Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears...

... that this is Bike to Work Week. Of course, you can do it more often. Metra is allowing bikes on its trains all summer. Speaking of Metra, the RTA (of which Metra, the CTA and Pace are parts) joined in "dump the pump" day June 8, to encourage folks to take public transportation instead of driving.

... that a group of Evanston bicyclers have joined the nationwide bike-riding group Critical Mass. The first Evanston Critical Mass ride, May 5, drew 50 people. Riders meet at 6 p.m. at Fountain Square on the first Friday of the month and say they participate for many reasons, among them "to promote bicycling as an alternative to American’s environmentally destructive ‘car culture.’" There’s no formal route, says participant Max Lavine, "Instead, the ride operates using a process known as xerocracy, in which any rider can distribute flyers promoting a proposed route."

... Speaking of Fountain Square, TG hears that Tom Roszak is proposing a high-rise hotel for the building that abuts the memorial.

... that new parts of McCormick are now open and closed: You can go south from Emerson to Bridge and no further and you cannot go from Green Bay to Bridge. But Bridge is open again, so you can get from Payne to Simpson to Dodge. On the Green Bay end, the crews are fixing to reconfigure Prairie Avenue to go straight into McCormick, making it safer for pedestrians, especially school kids. As you remember, we’ll lose a few trees there on the north side of McCormick.

... Speaking of newly owned streets, TG hears that the City is getting ready to
take over jurisdiction of Ridge Avenue. Remember, we didn’t want the mast arms and we didn’t want the street to be
widened, per state regulations, so we’re taking it over, keeping the trees and the pretty post-top stop signs.

... that chairs for the Fourth of July parade can be set up on parkways along Central Street beginning at 6 a.m. July 1. Chairs and blankets only, folks – no sticks, ropes, tents, grills, coolers or sleeping bags. City crews will remove inappropriate or ill-timed stuff (before 6 a.m. July 1 and after 6 p.m. July 4). This is by Council ordinance, "to preserve the health and safety of those living on and visiting Central Street during the weeks prior to the holiday event," according to the City. TG thinks it’s just to keep Evanston from looking too tacky.

... that the McGaw YMCAhas its flag back after six years. The Y folks said the flag had been in a state of disrepair for quite a while but the only affordable option was to have someone climb the 15-foot pole atop the building. Here’s the rest of the story: Roger Girard, maintenance manager for the Y, "found a daring employee of the WGN Flag & DecoratingCompany, 58-year-old Pat Galvin, who was willing to take on the task.On May 18, despite the strong winds, Mr. Galvin climbed the pole, even as the rope from which he hung swung up to four feet away from either side of the pole in the gale. He repaired the damage, and a new 4-foot by 6-foot flag now proudly flies from the top of the mast."

... that next month the State of Illinois will be using photo radar in freeway work zones – taking pics of the driver’s face and the license plate – of vehicles exceeding the 45 mph speed limit in work zones. The first offense is a $375 ticket, and the second is a $1,000 fine and a 90-day license suspension. Drivers will also receive demerit points against their license, which allows insurance companies to raise their rates.

... that this year’s search for the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas has concluded without visual documentation of that rare bird. The search, led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, with support from Audubon Arkansas, stretched from November through April and included 22 full-time searchers; volunteer groups of 14 spent two weeks at a time helping to search the 550,000-acre area focused on the Cache and White River National Wildlife Refuges. Some of the searchers thought they heard the woodpecker’s "kent" call and its distinctive double-rap drumming display. Others glimpsed birds that could have been ivory-bills, but they were impossible to confirm.

From our readers:To TG: I was distressed to find out that the Evanston Fire Station on Emerson has discontinued helping people install their child seats properly. A voice- mail message states that this service is no longer available and then lists a few very far-away alternatives. Can you find out what is going on here? Did the department lose some City or state funding? This was such a great service to the community. As most parents with young children know, getting those car seats in right can be difficult, especially for new parents. — Thanks, Lisa Laske

From TG: Captain Kurt Dickman of the fire department says the service was interrupted rather than discontinued. He didn’t know why it stopped but said the "issues are being resolved," and they will be back to installing car seats shortly.

TheTraffic Guy Thinks...

... that one way to get into the summer spirit is with a block party. You can download the applications from the City’s website
www.cityofevanston.org (select "Business," then "Permits and Licenses)," but you have to mail the applications or present them in person and prove that you live on the block.

... or polka the summer away.

... that Tom Roszak’s proposal for downtown Evanston is the opposite of what TG had hoped for: He wants a skyscraper by Fountain Square. TG had hoped that the City would buy the building and raze it, giving us a real city square. TG knows that some folks don’t like Mr. Roszak’s buildings, but, remember, he was the first developer to give Evanston a chance in the late 1990s.

... that the person or
people who spray-painted "666" on three churches in Evanston on June 6 ought to grow up. For one thing, as Jon Stewart pointed out on the Daily Show, it wasn’t 6-6-6; it was 6-6-06. Congratulations, you tagged on a typo and you bought into Mia Farrow’s publicity hype.