Community alert for Passover:
"We are pleased to inform you that we have met with the Chicago Police Department, and there will be enhanced coverage around our neighborhoods, including all shuls, over Yom Tov. The additional police presence will be during the times that people will be walking to and from shul, and during the times that people are walking to meals. Also the Chicago Police Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Mayor, announced Jewish homes will be permitted to have loaded firearms on hand to deal with the increased occurrence of home invasions in the neighborhood."
As you may have guessed, the last sentence was my little joke. Of course Jewish homeowners in Chicago are not permitted to defend themselves, their families or their homes with handguns. The city took that right away decades ago, and the mayor is the law's staunchest supporter. Why should he need guns? He has taxpayer-financed 24-hour armed protection. The police presence in Jewish neighborhoods may succeed only in pushing crime to the east, away from the Jews. Nice for the Jews but not nice for ward residents across Western Avenue, who must feel like second-class citizens under their long-serving alderman.
Showing posts with label Bernie Stone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bernie Stone. Show all posts
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, October 25, 2009
How many more stop signs does Chicago need?
This letter was in response to this article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune Oct. 18:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-after-mayaoct18-story,0,6304244.story
A four-year-old girl was killed while in a crosswalk at Lincoln Park Zoo by a motorist whose license had been revoked. He ran a stop sign and hit her. The editor cut my favorite part--the bullet points.
Dear Editor:
Motorists shouldn't run stop signs. ("After Maya," Page One, Oct. 18.) That is absolutely true.
Unfortunately the sharp increase in stop signs in Chicago over the last decade, especially at intersections that hardly warrant four-way stops, causes some drivers to ignore them or slide through them. Consider just a few examples from West Rogers Park, where I lived for several years:
* A sign stopping traffic at the alderman's condo tower, but not the other three identical towers.
* A sign protecting a baseball field used perhaps a dozen times a year.
* A sign stopping traffic on Touhy Avenue--the only one for about 10 miles--protecting a school a quarter-mile off Touhy. There is a crossing guard helping children across that intersection anyway.
* A sign on congested Devon Avenue for no apparent reason that backs up traffic for a block in either direction while the cross street has neither traffic nor pedestrians.
* A sign next to a park at a T-intersection at which the cross street runs one-way away from the intersection.
All over town, stop signs protect children near schools and parks a few hours a day, half the days of the year. Electric or temporary stop signs would ease congestion and save motorists time and fuel. I understand the Hirsch family's focus on enforcement. But reason and careful consideration with regard to stop-sign installation would also be helpful in drivers' observance of the law.
***************
If you like, you can comment on my letter online: http://bit.ly/2rJ298 Someone already made a nasty comment and called my opinion "nonsense." He sarcastically suggested that I believe the few seconds it takes me to stop is worth more than a four-year-old girl's life. No. I don't believe that. I do believe that the very high number of stop signs in Chicago actually makes intersections more dangerous for pedestrians. Furthermore, it's not just a few seconds for me. It's thousands of hours and thousands of dollars of wasted time, money and fuel as thousands of drivers per year must slow, stop and accelerate at each stop sign. These signs often exist for no reason at all other than the neighbors who wanted a stop sign installed there. I have seen several instances where stop signs facing major streets create congestion where there previously had been none. A number of streets that were once major thoroughfares across neighborhoods are now almost impassable with stop signs at every block.
*****************
If you have time: an op-ed piece about how the recession personally affects the writer and her family, by someone I know, who went to my high school, appeared in the Oct. 25 Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped1025luckoct25,0,809561.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-after-mayaoct18-story,0,6304244.story
A four-year-old girl was killed while in a crosswalk at Lincoln Park Zoo by a motorist whose license had been revoked. He ran a stop sign and hit her. The editor cut my favorite part--the bullet points.
Dear Editor:
Motorists shouldn't run stop signs. ("After Maya," Page One, Oct. 18.) That is absolutely true.
Unfortunately the sharp increase in stop signs in Chicago over the last decade, especially at intersections that hardly warrant four-way stops, causes some drivers to ignore them or slide through them. Consider just a few examples from West Rogers Park, where I lived for several years:
* A sign stopping traffic at the alderman's condo tower, but not the other three identical towers.
