non sequitur Friday

flooding alert - please read

A press release from MWRD - we can make a difference by minimizing water use today.

We would like to share this important winter flooding alert from our partners at The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). Please share this alert with your neighbors, family and friends.
For Immediate Release
February 19, 2014

Winter Flooding Alert

Rain is anticipated in the Chicago area on Thursday, and coupled with ice and snow melt, there is an immediate risk for flooding in the entire Chicagoland region.

Because the frozen ground can't absorb water and snow, run-off immediately flows to the sewers. In addition, ice can block storm drains and streams. Flooding may occur when the sewer system becomes overwhelmed from the combination of normal sewage flow, rain water and snow melt.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) is preparing for the additional flow. To help minimize flooding, the MWRD is lowering water levels in the Chicago Area Waterway System to make room for runoff, and our Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) tunnels are ready to hold over two billion gallons of water.

The public can help plan for and minimize flooding by reducing water use. Postponing high water consumption activities such as bathing or showering, running dishwashers or washing clothes will help provide maximum capacity in the local and intercepting sewer systems.

Making sure storm drains are clear and not buried under snow drifts and keeping areas around streams free of floatable debris can also help reduce flooding,

If you see flooding, report it to your municipality; in Chicago, call 311.

Our water environment: Take it personally.

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail meeting tomorrow night 2/19

If you're interested in events and stewardship on the Major Taylor Trail, please join us for our monthly meeting on Wednesday 2/19 at Ridge Park fieldhouse, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

For those who aren't familiar with our group and what we do, we are a non-profit advocacy group working to improve and maintain the Major Taylor Trail and promote its use. We have an active working relationship with the Chicago Park District, Forest Preserve District of Cook County and other non-profits and government agencies. We organize volunteer workdays, bike rides and other events.

In the past year, we've done 3 tree planting projects with the Openlands TreeKeepers program: near 87th Street and between 124th and 127th. We'd love to have your ideas and help with future events and projects.  Please join us!

non sequitur Friday

I'm really looking forward to seeing Kurt with his new band at College of DuPage this Sunday.

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail meeting on 2/19

If you're interested in events and stewardship on the Major Taylor Trail, please join us for our monthly meeting on Wednesday 2/19 at Ridge Park fieldhouse, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

For those who aren't familiar with our group and what we do, we are a non-profit advocacy group working to improve and maintain the Major Taylor Trail and promote its use. We have an active working relationship with the Chicago Park District, Forest Preserve District of Cook County and other non-profits and government agencies. We organize volunteer workdays, bike rides and other events.

In the past year, we've done 3 tree planting projects with the Openlands TreeKeepers program: near 87th Street and between 124th and 127th. We'd love to have your ideas and help with future events and projects.  Please join us!

99th & Walden pedestrian safety issues

When the 99th & Walden streetscape project was announced, it included the formation of a Special Service Area (SSA) to help maintain the area.  This winter, safe pedestrian to parts of that area have been exceptionally bad.  The sidewalk around the All Day Montessori parking lot has generally not been cleared, in spite of all the people who need to use it, including families going to All Day Montessori.  One of the results is pedestrians walking in the street at evening rush hour, when there is a lot of car traffic on Walden, increasing the risk that someone could get hit.

Sidewalk next to All Day Montessori parking lot

Parents picking up or dropping off frequently park right at the corner, creating a blind spot for turning traffic and higher risk of injury for pedestrians crossing Walden.

Vehicles are often parked over or right up to 99th St. crosswalk,
creating a blind spot for eastbound drivers turning onto Walden.

I hope that the SSA's maintenance plan will keep sidewalks and crosswalks clear in future winters and that a curb bumpout will be included in the streetscape to prevent cars from parking right up to the corner.  When simple things like uncleared sidewalks and blind spots end up pushing people to drive rather than walk, it has a very negative impact on quality of life in the neighborhood and on the health of our residents.

safe access to the proposed sports center at 115th & Western

The proposed sports center has the potential to be a great community amenity. However, if bike and pedestrian access aren't thoughtfully done to maximize safety by minimizing conflicts with motorized traffic, it would create a negative aspect to a facility that should be equally accessible to vulnerable users and drivers.  Streetsblog Chicago has published a thoughtful piece on this aspect of the plan.

Many have voiced concerns about the center's potential to significantly increase car traffic in the area of 115th and Western. This is another compelling argument to maximize the ease of pedestrian and bike access so that more people will walk or bike to the center rather than driving.

Others have questioned the wisdom of spending millions on yet another piece of infrastructure when so much of our existing infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, sewers, etc.) is poorly maintained.  A few have commented that this feels like a "let them eat cake" (while our streets crumble) moment. They have a point.  I would love to see our miles of deteriorated sidewalks made more walkable again.  Getting our streets in better condition would make biking much safer and more enjoyable.

What are your thoughts?

not very neighborly

Ridge Park - Longwood Drive

Ridge Park - Longwood Drive

I know that this winter is wearing on a lot of people's nerves. Some folks seem to have given up on clearing their sidewalks.  Others have never done it at all, even though most of them have the means to take care of it.  Ridge Park employees have usually done a good job.  Their efforts along Longwood Dr. this time around leave a lot to be desired. After plowing the sidewalk along the length of the park, why leave a wall of snow at the edge of the property?  This isn't their usual practice, and it's not acceptable. 

Chicago Park District employees need to remember that many of us WALK to and through the park, even in winter.  It needs to be safely accessible to pedestrians.  When you have the equipment and employees out there to do the job, please do it right.

On a similar note, the 9500 block of Wood gets worse by the day.  Many of us use it to walk to and from the Metra station. 

9500 block of Wood

Property owners and managers need to live up to their legal responsibility to keep sidewalks clear and accessible.  That includes Metra, who didn't do a very good job with this latest storm. The platform at 95th was not cleared before yesterday's rush hour, and work done since then left a lot of snow and ice still on the platforms.  It would be nice if we could all survive the rest of this winter without getting injured or killed due to poor snow removal practices.