non sequitur Friday

Let's dance!

music Mondays at BAC on 7/22

Bring your chairs and enjoy some tunes by Son Monarcas. Beverly Arts Center courtyard from 7-9 pm.

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

non sequitur Friday

Garden walk on Sun. 7/21

Tickets are now on sale for the BAPA garden walk. It's happening on Sunday 7/21 from 10 am to 3 pm.

Click here for more info and to buy tickets.

BAPA porch concert on Friday 7/12

The next BAPA porch concert features the Back Country Boys on the porch at Ridge Historical Society. It's happening Friday 7/12 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  Bring your lawn chairs to the lawn below the porch - Longwood Dr. a bit north of 107th St. Barraco's food truck will be there.

For more info, click here.

non sequitur Friday

Summer fun - a few old faves...

Music Mondays on 7/1

 Bring your chairs and enjoy some tunes.

Dave Herrero, originally from Clearwater, Florida got his first taste of the power of blues music by watching Buddy Guy on Austin City Limits as a kid. He started learning how to play guitar due to coming from generations of family musicians (his grandfather Luis was one of the first to move to New York from the Dominican Republic in the 1930’s and recorded many records for Victor / RCA with his group “The Dominican Serenaders."

non sequitur Friday

Summer fun...

railroad crossing construction/closures

 

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

Ridge Park art fair on Sat. 6/22

The art fair is happening this Saturday at Ridge Park () from 11 am to 5 pm. More info at the link below.

More info here.

 

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

Sanders BBQ Supply is open on 99th St.

The long -awaited Sanders BBQ Supply on 99th St. is finally open. 

I'm hearing good things about their food and service and I need to check them out soon.

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

news from Metra

Celebrate Chicago Bike Month! Metra will be hosting a free special event at LaSalle Street Station on Track 8 on Tuesday, June 4, from 4:30-6:30pm.

The new bike rack will be available for guests to test out.

@activetrans will also be providing free giveaways.

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...I *REALLY* love this new Beyonce cover.





The original...

Music Mondays at Beverly Arts Center

 Music Mondays start at Beverly Arts Center on 6/3. Bring your $5 donation, lawn chair and appreciation for good tunes.

 

99th St. update

I previously wrote about traffic safety issues on 99th St. and the rollout of a speed camera there.

Since then, the camera and some signage have been moved from their original positions. The camera was originally installed at Vanderpoel, one block further east. Now it's closer to the tracks, but is still ineffective for its intended purpose of creating safer conditions for crossing 99th St. Drivers pass the camera, then speed up, often going 30 mph or faster at the Walden crosswalks where they should be following the 20 mph school speed limit.

Notice new position of camera beyond white pickup truck -
moved from 99th/Vanderpoel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Placement of speed limit signs is even more ridiculous now
that they're so close together.

Note the spacing of signs relative to
length of adjacent car.

 

 

 

The park speed limit should start at Walden, not so close to Longwood as to invalidate the school speed limit. The placement of the 2 signs relative to each other was ridiculous before this move and is now farcical.

I was just talking to one of the preschool parents who volunteer at 99th and Walden. They told me that a CPS crossing guard who has been working at 99th and Longwood was hit by a car a few weeks ago. That's why we've been seeing substitutes at that corner in recent weeks.

After all the reckless and sometimes malicious driver behavior I've seen at 99th and Walden over the years, I can't blame the preschool parents for being concerned about safety at the intersection. The streetscape project that was done several years ago does make the area look better, but not adding curb bumpouts and a raised crosswalk was a real missed opportunity. 

Not long after the eastbound speed limit sign spacing was changed, the 30 mph park speed limit sign was removed. Now it's just the 20 mph school speed limit sign - without any warning of the camera.

What's next?

Eastbound signage as of 5/24/24

  

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

BAPA home tour on 5/19

 BAPA's home tour is always an interesting way to see a slice of the neighborhood. It's happening this Sunday 5/19 from noon to 5.  This year's starting location is Smith Village.

Tickets and more info here.

Major Taylor documentary at IIT on 5/19

The recently released documentary is showing at IIT on 5/19. Info and ticket link are below. If the schedule works, Metra could be an option to get to/from the event. The station at 35th is steps away from the venue.

Click here for tickets.

non sequitur Friday

trail clean-up workday in Dan Ryan Woods on 5/11

Friends of the Forest Preserves is having its monthly workday in Dan Ryan Woods on Sat. 5/11 from 10 am to 1 pm. Dress for yard work and wear boots or shoes that can handle some mud. If you have work gloves you like, bringing those is a good thing. 

Here's more info from Friends of the Forest Preserves:

Our trails need a your help, so please join us this Saturday at 10 a.m. for our annual trail cleanup day. We'll meet in the parking lot at 91st and Hermitage.

Please bring a rake, a bow rake is best (I had to look that one up earlier this week), to help clear wet leaves and other debris off the trail. Taking the organic material off the trail helps it be less muddy by allowing the bare earth to dry out faster.

If you have any questions, please call Benjamin at 773-398-1178.