* A sign protecting a baseball field used perhaps a dozen times a year.
* A sign stopping traffic on Touhy Avenue--the only one for about 10 miles--protecting a school a quarter-mile off Touhy. There is a crossing guard helping children across that intersection anyway.
* A sign on congested Devon Avenue for no apparent reason that backs up traffic for a block in either direction while the cross street has neither traffic nor pedestrians.
* A sign next to a park at a T-intersection at which the cross street runs one-way away from the intersection.
All over town, stop signs protect children near schools and parks a few hours a day, half the days of the year. Electric or temporary stop signs would ease congestion and save motorists time and fuel. I understand the Hirsch family's focus on enforcement. But reason and careful consideration with regard to stop-sign installation would also be helpful in drivers' observance of the law.
***************
If you like, you can comment on my letter online: http://bit.ly/2rJ298 Someone already made a nasty comment and called my opinion "nonsense." He sarcastically suggested that I believe the few seconds it takes me to stop is worth more than a four-year-old girl's life. No. I don't believe that. I do believe that the very high number of stop signs in Chicago actually makes intersections more dangerous for pedestrians. Furthermore, it's not just a few seconds for me. It's thousands of hours and thousands of dollars of wasted time, money and fuel as thousands of drivers per year must slow, stop and accelerate at each stop sign. These signs often exist for no reason at all other than the neighbors who wanted a stop sign installed there. I have seen several instances where stop signs facing major streets create congestion where there previously had been none. A number of streets that were once major thoroughfares across neighborhoods are now almost impassable with stop signs at every block.
*****************
If you have time: an op-ed piece about how the recession personally affects the writer and her family, by someone I know, who went to my high school, appeared in the Oct. 25 Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped1025luckoct25,0,809561.story
Monday, January 12, 2009
Shuls in Rogers Park, Lincolnwood vandalized
The Chicagoland Jewish community is abuzz with the news that Palestinian sympathizers vandalized five shuls over the holy Sabbath last weekend. Some vandals broke plate-glass windows, and others spray-painted "Death to Israel" on shuls' front doors. Jewish organizations, including schools, are taking extra security precautions. After all, Hamas targets children. The Hamas rocket launcher operators and suicide bombers are heroes to these vandals. There's no reason they would hesitate to target Jewish children.
This seems like a great time to start packing heat.
But no.
We can't do that.
Not in Chicago, we can't.
We can act like the vandals and antisemites expect us to act--frozen with fear. We can check our backs as we walk down California Avenue. We can wave to the cop cars conspicuously parked at various locations around the neighborhood. We can walk in groups. Some of us will stop going to shul; I remember someone telling me that she stopped going because "I don't want to be killed." And that was several years ago. It doesn't stop.
This is all window dressing. Without guns inside and outside our homes, we are giving up our best defense--our best way of defending ourselves against extreme violence. If the vandals, who most likely live in Rogers Park or nearby, knew that we were a well-armed community, they wouldn't be so quick to throw bricks through our synagogue windows or spray-paint synagogue doors. They would worry about getting shot. I have heard (but cannot verify) that some shuls practice a bit of civil disobedience--one guy in the shul wears a gun during services. And he's not a cop. He's just a member--a "minyanaire" regular, maybe a shul officer--who is always there and always carrying. He helps protect the shul. Meanwhile, willingly or not, he is giving Hizzoner Da Mare the finger. Mayor Richard M. Daley, Mr. Anti-Gun himself, who has 24-hr. protection--two cops on him at all times, thanks to the taxpayers of the City. Da Mare, who doesn't think the people should be permitted to defend themselves.
The National Rifle Association's lawsuit against the city to overturn its handgun ban should go to trial sometime this year, with a decision, I hope, by summer. Other cities, like Evanston, have capitulated and rewritten their handgun bans. Mayor Daley wants to spend millions of dollars the city doesn't have to fight this case in court. Why? It would make great television for the parents of a murdered child, c'v', to ask him that question. A child killed for the crime of being Jewish. I hope we never, ever have that opportunity.
This seems like a great time to start packing heat.
But no.
We can't do that.
Not in Chicago, we can't.
