Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy hears...

... that Emerson Street over the canal is gone, gone, gone (for now anyway). The project is part of statewide infrastructure repair.

... that, further east on Emerson, the pace of the sewer and street repairs or reconstruction seems to be almost glacial (although, given global warming, "glacial" is getting pretty fast). There is a lot to do there - there seem to be machines on Emerson and Sherman all the time. It could remind one of Lake Street.

Speaking of global warming, TG hears that the melting of the Arctic ice has affected the size of whales that our northernmost villages capture for their food. Near Barrow, Alaska, only the smaller whales will come near enough to shore for the Inuit and their friends to catch for their sustenance.

... that the new traffic lights on west Oakton Street are up. Maybe this means the shopping plaza on the south side there is getting ready to open.

... that the name of the company from which the City purchases hot-mix asphalt is Orange Crush LLC - appropriate for this community, since the soda Orange Crush used to be manufactured here. Speaking of hot asphalt, here's a pic of the crews rolling out the bumps in the new Florence Avenue near the RT.

... that some folks jumped the gun on placing those chairs for parade-watchers. The official "no-earlier-than" time was 6 a.m. on July 1. Here's what Central and McDaniel looked like at 5:50 a.m. that day (see photo, top right).

... that the feds have placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until they study the environmental impact of the projects, which is expected to take about two years. Solar companies have filed more than 130 proposals to lease about one million acres of public lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah that would have the potential to power more than 20 million homes. It is anticipated the feds, who control about 119 million acres in the west, will adopt a set of criteria to use in evaluating proposals filed after May 29. TG hopes the new regulations will not stymie the fledgling solar power industry. The feds seem to be pushing off-shore drilling but holding up solar projects.

From our readers:

TG: Here's a photo that reminded us of your "cats-must-be-leashed" photo. It's a birdhouse for birds only (we assume no cats allowed).

- Shannon and Elizabeth
From TG: Thanks. It's a great pic.

TG: The Traffic Guy (Gal?) often amazes me for we think a lot alike. I'll no longer feel like the Lone Ranger when I bring up the topic of Ridge Avenue and the possibility of a middle turn lane with only one lane in each direction as the Traffic Guy described. Oh, if it were only possible to include bike lanes - or (Heaven forbid) leave Ridge for bike traffic only! Is anybody listening?

TG: Thanks for your letter. Now there are two of us. But to answer your question, TG hasn't the foggiest idea.

TG: Here is a picture of an Evanston firetruck at the corner of Lee and Elmwood on June 28.

I think they were testing hydrants. Lots of children took advantage of the temporary heat relief. Also, regarding your item about new Crown Victoria vehicles for police/fire; Why are we purchasing those gas guzzlers? Do we really need that large an engine just to zoom around Evanston? Couldn't we purchase more energy-efficient vehicles that would go fast enough and have the interior room officers need? With such a tight budget, I would think purchasing Crown Victoriasis not showing fiscal or environmental responsibility.Can you find out why we need such energy inefficient vehicles? Thanks,
- Pat Dixon
From TG: As you can see on page 12, the RT staff pursued that same question.

The Traffic Guy thinks ...

... that the Fourth of July festivities and the fireworks were spectacular as always. Get ready for more Starlight Concerts, the Ethnic Arts Fest and the Lakeshore Arts Fest. There's just no place like Evanston in the summer.

... that the underpass where Emerson, Green Bay and Ridge converge is a cool spot in a thunderstorm (unless it's lightening). TG just may take a lawn chair down there one day, put on some headphones and take in the sights of traffic and art.

... that the City was working on a personnel action plan at the Ecology Center last week. One question posed for input was, "What is one thing you can do to create a more inclusive work environment at City of Evanston offices?" Maybe the City should have thought of this before the employee exodus.