Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears...

... that the City is going to allow overnight parking in City lot 47, located at the YWCA, 1000 Grove St.

... that some folks up by Bent Park have been concerned about the slowdown on the repair of the tennis courts. Paul D'Agostino says there was a delay when crews found a concealed fly ash sub-base under the existing courts. Work was halted until City Council approved additional funds for the project. They approved the extra money on Sept. 24, and Mr. D'Agostino says work should be completed by November.

... that Sheridan Road between Clark and Central will be closed temporarily (8-11 p.m.) on Oct. 12 for NU's homecoming parade. Go, Cats, win! Go, alums, spend money here!

... that Whole Foods Market plans to relocate its refrigerator equipment sound screen. Though it will be about four feet closer than before to the Carlson Building, WFM says it guarantees the sound emanating from behind the screen will be 55 decibels or less at the property line.

... that NU would like to add three stories to the Searle Building at 633 Emerson. Apparently the building, which houses the student health and counseling services, is at present not in compliance with HIPPA privacy regulations. The NU folks say it will be LEED-certified, and, though they are losing 16 parking spaces with the addition, they're adding bike racks, which seems like a move in the green direction.

... that the folks who live in the house at Ridge and Greenleaf are mighty unhappy about the results of the paint job.

... that (speaking of green) the City will purchase 325 trees from the Suburban Tree Consortium and plant them in parks and along parkways.

... that the building at 2225 Ridge is hoping to get nine rooftop antennas for T-Mobile.

From our readers: TG: Enquiring minds want to know, is the big hole on Lake Street next to ETHS permanent?
Last time I recall a fenced-off road construction site, at McCormick and Green Bay, it ended up a park. That ditch on Lake Street by ETHS seems like an odd spot for a park, unless it's going to be a teensy-tiny little square of green blocking Lake Street forever. I've also heard rumors that as long as Lake Street is going to remain closed on either side of Dodge, the powers that be are thinking of removing the barrier at Greenwood and Dodge. Hey, what a great idea! Certainly we miss the drug dealers hanging out there, and we could use more speeders blasting through the Greenwood Street. traffic circles as they seek the fastest detour around the Lake Street construction. What makes Greenwood Dragway even more fun, especially for pedestrians looking for a thrill, is when the racers make turns around the traffic circles without stopping, and without using turn signals. I'm just wondering, how many points is it if you hit a mom with a stroller in the intersection? A kid? More than one kid? A dog walker? Does the number of points go up according to the number of pedestrians you hit at one time? And hey, do you get extra points if you roll down your window and swear at a pedestrian in an intersection as you try to kill her? I mean, the NERVE of those pedestrians, trying to cross the street at an intersection when a racer is turning into it. Why, as a sometime pedestrian, and also as a sometime driver, do I feel like traffic laws in Evanston have been suspended indefinitely? - Layla

From TG: According to information posted on the City's website, www.cityof-evanston.org, this is the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Lake Street Project. MWRD has contracted with Kenny Construction Company "to rehabilitate an existing 10-foot diameter sewer on Lake Street [which was constructed in the early 1900s] between Elmwood Avenue and the North Shore Channel." There are three shafts: at Grey, Florence and Elmwood. The estimated time of completion of the Grey Avenue section was Sept. 21. Kenny's project manager is Tom Gillis, 847-674-6326, and the City contact for this project is David Stoneback, superintendent of the City's water and sewer division.

As for the traffic circles, TG believes that they, like speed humps and speed bumps, really do little to "calm" traffic and curb the reckless speeders we have in many parts of the City. When the City is ready to do something meaningful about this dangerous and illegal behavior - the drug dealing as well as the speeding - TG supposes they'll let us know.

TG: I have a question: Evanston has been installing new traffic signals. At each intersection, there is a WALK/DON'T-WALK signal - this is good. But the signals all have a call-button to request the WALK, as opposed to the automatic walk signals that used to be at some of the intersections - you know, the ones that just show WALK at the start of each green cycle.

There is no apparent disadvantage to having WALK come on automatically on every cycle. If there are no pedestrians, there is no impediment to traffic. If there are, a WALK signal adds no information for drivers.

However, there are some clear disadvantages to the call-button signals. WALK will only come on at the start of the following green cycle after the button is pressed. So a pedestrian who arrives during the early part of a green cycle will not get a WALK until the following cycle, even though an automatic WALK would have still been available.

A pedestrian who waits for the WALK may spend some extra time in the rain, heat or cold. But many (I suspect, most) pedestrians cross despite the steady DON'T-WALK. That puts them in the intersection when motorists are not expecting them.

Worse, since the DON'T-WALK is steady throughout the cycle, they don't get the early warning a WALK gives when it changes to the flashing DON'T-WALK before the yellow light (too soon before, in Evanston). So pedestrians may get caught in the crosswalk as the light changes. This increases the hazards to pedestrians, and impedes traffic when turning cars are held up waiting for pedestrians.

There's another aspect to the call-button WALK/DON'T-WALK signals: They cost more. There is more equipment to purchase (push-buttons and cable), more cost to install them, and probably higher maintenance with more mechanical parts. In short, the call-buttons have no advantage, increase hazards, impede traffic flow and cost more. What is the benefit? -- Michael Levine

From TG: David Jennings, the City's director of public works, responds to your inquiry:

There are different ways a signalized intersection with pedestrian crossing signals functions. On a fixed-time signalized intersection (where a predetermined amount of time is allotted for each traffic movement), the "WALK" signal for pedestrians comes up automatically without the pedestrians having to push a button. The green phase switches back and forth between the approaches automatically, along with the pedestrian "WALK" phase.

Lights that do not have a fixed amount of time for each approach are called actuated signals and, because they have devices to detect the presence of vehicles, they respond to the amount of traffic on each approach on a "real time" basis. These lights are more modern and more efficient, because they do not switch automatically to an approach where no one is waiting. Since the vehicle detectors do not detect pedestrians, push-buttons are included so the signal controller can know to provide the WALK light and sufficient time to cross. This type of control has been used for decades across the country, and these traffic signals are considered both safe and efficient.

If there is a signalized intersection with push-buttons where pedestrians have difficulty crossing, please contact the Division of Transportation at 847-866-2922 so that it can be checked out.

The Traffic Guy thinks ...

... that mounting pigeon baffling under viaducts to prevent roosting is a good idea. TG is baffled - perhaps more than the pigeons - as to why it is not maintained. When it falls down like this, it presents a hazard to pedestrians.

... that, speaking of pests, it's a good thing the City is purchasing 900 new garbage carts. Wonder if it would be better if they were tin or metal, either wholly or at least for the first two feet off the ground? Anyone whose cart has a hole in it should go buy a new one.

Watch out for lane changes as the final touches are put on the Asbury resurfacing job and for lane changes and closures on McCormick, as the repair there has just begun.