We can act like the vandals and antisemites expect us to act--frozen with fear. We can check our backs as we walk down California Avenue. We can wave to the cop cars conspicuously parked at various locations around the neighborhood. We can walk in groups. Some of us will stop going to shul; I remember someone telling me that she stopped going because "I don't want to be killed." And that was several years ago. It doesn't stop.
This is all window dressing. Without guns inside and outside our homes, we are giving up our best defense--our best way of defending ourselves against extreme violence. If the vandals, who most likely live in Rogers Park or nearby, knew that we were a well-armed community, they wouldn't be so quick to throw bricks through our synagogue windows or spray-paint synagogue doors. They would worry about getting shot. I have heard (but cannot verify) that some shuls practice a bit of civil disobedience--one guy in the shul wears a gun during services. And he's not a cop. He's just a member--a "minyanaire" regular, maybe a shul officer--who is always there and always carrying. He helps protect the shul. Meanwhile, willingly or not, he is giving Hizzoner Da Mare the finger. Mayor Richard M. Daley, Mr. Anti-Gun himself, who has 24-hr. protection--two cops on him at all times, thanks to the taxpayers of the City. Da Mare, who doesn't think the people should be permitted to defend themselves.
The National Rifle Association's lawsuit against the city to overturn its handgun ban should go to trial sometime this year, with a decision, I hope, by summer. Other cities, like Evanston, have capitulated and rewritten their handgun bans. Mayor Daley wants to spend millions of dollars the city doesn't have to fight this case in court. Why? It would make great television for the parents of a murdered child, c'v', to ask him that question. A child killed for the crime of being Jewish. I hope we never, ever have that opportunity.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Howard Street, Crawford Avenue to Skokie Boulevard
Just out of range of Ald. Bernie Stone's stop-sign trigger fingers, there lies a major street that cuts through a residential neighborhood for a mile. Between Crawford/Pulaski Avenue and Skokie Boulevard, there are 13 side streets. Yet between the traffic lights at Crawford/Pulaski and Skokie, there are no stop signs or lights. It's just a pleasant ride in a 35mph zone.
No stop signs? But it's residential! People need to be able to cross the street!
Lyon Park borders Howard Street! We need a stop sign or a traffic light! For the children!
If we don't put in some type of traffic control, why, people will just fly down Howard at 60mph!
In Chicago, all those arguments would ring true, and Howard Street would probably have at least a half-dozen stop signs in that one-mile stretch. The difference is that this part of Howard is in Skokie. Skokie has a few stupid stop signs of its own, including a slew near Church Street protecting a series of walking/bike paths. They make the streets more dangerous because most drivers don't bother stopping for them. But Skokie draws the line somewhere, and it declined to impede traffic on Howard, a major street that correctly should not have stop signs. So between Crawford/Pulaski and Skokie Boulevard, traffic continues to flow, people manage to turn left and cross the street, and everyone is happy. See? It really works.
No stop signs? But it's residential! People need to be able to cross the street!
Lyon Park borders Howard Street! We need a stop sign or a traffic light! For the children!
If we don't put in some type of traffic control, why, people will just fly down Howard at 60mph!
In Chicago, all those arguments would ring true, and Howard Street would probably have at least a half-dozen stop signs in that one-mile stretch. The difference is that this part of Howard is in Skokie. Skokie has a few stupid stop signs of its own, including a slew near Church Street protecting a series of walking/bike paths. They make the streets more dangerous because most drivers don't bother stopping for them. But Skokie draws the line somewhere, and it declined to impede traffic on Howard, a major street that correctly should not have stop signs. So between Crawford/Pulaski and Skokie Boulevard, traffic continues to flow, people manage to turn left and cross the street, and everyone is happy. See? It really works.
Stop signs: the debate continues
A couple of friends begged me to go on the stop-sign warpath again. So here we go.
There are a number of members of Young Israel of West Rogers Park who love the new stop sign on Touhy at Washtenaw, right next to the shul. I asked one of them, "J.D.," "What if there were stop signs on Touhy at Campbell, Francisco and Albany?" That would mean Touhy Avenue would have traffic controls--either a stop sign or traffic light--at every intersection from Western to Kedzie, a one-mile stretch:
Campbell: No current stop sign.
