Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears...

... that the City has finally installed a stop sign at the Ashland spur coming south off Green Bay. Thanks to the City folk from TG - as well as from others who wrote TG about the problem.

... that the City is proposing a four-way stop at Maple and Dempster, the subject of concern in one of the letters to TG in the last issue.

... that gasoline prices were hovering just under $3.50 per gallon for mid- and high-grade gasoline, and about a dime lower for regular.

... that, just when you thought all of Benson was open again, it's going to be reduced to one lane each way north of Church while the CTA is working on the replacement of the Church Street viaduct. The City folks say Church Street will remain open during the construction but will be reduced to one lane of traffic. Most of the parking on Benson between Church and Clark will be eliminated to allow traffic to continue to flow both ways, but you can still patronize the local businesses.

... that traffic on Chicago Avenue was one-lane only (with flagger) last week between Dempster and Greenleaf, because of sewer construction. Between Kedzie and South it's still one lane in each direction. Over on Custer the Marianas Trench stretches north of Howard to about the bridge over the CTA tracks (TG was unable to get closer to see). Speaking of repairs, traffic into downtown could be jammed for a while during the much-needed work replacing the CTA overpass there,

... that while the Corner Chef is preparing to open on the northeast corner of Chicago and Davis, the owners decided to put something besides plain opaque paper on the windows.

TG hears they contacted Carla Kinney Phillips at District 65, who was able to lend them some original art by District 65 students. Good idea.

... that Karen Laner, who teaches at Chiaravalle Montessori School on Dempster Street, is riding in the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago's CowaLUNGa Bike Tour. This is her fifth year on the 190-mile bike tour from Gurnee Mills through parts of Wisconsin, Aug. 5-7. Visit www.cowalunga.com. 

... that Forest Park is paving some of its streets with brick. TG thinks this is a great idea, partly for beauty and somewhat for general atmosphere. 'Course, what are they going to do about snowplows?

From our readers:

To TG: Has anyone noticed or written about what is going on with our City trees at the McCormick Blvd. construction site? If you drive by on Green Bay Road and look west you can see the City trees on the parkway engulfed with gravel about 1/3 up the trunks of these beautiful trees. I can't imagine Evanston, with new laws in place to save our trees and City stickers touting "The City of Trees," has done nothing or asked the construction manager to remove the gravel from these trees. Go take a look for yourselves. -- Lisa Kupferberg

From TG:

This may be an example of what you are talking about. The trunks seem to be protected by these sleeves, made of wooden slats about 6-8 feet up the tree, but TG does not know about the roots and hopes that they have not been damaged in the roadwork. As TG noted in a recent column, the tree at the northeast corner of Bridge and McCormick is gone; that one, we were told, was iffy to begin with.

To TG: One of my current concerns is the IDIOT syndrome (InvoluntaryDropping Incidents Of Trash). We are a few blocks east of the Dodge/Dempster food emporiums and it seems that some ingredient in the food attacks the central nervous system of the consuming individuals. This is a very fast-acting agent - they travel a few blocks and symptoms occur. The symptoms are easy to observe: Victims can no longer grasp their food or drink containers, which they inadvertently drop. This is often accompanied by very loud unintelligible vocal utterances, especially at night, and often correlates with when they are in groups. Thus it seems not to single out unique susceptible individuals, but a large number of individuals at the same time. Have others observed this? Should the Health Department be involved? - Vito Brugliera

From TG: TG has observed this phenomenon in the RT neighborhood as well (which is also close to Fast Food Heaven), as well as on the higways and byways of Evanston. 

To TG:
Re: Cycling westbound on Davis Street,
Lane choice where it and Asbury meet:
A reader then puts forth
His view on biking north;
Mixing Church with Davis – indiscreet!
-- Robert Bagby

To TG: You recall I wrote to inquire about the alarming number of accidents at Maple and Dempster.  You printed my letter in your most recent issue. 

I am pleased to report that, perhaps because of your response, there is now a four-way stop sign at Maple and Dempster. And it has made a world of difference.  The drive down Demspter is now a great deal calmer, and I reckon there will be far fewer accidents.  Thank you for your help!  -- Gregg R. Baker

From TG: Thanks for your note and kind words. While TG would of course like to take all the credit, it is possible that the City folks were already aware of the problem.  

The Traffic Guy Thinks...

... it hurt TG's pride to read in another publication last week that Evanston refused to defend its title as the home of the ice-cream sundae. Seems Ithaca, N.Y., and Two Rivers, Wis., are each claiming the sundae was first created in their town.

Two Rivers even has a city council resolution, dated June 19, 2006, stating in relevant but (TG  believes) erroneous part: Whereas Ed Berners invented the ice cream sundae at his Two Rivers soda fountain in 1881; and Whereas, this historic accomplishment has resulted in our community being known far and wide as the "Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae;" and Whereas, Ithaca's experience with ice cream sundaes is of relatively recent vintage, dating to Chester Platt's fabrication of a cherry sundae at his drug store soda fountain in 1892, a full eleven years after Ed Berners' sundaes began broadening children's smiles and adults' waistlines in our community on the shore of Lake Michigan;

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the City of Two Rivers re-asserts its status as Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae."

They also have an official sundae song, sung to the tune of "On, Wisconsin." Guess they think the contents of the resolution were not fighting words enough.

We know that William C. Garwood invented the sundae in Evanston (home of the Women's Christian Temperance Union). Ice cream sodas could not be served on the sabbath because of the titilating carbonation, so he came up with the sundae.

TG hears Eden Juron Perlman of the Historical Society and Jonathan Perman of the Chamber of Commerce refused to join the fray. So the RoundTable consulted with  Mayor Lorraine Morton to set the record straight.

She said, "We've been believing for a hundred years that Evanston was the home of the ice cream sundae. Why stop now?"

TG hopes anyone with evidence that Evanston is the true birthplace of the ice cream sundae will send  it to us. Or maybe just send it to the city fathers of Two Rivers, Wis.

Send your thoughts and comments to us via email. We are here to listen.