The Evanston Bicycle Club was scheduled to (and probably did) present a check to the Department of Parks/Forestry and Recreation to purchase bike racks. Speaking of bikes, there's not going to be a police-sponsored bike auction this year. (Usually the police officers auction off bikes that were stolen and then recovered but remain ownerless.) Is this good news – maybe that fewer bikes were stolen or that owners were found for all recovered bikes?

... that the Brummel Street sewer rehab project
is spilling out onto Ridge. Further north, along Lakeshore Boulevard near Burnham Shores Park, there is also major sewer rehab. The folks in that tony neighborhood get a tent to hide the unsightly
digging.

... that the McCormick construction project seems to be, at least for a time, out of the arboretum and back on the road. Looks like they resodded the places that were torn up west of Bridge in making the underground connections between McCormick and the canal, making it possible for the storm-water runoff to go into the canal. Look for something similar east of Bridge. The City folks say this part of the project is to be completed by June 5.

From our readers:
To TG: You may or may not find this amusing. Last night (4/25) at about 9:15 p.m. on Asbury Avenue between Main and Lee Street, northbound, there was an Evanston Police Department speed monitor – the kind that tells you how fast you are traveling. On top of the monitor was a sign that read "Speed Limit 25 m.p.h." The three or four cars ahead of me barely tipped the 22 m.p.h. range. The funny part was that at the beginning of the block the permanently posted speed-limit sign read "30 m.p.h." I drove around the block to be sure I had not been mistaken. I know Evanston is all about "traffic calming" in recent years, but I thought this was taking things a bit far. Some questions arose: Had people not paid attention to the regularly posted speed limit? Was the speed monitor not needed
because no one was traveling very fast? Did some think that these monitors record their speed? Was the monitor part of a Police Department program or had the City
traffic department ordered it? What yo-yo put up or
left up the false speed-limit sign? People never cease
to amaze me. — Lola Himrod

To TG: How can we go back to revisit Evanston Restaurants without mentioning The Spot Pizza?It used to be delivered to our home with grease covering the paper-
covered pie.We always ordered sausage, and I remember it being cut into manageable squares.Whenever I eat
pizza now, I secretly wish that the chef knew how to
prepare it the way The Spot did! Everyone in my neighborhood recalls that it was "the best pizza on earth."
They also had a restaurant which you could bring your own drinks in to – it was located on Foster Street close to
the El train, from what I remember.
The Traffic Guy Thinks...

... that the Strut for Strays is a cool way to raise money for the Animal Shelter. Lots of dogs brought their families to the Arboretum last Saturday. Some dogs brought their raincoats - and TG saw one bumpersticker that read "Dog is my co-pilot."

... Don't forget the Garden Fair and the Young Evanston Artists (YEA!) festival this weekend. The Garden Fair is on Central Street and YEA! is all over Chicago and Dempster. Now, a great combination of those two ideas is the Ecology Center-RoundTable project: Kids can pick up a packet of summer flower seeds at the RT office or the Ecology Center. In between events, drop off your old gas-powered lawn equipment and old gas cans at the Recycling Center, 2222 Oakton, and get a rebate on green equipment.

... that there has been a sorry shift in the phrase "my way or the highway." In TG's younger years (when TG was a Traffic Kid or even a Traffic Tot), the "highway" in the phrase was the reliable, stodgy path and "my way" was something more interesting and different, a little less
certain but a more exciting way to get somewhere
or get something done. Too bad it now seems to be
"My way or else.