Rockwell: traffic light.
Washtenaw: new stop sign (installed at the alderman's direction in November, 2008.)
California: traffic light.
Francisco: residents have begged the alderman for a stop sign here for years. Francisco does not run through here; there is a townhome development entrance on the north side of this intersection. No current stop sign.
Sacramento: traffic light.
Albany: a stop sign was here for about a month, in January, 2008. Bowing to pressure, the alderman ended up removing it either because people were disobeying it, or it was causing accidents. Albany is where eastbound traffic narrows from two lanes to one.
Kedzie: traffic light.
J.D. said he thought stop signs at the three intersections that currently have none would be "overkill," in his words. Well, that's the whole point. Every neighborhood resident has his own "favorite stop sign," whether it exists or not. If it doesn't yet exist, you can be sure there are some busybodies who have plenty of time to start petitions and lobby the alderman to install a stop sign. With the new stop sign at Washtenaw, the residents near Campbell, Francisco and Albany will have fresh ammunition for their arguments for their own stop signs. To you, a new stop sign may be just a few seconds a day. But as I previously mentioned, the cumulative effect of a single stop sign is thousands of dollars in wasted time, fuel, and vehicular wear-and-tear. Furthermore, a new stop sign rarely stands alone. More often than not, nearby intersections suffer the bane of the four-way stop as well.
There are a number of members of Young Israel of West Rogers Park who love the new stop sign on Touhy at Washtenaw, right next to the shul. I asked one of them, "J.D.," "What if there were stop signs on Touhy at Campbell, Francisco and Albany?" That would mean Touhy Avenue would have traffic controls--either a stop sign or traffic light--at every intersection from Western to Kedzie, a one-mile stretch:
Campbell: No current stop sign.
Rockwell: traffic light.
Washtenaw: new stop sign (installed at the alderman's direction in November, 2008.)
California: traffic light.
Francisco: residents have begged the alderman for a stop sign here for years. Francisco does not run through here; there is a townhome development entrance on the north side of this intersection. No current stop sign.
Sacramento: traffic light.
Albany: a stop sign was here for about a month, in January, 2008. Bowing to pressure, the alderman ended up removing it either because people were disobeying it, or it was causing accidents. Albany is where eastbound traffic narrows from two lanes to one.
Kedzie: traffic light.
J.D. said he thought stop signs at the three intersections that currently have none would be "overkill," in his words. Well, that's the whole point. Every neighborhood resident has his own "favorite stop sign," whether it exists or not. If it doesn't yet exist, you can be sure there are some busybodies who have plenty of time to start petitions and lobby the alderman to install a stop sign. With the new stop sign at Washtenaw, the residents near Campbell, Francisco and Albany will have fresh ammunition for their arguments for their own stop signs. To you, a new stop sign may be just a few seconds a day. But as I previously mentioned, the cumulative effect of a single stop sign is thousands of dollars in wasted time, fuel, and vehicular wear-and-tear. Furthermore, a new stop sign rarely stands alone. More often than not, nearby intersections suffer the bane of the four-way stop as well.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The stop sign debate continues
She feels sorry for my future kids?
When someone tells someone, “I feel sorry for your future children,” that’s typically taken as just about the worst thing someone can say to another—-that she thinks the person will be a horrible parent. So it came as a surprise when a close friend not only told me this, but did so in a public forum, in front of my 100+ Facebook friends. That was deeply hurtful. I did not say, “I believe in corporal punishment.” I did not say, “I don’t think children need seatbelts.” I did not even say, “I think tv’s in kids’ bedrooms slow kids’ mental growth.” I stated my opposition to stop signs on major streets, and repeated that opposition even if I were to have children. And for that she feels sorry for my future children?
That’s a serious charge, and I hope she reconsiders her sentiment. There is no evidence whatsoever that stop signs on major streets make the streets safer for children or pedestrians. I have given a number of reasons for my opposition to stop signs on major streets. I’ll reiterate them here:
1. They stop traffic for no good reason, wasting time and fuel and inflicting additional wear and tear on vehicles.
2. Slower traffic and stop signs on major streets encourage drivers to use side streets, where they are more likely to encounter pedestrians and children playing in the streets.
