… that Evanston’s streets and parking lots are becoming visible reminders that Black Lives Matter. Last Saturday, “Black Lives Matter” was painted on the parking lot of the Evanston Art Center on Central Street.
… that the construction trucks and crews are out all over Evanston. On 13 different streets, crews will be repairing the roadway base and replacing curbs, ADA sidewalks and driveway aprons as needed. Next week, the Howard Street improvements begin. Over the next 15 months, crews will rehab and resurface the roadway and install water mains, needed sewer and drainage structures and streetscape elements. There will be new traffic signals from Dodge to Custer. The first phase, the basic street and water infrastructure, should be completed by Oct. 15. The remainder of the project will be completed in stages between April and October of next year.
… that Garland/DBS, Inc., will start in mid-July to do various repairs on City-owned buildings: masonry repairs at the Municipal Service Center, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Chandler-Newberger Community Center and the Ecology Center; roof repairs at Lighthouse Landing and the South
Boulevard Beach washrooms; and door, window and frame replacement at the lagoon building. The City estimates this half-million-dollar project will be completed by Halloween.
… that strengthening the City’s old (some more than a century) sewer pipes continues with cured-in-place-pipe – a process begun several years ago. Crews insert a liner into the pipe and flush hot water through it to seal the liner to the old pipe. The City requests that residents limit the use of their bathroom facilities and refrain from doing laundry or washing dishes when rehabilitation work is being performed on the sewer line in front of their building. Additionally, any sump pumps that are connected to the combined sewer system should be disconnected during this period. When installation of the liner is complete, the contractor will reestablish flow from the building sewer service to the public sewer. Much of the work will be performed in the daytime, but a 7-p.m.-to-7 a.m. schedule is expected for high-traffic areas. Drivers and parkers should be alert for the temporary but enforceable “No Parking” signs. Speaking of water and sewers, the City is going to apply for a grant from the Rebuild Illinois Public Infrastructure Program for Main Street Water Main Improvements from Maple to Hinman.
… that Union Pacific is negotiating a new agreement with Metra, under which Metra would assume direct responsibility to hire and supervise employees, and have control of the equipment needed to operate the Union Pacific or (UP) North, Northwest and West lines. If the agreement is finalized as envisioned, the UP would continue to maintain the track and manage train movement across its lines, and Metra will have direct control over 10 of the 11 commuter lines in Chicago. Does that mean commuters would again have a coffee shop in the Central Street and possibly other stations?
… that activity is returning to the Geometry in Construction House that languished in the ETHS parking lot during the lockdown. There’s a roof.
The Traffic Guy thinks …
… that the pumping station on Church at McDaniel looks pretty good, except for the barriers in the west part of the parking lot. Something surely can be done about that.
… that the car parades for Juneteenth and Pride month were exhilarating. Let’s hope the legislature will make Juneteenth a State holiday and that Congress will make it a national holiday. July 4 declared independence from the King of England; emancipation is the declaration of freedom we all need to work for.