Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears ...

... that spring is here. Since it may be hard to tell by the raw weather and that cold stuff coming down from the sky, take a look at the maple tree buds - a sure sign of spring. And look at these brave little snowdrops, blooming amid a lake of melted snow in Perkins woods.

... that Lake Avenue is still closed for sewer repairs west of Asbury.

... that folks are still finding out about the Ridge Avenue repairs south and the Sheridan Road repairs north. It could be a long summer for the bikeless.

... that the City is going to widen the sidewalks along Maple Avenue between Clark and Church streets. Hope they beautify the walks, too, with some good plantings or street furniture. Teska Associates, which has been in Evanston a long time, will be doing the work.

... that there was a leak of natural gas from the excavation site at 2405 Oakton, when the contractor doing excavation work at the site broke a high-pressure gas main. There was no fire, but fire department personnel kept track of the kids at nearby Dawes School, where the smell permeated the halls. It was fairly uncomfortable for the kids, one parent said. Oakton Street was closed between Dodge Avenue and McCormick Boulevard until repairs were completed.

... that City Council has imposed a load limit of four tons for commercial vehicles on Barton from Oakton to Howard, on Brummel from Ridge to Barton and on Austin from Ridge to Asbury, to keep those heavy trucks out of the residential (and in one case, school) areas.

... that the City is going to purchase a transit bus for Parks/Forestry and Recreation. It won't be ready until the fall, but since the other one is broken, we'll just have to make do for the summer.

... that Vive La Crepe and Trullo have closed for good in Evanston, and their liquor licenses are gone.

... that this truck was nearly scalped trying to come through the Ridge/Lincoln viaduct.

This happens regularly at Dempster/
Sherman, less frequently at Lincoln/Ridge. Wonder what part of "clearance" is a mystery to those drivers.

... that volunteers are needed to take an inventory of the 200 miles of sidewalks in Evanston, in connection with the Evanston Intra-Modal Transportation Study, led by John Burke of EDOT and financed by the RTA. The study is supposed to recommend actions to improve connectivity between transportation modes, improve service levels and reduce duplication of service. One important element is to encourage walking. Alex Sproul is taking names of volunteers, in the hope that the inventory will be completed in May. There will be a training session. Contact Mr. Sproul at asproul@sbcglobal.net or 847-869-0237.

... that the state House of Representatives has unanimously passed a funding bill for Illinois trails and safe routes to school: the Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School Transparency Act. It addresses "secretive and unpredictable funding processes by guaranteeing fairness and transparency in these funding projects that create safe places for adults and children to walk and bicycle," according to the Chicago Bicycle Federation, which is urging support for the corresponding Senate bill (S.B. 2311).

... that, for the fifth year, the peregrine falcons are back at the library. "We have four eggs," writes Kate Todd, administrative assistant the library. She says the nesting pair is unidentified as yet, but they may be the same pair as last year and the year before, since they have been showing interest in the same nesting site as last year. The nest is in one of the sheltered flower boxes high on the south wall of the Main Library. Check out the progress, from egg-laying to -hatching and fledging on the Library website: www.epl.org/falconcam.

... that the City is seeking suggestions for locations for this year's curb ramp program, which replaces curbs at the end of sidewalks with concrete ramps molded from textured red concrete to enable individuals with vision impairments to note that a street is near. Contact Brian at 847- 448-8054, TTY 847- 448-8052, or email. TG would recommend the sidewalk on the north side of Main between Brown and Grey for curb ramps.

... that this week is National Library Week. Folks are invited to drop by their "favorite Evanston Public Library" for kids' story times, quizzes, and games and adult programs such as the Hirshfield Poetry Awards, a lecture on historic Route 66, and classic films.

... that there are "stop the tower" movements in places besides Evanston. Here's an anti-tower drawing fom the website of Swamplot, which calls itself "Houston's Real Estate Landscape."

... that American Forests' Global ReLeaf is going to plant about 2,000 native conifers along Illinois Rte. 53 in Arlington Heights and the right-of-way for I-290.
The ReLeafers say the trees will help lessen noise and air pollution and offset deforestation and the loss of farmland to urban development. They plan to plant 64,000 trees in Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and West Virginia this year, part of its plan to plant nearly four million trees in the U.S. and abroad to "reduce highway noise and air pollution, improve outdoor recreation opportunities, and provide habitat for species including black bear, snowshoe hare, and bog copper butterfly.

... that the City has an interesting policy reimbursing residents for damage from potholes - at least, as TG hears from a reader: Apparently the City wants notice that a pothole has caused damage before it accepts responsibility for subsequent damage. Thus it will reimburse not the first person suffering damage from a pothole but subsequent ones.

From our readers: TG: As a frequent parker in the parking garage on Maple, I have been amazed by two apparently abandoned cars parked at the north entrance to the garage. One of them, a tan Oldsmobile with expired plates, has been there since at least November. In questioning the garage manager, she expressed no knowledge of the cars and said that Evanston maintains the garage, and it should be brought to the attention of the City. It sure would be nice to be rid of these freeloaders.

From TG: Folks at the City say the longest an "abandoned" car can stay in a City garage is 24 hours and are looking into this.

The Traffic Guy Thinks...

... that the City ordinance prohibiting the idling of buses and trucks for more than five minutes ought to be vigorously enforced. Two places where this could be a problem - or a windfall for City coffers - are the athletic fields of NU and the high school. The hosts should be sure to tell their guests to turn off the buses (as they did not do a few weeks ago for the tennis tournament at NU). TG hears that when a citizen asked an NU cop to enforce the ordinance, she was told that it wouldn't be done "unless someone was complaining" - apparently someone other than her.

... that everyone ought to scurry over to the Evanston Art Center to put a message in a bottle, as part of the next installation on the grounds there, "The Nereid Beckon" by artist Matt Dehaemers.

The Art Center folks say they need "everyone - individuals and community groups - to write a brief message expressing your feelings about Lake Michigan, the most distinctive natural feature of our local geography. Messages may express hopes or fears about the life of the lake, or reverence for the lake or historical or personal experiences."

Each message will be placed in a special bottle that will become part of the overall sculpture.

Stop by the Art Center, 2603 Sheridan Road or e-mail your pithy thoughts
(25 words or fewer) to messageinabottle
@evanstonartcenter.org.