BIA bird walk in Dan Ryan Woods on Sat. 5/11

 BIA is offering its excellent bird watching walk this Saturday morning starting at 8 a.m. at the 89th St. parking lot in Dan Ryan Woods.

It's a good idea to wear boots or shoes that can handle moist conditions just in case things are soggy due to this week's rain.  If you have binoculars, please bring them. 

The walk will be led by conservationist and ornithologist Walter Marcisz and Friends of the Forest Preserves and Arborist Benjamin Cox.  

If you need more info, you can send email here. 

Here's a map link for the start location. 

95th St. farmers market starts Sun. 5/5

 It's back! The 95th St. farmers market starts this Sunday.

So looking forward to it - 8 am to 1 pm at the 95th St. park and ride lot at 95th and Longwood.

See you there!

BAPA home tour on 5/19

BAPA's home tour is always an interesting way to see a slice of the neighborhood. It's happening on Sunday 5/19 from noon to 5.  This year's starting location is Smith Village.

Tickets and more info here.

the dangers of 99th St.

On a recent morning, I saw yet another example of why speed cameras are needed on 99th St. and why the current location at Vanderpoel is ridiculously ineffective for the stated goal of safer crossings at 99th and Walden.

A line of cars had stopped for a young family in the crosswalk at Walden. Suddenly there was a screech of brakes from a car that raced downhill past Longwood, not anticipating that anyone might need to cross the street. The driver nearly rear ended the line of stopped cars, then she crossed center line and blasted past the young family and other people trying to cross from the other side of 99th. She zoomed across the tracks, nearly hitting another car head on before veering back across the center line. It happened so fast that I didn't get a chance to get a video.

Westbound view of camera from 99th & Vanderpoel

Westbound view from 99th & Prospect

Westbound view from 99th & Wood. Next crosswalk is Walden.

Eastbound view from 99th & Longwood

The camera location is almost 2 blocks east of Walden and is totally ineffective for slowing traffic at Walden. Now there are new crossing guards at Walden - often the only way to give anyone a fighting chance of getting across safely at morning and afternoon rush hour with this ridiculous camera placement.

Eastbound signage placement is equally idiotic, with the 20 mph school speed limit less than 20 feet before the 30 mph park speed limit sign, which makes the 20 mph  sign completely useless for school crossings.

It would make SO much more sense to have the camera a lot closer to Walden so that it actually helps to slow down drivers there. This is just one more example of how lack of enforcement (since 2020, especially) has encouraged drivers who don't care about anyone else to do whatever they want. The rest of us should NOT have to keep dealing with the consequences.Will it take someone being killed or seriously injured by a reckless drivers to get a GOOD solution here. Enough already!

non sequitur Friday

Major Taylor documentary at IIT on 5/19

 The recently released documentary is showing at IIT on 5/19. Info and ticket link are below. If the schedule works, Metra could be an option to get to/from the event. The station at 35th is steps away from the venue.

Click here for tickets.

non sequitur Friday

Metra 100th St. grade crossing work

 FYI - Here's some info from Metra about 100th St. grade crossing work next week.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A crossing replacement project on the Rock Island Line’s Beverly Branch will impact midday outbound service on Monday, April 29 and Tuesday, April 30.

Outbound Beverly Branch Line Trains #605 through #615 (departures from LaSalle Street between 8:25 a.m. and 1:25 p.m.) will operate on the Rock Island mainline, making stops at 95th Street/Longwood, 103rd Street/Washington Heights and Blue Island/Vermont Street, where they will turn around for an inbound trip on the Beverly Branch. Passengers on these outbound trains who need to access Beverly Branch stations will be allowed to stay onboard the train for the inbound trip, which will make all scheduled stops on the Beverly Branch.

During the replacement of the 100th Street crossing on the Beverly Branch Line, operations will be restricted to a single track. Because this greatly restricts the flow of traffic on the line, the schedule was modified to minimize delays for both Beverly Branch and mainline trains. A copy of the Rock Island Line schedule highlighting the affected trains can be found here.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This morning I found detour signs for car traffic, so the work is already affecting folks who need to drive on 100th between Walden and Wood.

non sequitur Friday

Major Taylor Trail clean up this Saturday 4/20

 Our Earth Day trail cleanup is happening on Sat. 4/20 from 9 am to noon. 

If you have work gloves you like, please bring them. Dress for yard work. A limited number of work gloves will be available for use during the workday. 

Depending on how many volunteers we have, we may spread out to more locations along the trail.

Sign-up link is below. If you plan to come, it's helpful if you sign up so we have an idea of how many people to expect. We hope to see you there.

Sign up here.

non sequitur Friday

solar eclipse on 4/8

 On Monday 4/8, we'll be able to see a solar eclipse. While the path of totality will be a few hundred miles south of Chicago, it will be nearly total around 2:05 pm.

More info here - NASA web site.

electronics recycling

 It's a good idea to carefully read the list of what they accept. 

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

Major Taylor trail cleanup on Sat. 4/20

 Our Earth Day trail cleanup is happening on Sat. 4/20 from 9 am to noon. 

If you have work gloves you like, please bring them. Dress for yard work. A limited number of work gloves will be available for use during the workday. 

