Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears ...

... that everyone is talking about how bad and how dangerous the streets are. The City ran out of salt, probably within hours of when TG boasted that we had enough. Seems it was stranded somewhere en route or, for us conspiracy theorists, hijacked by other towns. After running out of salt, the City used sand, producing those mini- moguls or what the City folks called the "washboard effect." After that, tire tracks became huge ruts of ice, and then a few inches of snow fell. This disguised the ice, yielding ever more treacherous footing for pedestrians and making the side streets seem like bumper-car arenas.

... that, as a way to conserve money in this tight budget, the City cut off salt supplies to District 65 and Northwestern University. Seems the University had to purchase its own salt, and at a higher price than the City was supposed to charge. But, guess what, folks - NU sent three salt trucks over to D 65 (6,500 pounds of salt and 7,000 tons of sand) so the kids could get safely to school.

... that the aldermen of the Southern Wards, Ann Rainey (8th) and Anjana Hansen (9th) decried another muddle of our storm recovery process (recovering from storms, not recovering storms, mind you): The City will ticket and tow cars parked on the streets in violation of posted snow parking rules. If you are one of those scofflaws, your car may be ticketed by the Streets and San crews; or it will probably not be ticketed by Streets and San - just towed away for the street plowing, then returned to its original spot. You pay for the towing. But - and here's a real nuance - if Streets and San didn't issue a ticket and the regular parking patrol of the police department sees your car sitting there improperly on the street, without a ticket and no tow truck in sight, these guys could also issue you a ticket. But wait, there's more: Ann and An also talked about the too-familiar sight of the sole car walled in by snowpack on a plowed street. A plowed street should give the all-clear to all those who heeded the sirens, signs and bull-horns, but it's the sign posted on the street, not the overwhelming visual evidence that the street has been plowed, that is supposed to tell you that it's safe to park once again on your side of your street. And that sign usually says it will be 9 p.m. before you can do that. Ann of the 8th would like to see everything get back to normal by 6 p.m., not 9 - a fearsomely prudent idea.

... that between the ice sheets of 10 days ago and the snow of a week ago, City crews were able to repair some of the potholes on Ridge Avenue - don't know how they chose them, the wide ones or the deep ones. Speaking of Ridge, TG hears the repairs up and down Ridge, from Howard to Clark, are scheduled to begin on March 10. Tomorrow between 5 and 8 p.m. there will be an open house at the police outpost, 633 Howard St.

You can hear about the project, meet the construction team, and review the project staging with the detour plan. Representatives from EDOT (did you know we had a Department of Transportation?) and the City's consultant team will be available for questions and discussion. City folks say the project is scheduled to be completed by year end; call John Burke, EDOT director, with questions, 847-866-2966.

... that an Italian chain restaurant (TG hears it's the Bravo chain) may be going into the downtown space at Church and Maple recently vacated by Wolfgang Puck.

... that the City will soon apply for a grant from the Recreational Trails Program through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Now that the City has adopted the lakefront master concept plan, it can apply for one of the grants.

... that the City has removed the landmark status from 1218 Elmwood. The house has been torn down already, but the property is the site of the home of Henry Boltwood, the first principal (or superintendent, depending on what you read) of Evanston schools. The City's Preservation Commission had hoped the new owners would put up a plaque commemorating the august personage who once inhabited the place.

... that TG made an error last time in saying that the snow fort on Pioneer began as a mound thrown up by a snow blower. In fact, though, it was work of John Babinec and four neighborhood kids, without the help of gadgetry. TG did not mean to minimize their efforts.

... that the following alleys have been slated for paving in the upcoming fiscal year: north of Grant and east of Cowper; north of Davis, east of Judson; north of Nathaniel, east of Fowler; north of Lake, east of the CTA tracks.

... that BEHIV is looking for volunteers to sign up for Team BEHIV for the annual AIDS bike ride. This year bikers will leave Evanston on June 7, travel to Williams Bay, Wis., then return to Evanston on June 8, "following the winding roads of southeast Wisconsin and shaded bicycle paths of northeast Illinois." The registration fee is $85, and each rider is asked to raise a minimum of $1,000 in pledges. www.behiv.org.

... that the Arbor Day Foundation is offering ten free Colorado blue spruce trees to everyone in Illinois who joins the ADF in February. Send your bucks for trees to Ten Free Colorado Blue Spruce Trees, The Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410 by Feb. 29.

... that students who eat a sugary breakfast cereal get a quick boost in concentration levels, but those who eat a starchier cereal do better as the morning goes on. According to the magazine Scientific American Mind, researchers who administered tests to students at hourly intervals during the morning found that, while all students' test scores declined as the morning went on, the decline was markedly less steep for children who ate complex carbohydrates for breakfast. Maybe elevating the blood sugar will also elevate those ISAT and PSAE scores.

From our readers:

TG: What's wrong with this scenario? City snow-removal crews plow snow off the street and up onto and beyond the curb, forming huge mounds that become deep, hard and impenetrable. Drivers who finally find a metered parking space (for those not useable because of construction sites nearby) park their cars, only to find the meter buried under a snow mound and the meter unreadable because the driver cannot get close enough to see it. Then the meter readers come by in the Jeeps and with their electronic meter-readers (which can read meters from a great distance) and immediately ticket cars. - A Loyal Fan

TG: How ironic that the homes with the expensive summer landscapers are unable to get even a narrow safe path cleared of snow on their sidewalks. We know many have shovels, as they clear from their front door to their car parked on the City street. Why did I think there was some law about shoveling sidewalks for the public? Good thing their fancy landscaping keeps us safe in summer.
- Alice Barnes

From TG: You thought so, perhaps because of 7-2-9-3 of the City Code: Areas Kept Free From Snow, Ice, Dirt and Weeds:

"(A) Sidewalks: Every owner or occupant of any dwelling house or other building, or proprietor or lessee of any enclosed lot or premises, within the City shall, during winter months, whenever there is a snowfall with an accumulation of four inches (4") or more and within twenty four (24) hours of said four inch (4") accumulation, clear the sidewalks in front of or adjoining such house, building or premises of snow or ice in order to give access to abutting property and public ways, and keep the same conveniently free therefrom; or shall, in case the snow and ice are so congealed as not to be removed without difficulty or injury to the pavement, spread the same with sand or salt. Every such owner or occupant shall also, at all times, keep such sidewalks clear and free from all obstructions so as to allow pedestrians the safe and unobstructed use of the same. (Ord. 9-0-80)."

The Traffic Guy thinks...

... that the fact that the four men on the Plan Commission voted for the tower and the three women against it could be the basis for an interesting ad-hoc study. Send a short, short comment about how your feel, yea or nay, on the tower, as well as your gender, to us.

... that, even though we are in a budget crisis, the City Manager is wrong to put a gag order on City employees. RT staff has heard from several of the City folk that they are not supposed talk to the press about the budget without first running it past the City Manager. This is bad, bad, bad. Exigent times call for greater candor, not censorship.