3. Illinois law already requires motorists to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. If police enforced this law, we wouldn’t need stop signs to help pedestrians cross major streets.
4. Municipalities often install stop signs to “protect” schools, parks and senior citizen homes that produce pedestrians just a few hours a day. For a school, this is just 180 days a year. Park visitors only use a park in good weather. The rest of the time, the sign stops traffic for no reason whatsoever. This sign that started this discussion is for a school, a whole quarter-mile away (5-min. walk, longer for little kids). No one disputes that the kids are out and using the crosswalk at Touhy just two hours a day on school days. The other 22 hours on school days (180 days), and 24 hours on non-school days, the stop sign stops traffic for…..? One friend suggested, Well, it’s easier to walk to Young Israel of West Rogers Park on shabbos. Yes, it is. And anyone who minds waiting a minute for traffic to stop is being very, very selfish.
5. There is simply no justification for a solitary stop sign within a nine-mile stretch (probably longer—I’ll need to check) of stop sign-free roadway. I’m sure angry residents in Lincolnwood and Morton Grove can come up with a long list of more deserving intersections. But I think there’s an understanding, which alderman have no compunction about violating, that major streets are not to be tampered with.
6. A single stop sign on a major street always draws demands from residents for additional stop signs on “their” intersections. I could give so many examples just off the top of my head of former fast thoroughfares now stop-and-go due to stop signs, just on the North Side alone: California Avenue, Halsted Street, Sheffield Avenue, Clark Street, Sheridan Road, Lawrence Avenue, Randolph Street and Broadway.
7. My friend who fears for my future children mentioned a fatality and “what-iffed” that a stop sign may have saved his life. This is one of those cause-effect relationships that seems logical but doesn’t really exist. Case study: Maya Hirsh obm. Maya was a little girl visiting Lincoln Park Zoo with her family a couple of years ago. As she crossed Cannon Drive, a crazed motorist ran a stop sign, killing her instantly. Authorities determined the driver to be mentally unsound and without a drivers license. (He was also Ald. Stone’s neighbor in Winston Towers.) The stop sign near the Lincoln Park Zoo entrance, which I think should only be in force during zoo hours, didn’t prevent the driver from killing Maya. Funny how drivers prone to vehicular homicide don’t pay too much attention to stop signs.
8. More stop signs reduce compliance among drivers. My friend who fears for my future children may not have visited West Rogers Park lately. The situation is out of control. Almost every intersection has a four-way stop sign. California, once free of stop signs, now has four in 12 blocks in addition to the three traffic lights in that stretch. A T-intersection has a stop sign despite the fact that the cross street that terminates at the intersection is one way “in,” meaning cross-traffic is impossible. (The stop sign “protects” a park.) Of the four high-rise towers on Kedzie Avenue, one inexplicably has a stop sign—the one the alderman lives in. Motorists give up and simply ignore them, making our streets less safe.
Authorities and communities can take sensible steps to make streets and intersections safer without inconveniencing all motorists and their passengers. Enforce crosswalks. Fence off or ban pedestrians from unsafe crossing areas—force them to walk to the nearest controlled intersection. (At Washtenaw, where the new stop sign is, stoplights are one block away in each direction.) Use new technology to highlight pedestrians in crosswalks so vehicles stop for them without forcing vehicles to stop 24-7. More 24-hr. traffic controls (stop signs and lights) are not the answer.
When someone tells someone, “I feel sorry for your future children,” that’s typically taken as just about the worst thing someone can say to another—-that she thinks the person will be a horrible parent. So it came as a surprise when a close friend not only told me this, but did so in a public forum, in front of my 100+ Facebook friends. That was deeply hurtful. I did not say, “I believe in corporal punishment.” I did not say, “I don’t think children need seatbelts.” I did not even say, “I think tv’s in kids’ bedrooms slow kids’ mental growth.” I stated my opposition to stop signs on major streets, and repeated that opposition even if I were to have children. And for that she feels sorry for my future children?
