Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears...

… that this fallen tree branch stretched across Crain - and a previously unsmashed car - at Dewey last week. Seems the tree fell victim to carpenter ants before the gusts took it down.

… that street repairs and tunnel work continue all over the City. Foster and Noyes still closed at Sherman. Bennett at Lincoln looks like it's getting ready for massive overhaul, with one lane of traffic in each direction. The trees are all wrapped up in protective planking. Paul D'Agostino of the City's Parks/Forestry Division says it's not the trunk so much as the roots that need protection. When there is heavy equipment on City property, he requests a good layer of mulch between lawn and machine.

… that the very northwest corner of Evanston seems to have the most cicadas. Seems like Lincoln Street was the Maginot line for these insects; few of them crossed over onto Colfax and points south. Here are a few clinging to some catmint. And here's a pile of their shells.

… that the City has hired Central Lakes Construction Company for the Fire Station 5 project - demolishing the present one and constructing a new one, which is promised to be the City's first green building.

… that the City may sell a strip of land on Ridge south of the Cos Building parking lot to the folks at that building, to expand their parking lot.

... that the City is going to sell some surplus equipment at the Lake County auction, among them a 1992 International truck and a siren amplifier. Nice way to recoup a little money.

… that, according to the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.sws.uiuc.edu), a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, May 2007 was the eighth-warmest and 23rd-driest May since 1895. Statewide May precipitation in Illinois was 2.62 inches (1.65 inches below normal), and statewide temperatures were 67.3° F degrees (4.5° F above normal). For the three-month spring season (March-May), 10th-warmest spring on record, statewide temperatures averaged 54.5° F (2.5° F above normal). While statewide precipitation was 9.66 inches (1.61 inches below normal), the northern half of the state received 10.22 inches (0.34 inches below normal), and the southern half received only 9.08 inches, 3.29 inches below normal. National Weather Service outlooks for both June and the June-August quarter call for equal chances of temperatures and precipitation above, below, or near normal across Illinois.
Now that's hedging your bets.

… that there was a plenilune, a. k. a. blue moon, last month - a full moon at the beginning of the month and one at the end. According to TG's sky source, the May 31 blue moon was the first since July 2004 and will be the last until December 2009.

… U.S. auto companies are trying to gut a Senate bill that would impose an
average mileage requirement of 35 miles per gallon for passenger cars, light trucks and sport utility vehicles by 2020. Currently the requirement is 27.5 miles per gallon and it only applies to passenger cars. The big execs claim the requirement will be
impossible to meet and would gravely damage the auto industry (which they
appear to think is worse than gravely
damaging the environment). It may be
that we need to wean ourselves from SUVs and other gas guzzlers, and the auto companies need to get their act together.

From our readers: TG: Here's something I've noticed lately as I drive back and forth to work: Going to work I drive south on McCormick from Bridge Street to Church, turn left on Church to get to my office on McDaniel. Home is reverse (obviously). What I've noticed are big "MBI" trucks going in both directions. They are going west on Church, north on McCormick and turn left (west) onto Golf/Simpson/Emerson. They are also going the same route in reverse. Today I noticed that it says "solid waste" on the side of the truck and on the back was a phone number to call if you see "litter" leaking from the truck. I called the number: 888-693-9900 and there was a recording: "You have reached the American Disposal Service Livingston Landfill Litter Hotline …" I wonder if they're taking waste from Evanston to somewhere else, or bringing it here. Also, I wonder what kind of waste it is, and why this seems to have been happening just recently. Thanks for looking into this for me. - Rosalie Ziomek.

From TG: TG spent some time trying to find this out for you but was unable to do so. Maybe a kind reader knows the answer about what's being hauled away from - or, scarier - into town.

The Traffic Guy Thinks...

… time was, folks would be putting out chairs and blankets for the Fourth of July parade about now. But, remember, you've got to wait unit 6 p.m. on July 1. Of course, Evanston will celebrate the Fourth on the fourth, and not one minute beforehand.

… that the little island at Noyes and the Ashland spur is nicely decorated, but a "Yield" sign for southbound traffic heading onto Ashland would be an even greater improvement, as it would offer some protection to pedestrians and bicyclists.

… don't forget: Install carbon monoxide detectors in all your bedrooms, per the new state law (and City ordinance). Don't use leaf blowers nowadays, per the City ordinance. Cut your weeds, and do whatever else you can for the air
we breathe.

Don't forget the Custer Street Festival this weekend and the Fountain Square Arts Festival next weekend.

Hope everyone enjoys the longest day: Summer starts and the days begin to shorten.