Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears...

... that crews were installing the pigeon-proof baffles under the Metra and CTA overpasses last week. It's a kind of wire netting that's supposed to discourage pigeons from roosting. It'll be nice not to have those stalactites dripping lime, rust and defecation under the tracks anymore.

... that the world's largest rubber-band ball visited the Office Depot on Howard Street last Sunday. The mammoth ball, which "officially" weighs 4,594 pounds, is touring 16 Chicago-area OfficeMax stores to celebrate their remodeling.

... that the mixed-use building at 1570 Elmwood is getting closer to approval.

... that the United Methodist Pension Fund is going to build a new office building on their site at Ridge and Davis.

... that a Levi Strauss company is coming to downtown Davis Street (808).

... that Evanston Hospital is going to remodel an operating room and ICU and increase its mechanical penthouse.

... that individuals can make a difference: The ad-hoc group Citizens for Lake Safety, formed to oppose the U.S. Coast Guard's plan to establish 34 live-fire target practice ranges on the Great Lakes, which TG mentioned a few weeks ago, appeared to have some effect, amassing 1,000 comments and multi-state petitions with more than 2,000 signatures for the nine public hearings on the issue. Peace and justice activists, environmentalists, recreational boaters and commercial fishermen all turned out to oppose the Coast Guard's proposed Lake Michigan live-ammunition target practice. And the Coast Guard recently announced that it would abandon the plan "in the face of overwhelming public pressure against it."

... that a few hardy souls made it down to the lakefront last Thursday to observe the solstice. It was too windy to keep the candles lighted for very long, and the day dawned raw and grey. But it was lighter at 7 than at 6, they said. Welcome to winter, and, as the days now lengthen, to the hope of spring.

... that dirt is piling up as construction is beginning at the property at 2424 Oakton. It's going to become a mini-mall with an ice-cream shop and medical offices (nice juxtaposition).

Speaking of that area, right next door to those dirt piles, the piles of leaves at the Recycling Center were so hot they were smoking.

... that scientists at Northwestern University, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered evidence that the New Madrid seismic zone (fault) - which was the font of the earthquakes in 1811 and 1812 that were so strong they changed the course of the Mississippi - may be, in their exact words, cold and dying. They found that thermally New Madrid is surprisingly similar - that is, no hotter and no weaker than (hot = weak) - to other areas of the eastern United States. The researchers say future earthquakes will occur somewhere else when the New Madrid system "shuts down." A press release from NU (the source of all this informatino) also stated, "Once this happens, it may be a very long time - thousands of years or longer, they say - before New Madrid becomes active again. The smaller earthquakes that continue in the area today are typically more of a nuisance than a catastrophe, say the researchers. The largest in the past century, the 1968 southern Illinois earthquake (magnitude 5.5), was widely felt and caused some damage but no fatalities. However, if large earthquakes like those of 1811-12 occurred again, they would be very destructive." The researchers presented the evidence last week at a seminar in - where else? - San Francisco.

From our readers:

TG: OK - so what was the City thinking when they sent a street cleaner up and down the 2000 block of Ashland Avenue at 1 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19?

Were they thinking at all? Street cleaning? At night? On a residential street? The darn thing was loud enough to not only wake me up, but rattle a picture off the wall. Did it at least get the entire street? No! There are cars parked here at night. Did it do any good? No! Cars are parked over the worst of the garbage and leaves near the street drains. Isn't cleaning done with the street free of parked cars and during the day, when most people are awake or out? Isn't it only until Nov. 30? Aren't there noise abatement laws?

What a waste of manpower and money -- kind of like most of the "services" the City provides. -- Vic
Radin

From TG: TG sees that you have sent your letter to the City and would be interested in knowing their response to the street sweeper run amok. The aldermen recently voted to do street-sweeping in the daytime for, among other reasons, those you mentioned. TG thinks they should change the brushes more often. Regularly TG sees a wet strip of debris trailing behind these things and a very small swath of clean street.

The Traffic Guy thinks ...

... that this is the best tagging that TG has ever seen. You can't see it in this picture, but check out the trees on the cul-de-sac of the 1200 block of Darrow: Someone has spray-painted "peace." And peace to you all in this coming new year.