That’s a serious charge, and I hope she reconsiders her sentiment. There is no evidence whatsoever that stop signs on major streets make the streets safer for children or pedestrians. I have given a number of reasons for my opposition to stop signs on major streets. I’ll reiterate them here:
1. They stop traffic for no good reason, wasting time and fuel and inflicting additional wear and tear on vehicles.
2. Slower traffic and stop signs on major streets encourage drivers to use side streets, where they are more likely to encounter pedestrians and children playing in the streets.
3. Illinois law already requires motorists to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. If police enforced this law, we wouldn’t need stop signs to help pedestrians cross major streets.
4. Municipalities often install stop signs to “protect” schools, parks and senior citizen homes that produce pedestrians just a few hours a day. For a school, this is just 180 days a year. Park visitors only use a park in good weather. The rest of the time, the sign stops traffic for no reason whatsoever. This sign that started this discussion is for a school, a whole quarter-mile away (5-min. walk, longer for little kids). No one disputes that the kids are out and using the crosswalk at Touhy just two hours a day on school days. The other 22 hours on school days (180 days), and 24 hours on non-school days, the stop sign stops traffic for…..? One friend suggested, Well, it’s easier to walk to Young Israel of West Rogers Park on shabbos. Yes, it is. And anyone who minds waiting a minute for traffic to stop is being very, very selfish.
5. There is simply no justification for a solitary stop sign within a nine-mile stretch (probably longer—I’ll need to check) of stop sign-free roadway. I’m sure angry residents in Lincolnwood and Morton Grove can come up with a long list of more deserving intersections. But I think there’s an understanding, which alderman have no compunction about violating, that major streets are not to be tampered with.
6. A single stop sign on a major street always draws demands from residents for additional stop signs on “their” intersections. I could give so many examples just off the top of my head of former fast thoroughfares now stop-and-go due to stop signs, just on the North Side alone: California Avenue, Halsted Street, Sheffield Avenue, Clark Street, Sheridan Road, Lawrence Avenue, Randolph Street and Broadway.
7. My friend who fears for my future children mentioned a fatality and “what-iffed” that a stop sign may have saved his life. This is one of those cause-effect relationships that seems logical but doesn’t really exist. Case study: Maya Hirsh obm. Maya was a little girl visiting Lincoln Park Zoo with her family a couple of years ago. As she crossed Cannon Drive, a crazed motorist ran a stop sign, killing her instantly. Authorities determined the driver to be mentally unsound and without a drivers license. (He was also Ald. Stone’s neighbor in Winston Towers.) The stop sign near the Lincoln Park Zoo entrance, which I think should only be in force during zoo hours, didn’t prevent the driver from killing Maya. Funny how drivers prone to vehicular homicide don’t pay too much attention to stop signs.
8. More stop signs reduce compliance among drivers. My friend who fears for my future children may not have visited West Rogers Park lately. The situation is out of control. Almost every intersection has a four-way stop sign. California, once free of stop signs, now has four in 12 blocks in addition to the three traffic lights in that stretch. A T-intersection has a stop sign despite the fact that the cross street that terminates at the intersection is one way “in,” meaning cross-traffic is impossible. (The stop sign “protects” a park.) Of the four high-rise towers on Kedzie Avenue, one inexplicably has a stop sign—the one the alderman lives in. Motorists give up and simply ignore them, making our streets less safe.
Authorities and communities can take sensible steps to make streets and intersections safer without inconveniencing all motorists and their passengers. Enforce crosswalks. Fence off or ban pedestrians from unsafe crossing areas—force them to walk to the nearest controlled intersection. (At Washtenaw, where the new stop sign is, stoplights are one block away in each direction.) Use new technology to highlight pedestrians in crosswalks so vehicles stop for them without forcing vehicles to stop 24-7. More 24-hr. traffic controls (stop signs and lights) are not the answer.
Reply Letter #2: Touhy/Wash stop sign
Look, Alderman-for-Life, why don’t we just install four-way stop signs at every intersection in the ward? Oh, wait, that’s your evil plan, right?
I do believe you are “indulging the wishes of the school.” After all, you are caving in to the school’s request to the detriment of the rest of us.
>>> Thank you for your input, but I have no intentions to remove the sign.
And I have no intention of stopping for it.
I do believe you are “indulging the wishes of the school.” After all, you are caving in to the school’s request to the detriment of the rest of us.