Depending on how many volunteers we have, we may spread out to more locations along the trail.

Sign-up link is below. If you plan to come, it's helpful if you sign up so we have an idea of how many people to expect. We hope to see you there.

Sign up here.

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

99th St. dry cleaner closing 3/28

 If you have clothing or other items at the dry cleaning shop on 99th between Longwood and Walden, you need to pick that stuff up ASAP.

non sequitur Friday

non sequitur Friday

Starbucks at 103rd and Longwood

FYI - The Starbucks at 103rd and Longwood is closing for remodeling starting on 3/17 and reopening in May. 

I heard through the grapevine that most employees will be working at the 95th and Ashland location until the Longwood location opens. I'm glad that they'll be able to keep working during that closure.

Other local coffee options:  Afro Joe's on 99th, Two Mile on Walden, Andy Sunflower Cafe on Western, O'Kelly's on Western, Erin's Cup on 111th and more. 

South Side Irish parade on 3/17

Tomorrow at noon the parade steps off from 103rd and Western. Enjoy!

More info here: official parade web site.

non sequitur Friday

Edna White garden Easter egg hunt on 3/23

The first spring event at Edna White Community Garden will be an Easter egg hunt on Sat. March 23rd from 10-1.

 10:00 Egg Hunt is for children of all ages with Special Needs
11:30 Egg Hunt all are welcome 

They will have sweets and coffee donated by Beverly Bakery and kid friendly lemonades and cocktails for adults, as well as a photo booth by All That Shimmers & Shine .

A $10 donation to the garden per family is appreciated!

They are seeking donations of plastic eggs and candy/toys that will fit into the eggs.

 

non sequitur Friday

forest preserve volunteering

 It's a great way to help with habitat restoration efforts and meet some great people. No previous experience needed. 

 

non sequitur Friday

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme - TUxedo Junction - Joe Jackson, others







Going WAY back...

Polar Adventure Day at Big Marsh Park on 2/17

 If you're looking for a bit of outdoor fun today, check out Polar Adventure Day at Big Marsh Park, noon to 3. Info below.

non sequitur special edition

Variations on a theme...

non sequitur Friday

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme

social bike ride on Sat. 2/3

Femmes & Thems does casual, social bike rides in areas across the city. They're coming to Beverly & Morgan Park on Saturday.

They describe their rides as "a safe space for women, femme, non-binary and trans Chicagoans to ride bikes together."

If this sounds like just what you're looking for, come out and ride next Saturday. 

Metra changes coming on 2/1

In case you missed the recent news, Metra has overhauled their fare structure. I grabbed one of these handouts from the train.  These changes are effective on Thursday 2/1. 

The number of fare zones is being reduced from 10 to 4. The new monthly pass from Beverly and Morgan Park to the Loop will be a reasonable $75, significantly less than the pre-pandemic cost of around $160. 

The info below is about changes related to buying tickets. There won't be ticket agents at any stations as of 2/1, only ticket machines and the Ventra app. 

If you are boarding at a station without a ticket machine and you don't use the Ventra app, you can pay cash to a conductor on board the train. If you board at LaSalle or another station with a ticket machine and you want to pay cash on the train, you will be charged a $5 surcharge, though they're waiving that in the early days of this transition. 

All ticket options (1-way, day pass, day pass 5-pack, monthly pass, Saturday/ Sunday/holiday pass, weekend pass and regional connect pass) will be available on the Ventra app. Only the 1-way and Saturday/Sunday/holiday pass will be available for cash on the train. 

Yes, they're really trying to nudge as many riders as possible to use the Ventra app. The good news is that it's pretty reliable now. I tried it in the early days and got frustrated because it crashed a lot. That rarely happens now.

They're also allowing bikes on all Metra trains now and they're starting to increase capacity for carrying bikes. Click here for more info.

The new fare zone map is below. If you want to see a bigger version, click on the map to go to a bigger version on the Metra web site.

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

Polar Adventure Day TODAY (1/20) at Big Marsh Park

 If you're looking for a bit of outdoor fun today, check out Polar Adventure Day at Big Marsh Park, noon to 3. Info below.

Metra information sessions about new fare structure

 If you ride Metra, either regularly or occasionally, you may want to check this out - either online or in person.

Metra has scheduled informational sessions at all downtown stations to answer questions from riders from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the schedule below:
Jan. 23: Millennium Station
Jan. 24: LaSalle Street Station
Jan. 25: Ogilvie Transportation Center
Jan 30: Chicago Union Station

On a related note, Metra has adopted a Passenger Code of Conduct. Anyone using Metra facilities or trains and who breaks the rules risks suspension of riding privileges and/or confiscation of the fare media. News release here.

non sequitur Friday

the Frunchroom - TONIGHT

The Frunchroom storytelling session is happening at Beverly Arts Center on Thursday 1/18 starting at 7:30 pm.  

Click here for more info. 

Rock Island Public House anniversary fun

 

13328 Old Western Ave. at Broadway, Blue Island

https://www.facebook.com/rockislandpublichouse/

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme

non sequitur Friday

Got some NOLA classics for you.