The Traffic Guy hears …

… that Fountain Square seems to have a significant but as yet unlocated underground leak. The City has shut off the water while the problem is being investigated, so this year’s “opening” of the fountain will be delayed.   

… that the City has granted $1,700 to Enzo the Baker on Dempster Street, a micro-bakery and beverage shop featuring Harith Raaza’s specialty bread puddings and New Orleans style coffee.

… that other new businesses are Dogtopia, a domestic-animal daycare and kennel at 900 Clark; a tattoo establishment at 1577 Maple; and Montelimar Bread Company, a wholesale goods establishment at 1731 Howard. And at 2030 Greenwood, the City is likely to give the go-ahead to a proposal for 24 total dwelling units where the zoning permits 18. Four of the units would be granted as a “bonus” for complying with the City’s inclusionary housing ordinance. The height of the proposed development is somewhat curious: Zoning permits three stories at a height of 41 feet, and this proposal is for four stories with a height of only 38 feet.

… that The Varsity LLC, which owns 1706-10 Sherman, where the remains of the Varsity Theater linger, as well as the Huntley building just across the alley, is requesting a 25-year easement on the alley between the two buildings. The alley itself is called Bookman’s Alley and is now home to Alley Gallery and Bookends & Beginnings.

… that, as hinted at previously, the City is finally getting its ducks in a row in relation to parking on Sheridan Square. Here is the final, TG believes, resolution: Three-hour on the east side of Sheridan Square from Garden Park to Sheridan Road will be allowed between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. The west side of the same stretch of Sheridan Square will be relegated to residents-only parking.

… that the City has given another year to Northwestern to hold permitted events in the U2 zoning district – that is, Ryan Field. Readers will remember the City – despite pleas from residents, local businesses, the alderman of the ward, and, yes, the RT – gave NU permission to hold six single-day events and a seventh multi-day event that would last no more than seven days. So there could be as many as 13 events there that could attract significant crowds. The pandemic spared the area but now the City has allowed them another year. The same conditions apply – notifying residents, limiting attendance to 7,000 people for outdoor events and 3,000 for indoor ones, supplying 2,000 parking spaces, providing security and traffic-control, keeping “live animals used in conjunction with any event stored within a completely enclosed building, and banning activities related to these events between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. weekday and between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. weekends.

… that renovations to McCullouch Park, which include a new playground, basketball court, pathways, LED lighting, site furnishings and landscaping, could be completed in August. Even though the park is closed during the renovations, an August opening still leaves lots of time to enjoy the park before winter really sets in.

… that an ordinance protecting trees on private property is working its way through the City. While the City may approve an ordinance expanding the protection of mature and valuable trees, it is not likely to go into effect until next year, because the City lacks “capacity to implement and administer the revised Tree Preservation Ordinance due to lack of staff resources in the Public Works Agency and Community Development Department.”

… that a different ordinance – this one to regulate things that are, well sprouting up rather than in danger of being taken down – is being refined by resident and City committees: what to do about cellular towers (aka “wireless support structures” and “wireless support facilities”).  There is some oversight offered in ordinance 78-O-18 in the City Code, which, staff says, “provides for regulations of wireless telecommunication facilities within the public right-of-way and makes mention of locating these facilities outside of the right-of-way in districts specifically zoned for commercial or industrial use. It also enables the Design and Project Review (DAPR) Committee to review height waiver requests.” In other words, more wireless support structures could be in the offing and there will of course be the dynamic tension between – or, more likely, among – what the cellular company wants, what the City wants, and what affected business and residents would require for quality of life, such as in the areas of height, setback, appearance, and maintenance but complete and thorough wireless coverage.

… that about 37 million Americans are expected to travel for Memorial Day, a substantial increase from last year’s record low. And a huge majority plans to drive rather than fly. Driving will be more expensive this year, even this week, as gas prices in the Chicago area rose 4.5 cents per gallon in the week ending May 14, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,437 stations in Chicago. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, attributes the surge in prices in the southeastern states to the temporary shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline. Those who do drive in Illinois should be aware of the annual police safety drive, “Click It or Ticket.” Evanston Police Sergeant Tracy Williams says, “Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45%. Seat belts save lives every day, but they’re only effective if they’re used.” The Evanston Police Department says, “While Illinois currently has a 94.6% seat belt use compliance rate, unbelted occupants still account for more than half of those killed in motor vehicle crashes.”

… that, speaking of cars, the Canadian electric vehicle-maker Lion Electric Co. says it plans to build a $70 million factory in Joliet to produce up to 20,000 electric buses and trucks annually.

… at least two companies are making clothing from plants, including underwater plants. An April 22 story by Vanessa Friedman and Elizabeth Paton in The New York Times noted, “A much-vaunted superfood, seaweed is also being talked about as a superfabfic. … [t]oday fabrics like SeaCell and C-Fiber are made from knotted wrack, a bumpy brown algae harvested from the sea off Iceland.” Surely, with all the algae blooms in the Great Lakes, scientists here can come up with a fabric befitting hardy Midwesterners.  

… that, continuing with the vehicle motif here, Theresa Wiegert posted a story on May 13 in Earth that sharks navigate using Earth’s magnetic field. Research had shown that lobsters, turtles and some birds navigate that way but the first evidence that sharks use the magnetic field guide was reported earlier this month. Bryan Keller at Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory is the lead author of this research, which was published on May 6 in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology. 

… that the late spring sky will be full of wonders. The next full moon, known as the Flower Moon or the Blood Moon, will be a supermoon. And in the early hours of May 26 there will be a total lunar eclipse. The summer will bring the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower between July 3 and Aug. 15, with the peak on July 28 and 29. Somewhat overlapping will be the year’s favorite, the Perseids between July 17 and Aug. 26, with what one observer termed a “strong maximum” on Aug. 12 or 13.

The Traffic Guy thinks …

Congratulations to all graduates, particularly those who made it through tough transition years – kindergarten, sixth grade, eighth grade, ninth grade, twelfth grade and every year between.

There will be good celebrations this summer – starlight concerts and movies, the Juneteenth and Pride parades, farmers markets, art markets, Thursday downtown markets and more. Evanston is a great place to be in the summer.

Thank you to the readers who say they have enjoyed this column and who have contributed story ideas, notes, photos and comments as we all looked at the City’s walkways, streets, parkways, buildings and infrastructure. Thanks also to those who sent notes after the announcement in the last column that this would be the final one: Linda Hansen, E. Burrell, Amy Parker and Nancy Engel – and Ansel Bolton, who asked about TG in a comment to a different post .  And since it is the final column after more than 20 years, TG leaves readers with a few things to ponder:

If the Citywide speed limit is 25 miles per hour, why is the speed limit on Asbury, a residential street, 30 mph?

Could the City try to get some reasonableness when it comes to parkways? Right now, there seems to be no limit to the number of signs the City allows to clutter its parkways yet City folks want to control plantings there. Is there room for proportionality?

Finally, what does this sign mean?