Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears...

... that, after the eerily warm January, we had a bit of winter - snowing, blowing and cold. The City is using sirens again, as you all probably heard, after having discontinued their use for a time after the 9/11 attacks.

... that the fire and life safety crews decided to use this frigid weather to practice ice rescues. They chipped a hole in the NU lagoon and, well, dug in.

... that the City's sewer relief project continues, with crews working on Custer between Case and Brummell through March 23, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Crews will reline the pipes with styrene, which hardens when heated and sometimes emits a bad smell, but the project manager says it's not harmful.

The manager also advises pouring a cup or two of water into each basement floor drain to keep the trap full and prevent the odor from seeping up into your home. Do this regularly, since the water will evaporate.

This ongoing sewer work can seem like an inconvenience at times, but it's probably no picnic on sub-zero windy days for the construction workers, either. Also, anyone who's read about the crumbling streets and car- and people-swallowing sinkholes in other cities should be grateful that the City undertook this project a few years ago.

Remember, many of the pipes we're replacing date from the turn of the last century. TG quotes from the City's Sewer Rehabilitation Project Newsletter of Feb. 9: "This project will rehabilitate a 24-inch-diameter sewer pipe originally installed in the early to mid-1900s."

... that the Suburban Branch of the Chicago Metro Chapter of the American Public Works Association selected the McCormick Boulevard improvement project as the 2006 Project of the Year for projects between $2 and $10 million. Public Works Director David Jennings accepted the award, saluting "excellence in completing Public Works projects and recognizing the alliance between the managing agency, the consultant/architect/engineer, and the contractor who, working together, complete public works projects." The project cost about $6 million, of which about $4 million came from the feds and $900,000 from the state.

... that the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Critical Mass protestors flocked to the Auto Show to publicize less oil-grabby means of transportation. The group will kick off the 2007 cycling season with a St. Pat's Ride on March 18. They say there will be "routes of 16, 20, and 36 miles that wind through beautiful Northeast Illinois over quiet secondary roads with SAG support." Visit http://www.wheelmen.com or call 847-520-5010. Then on June 2 they'll have a "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" ride.

... that (ironic juxtaposition noted) the City is upping its ambulance transport fees for the coming year. The basic life support and advanced life support fees will be increased by $50, for both residents and non-residents - from $300 to $350 for basic for residents, as an example - and the advanced life support 2 (ALS2) rates will increase by $150 for residents and non-residents alike, from $350 to $600 for residents and from $450 to $700 for non-residents.

... that the City is also going to charge for collecting yard waste; maybe that'll force us all into mulching.

... that the strip mall at 2424 Oakton is coming along. They're planning to have a lot of facilities for your car: an automobile repair shop, a gas station, and a car wash. They're also planning a convenience store, a type 2 (fast food) restaurant with drive-through, and possibly, a bank with a drive-through.

... that the Silk Road Project design, logo, identity, and ubiquitous wheel symbol was developed by a former Evanston resident and ETHS graduate ('80) named Margot Perman, the sister of Jonathan Perman, executive director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. You, go, girl. Her New York City firm, Real Design, and its work for the Silk Road Project can be seen at the following link.

From our readers:

TG: I hope you have better success getting a palatable response from Metra about Main Street than you did about the Central Street issue you raised some months ago. ... The Central Street station continues to deteriorate and Ald. [Eb] Moran [6th Ward] says it's too expensive to make the restrooms operable; at least Main Street has toilets. -- Jack Brown

From TG: Maybe we don't need a response from Metra. Read on.

TG: Saw the question in this week's column re the Metra tracks northbound/southbound. One of the first pieces of Evanston trivia I learned was that the North Suburban Metra line was designed and constructed by an English engineering firm; all of the other lines were not. Therefore the tracks were placed á la English design, or reversed from the usual American practice of "driving on the right." -- Janice Sachen

From TG: Thanks, Ms. Sachen.
TG:
Extensive inspection for the dates
In time zones beyond United States
Yields some Februaries
Of full moon vagaries
And 1999 resonates.
-- Robert Bagby

From TG: This was in response to the TG column of a few weeks ago stating that the last recorded month in which there was no full moon was February of 1864. Mr. Bagby apparently found some "Februaries of full-moon vagaries" outside this country.

... seems the Cityouncil is trying to pre-empt the advisory referendum of the Civic Center friends. They've put on the ballot their own referendum about staying in the Civic Center, this one with a price tag of upwards of $30 million. The Civic Center friends' question just asks if we should stay there. What if there was yet another referendum question, with a smaller price tag, say $10 to $13 million?

... that, with the closing of the health department's clinical services, the elimination of the positions of facilities manager and human relations director and possible other personnel and departmental axings, TG ponders the promise of excellent delivery of City services - the premise on which the present City manager came in. Wonder if the "excellent delivery" is supposed to come about when there are actually fewer services to deliver?

... TG just loves the look of the lake in cold midwinter. But if you've been up early lately you may have heard robins and believe, as does TG, that the winter is about to turn it over to spring.