>>> Thank you for your input, but I have no intentions to remove the sign.
And I have no intention of stopping for it.
My response to the alderman's terse reply
Dear Alderman:
Thank you very much for your kind note. I very much appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule during this holiday season to respond to my inquiry.
I would hope the Alderman wouldn’t consider my sign removal request out of line in light of the fact he removed the Touhy stop sign at Albany shortly after its installation a year ago.
Students at Rogers School already enjoy the benefit of a crossing guard at the Touhy/Washtenaw intersection during their commutes. Given the guard’s presence there, isn’t the stop sign redundant? And given the sign’s reason for being is just two hours a day, school days only—when a crossing guard is there anyway—isn’t its 24-hr. presence also excessive?
I would support an electric or temporary stop sign that functions only when schoolchildren are present. But a full-time, permanent stop sign isn’t fair to motorists. I disagree that the school’s presence a quarter-mile away justifies installing Touhy’s only stop sign over nine miles of thoroughfare.
Best wishes for Chanukah and 2009.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Salkover
Thank you very much for your kind note. I very much appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule during this holiday season to respond to my inquiry.
I would hope the Alderman wouldn’t consider my sign removal request out of line in light of the fact he removed the Touhy stop sign at Albany shortly after its installation a year ago.
Students at Rogers School already enjoy the benefit of a crossing guard at the Touhy/Washtenaw intersection during their commutes. Given the guard’s presence there, isn’t the stop sign redundant? And given the sign’s reason for being is just two hours a day, school days only—when a crossing guard is there anyway—isn’t its 24-hr. presence also excessive?
I would support an electric or temporary stop sign that functions only when schoolchildren are present. But a full-time, permanent stop sign isn’t fair to motorists. I disagree that the school’s presence a quarter-mile away justifies installing Touhy’s only stop sign over nine miles of thoroughfare.
Best wishes for Chanukah and 2009.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Salkover
Alderman Stone b-----slaps me on the new stop sign
Mr. Salkover,
Thank you for your recent e-mail. I must tell you that you are indeed correct, the sign was requested by the Local School Council for the safety of the students. I would imagine that you can understand my position in putting the sign up for safety purposes. Furthermore, I don't believe my action could be deemed as "indulging the wishes of the school". The safety of the children is the primary reason for the installation of the sign.
Thank you for your input, but I have no intentions to remove the sign.
Please accept my best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.
Alderman Bernard L. Stone
Thank you for your recent e-mail. I must tell you that you are indeed correct, the sign was requested by the Local School Council for the safety of the students. I would imagine that you can understand my position in putting the sign up for safety purposes. Furthermore, I don't believe my action could be deemed as "indulging the wishes of the school". The safety of the children is the primary reason for the installation of the sign.
Thank you for your input, but I have no intentions to remove the sign.
Please accept my best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.
Alderman Bernard L. Stone
Monday, December 15, 2008
My letter to the alderman re: Touhy/Wash stop sign
Kenneth Salkover
Day phone: 847-
Dear Alderman:
The new stop sign on Touhy at Washtenaw backs up already slow Touhy traffic. It sets a terrible precedent for Touhy Avenue, as there will be renewed demands for stop signs at Francisco and Albany. Rogers School is not on Touhy. It is a quarter-mile away, at Jarvis, and already has a crossing guard to help students cross Touhy. It is grossly unfair to force motorists to stop at all times--24-7--when the stop sign protects students for just two hours on school days.
This is the only stop sign on Touhy between Western Avenue and River Road--a nine-mile stretch of stop sign-free thoroughfare. Please consider removing the stop sign. Indulging the wishes of the school isn't fair to other Rogers Park residents.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Salkover
Day phone: 847-
Dear Alderman:
The new stop sign on Touhy at Washtenaw backs up already slow Touhy traffic. It sets a terrible precedent for Touhy Avenue, as there will be renewed demands for stop signs at Francisco and Albany. Rogers School is not on Touhy. It is a quarter-mile away, at Jarvis, and already has a crossing guard to help students cross Touhy. It is grossly unfair to force motorists to stop at all times--24-7--when the stop sign protects students for just two hours on school days.
This is the only stop sign on Touhy between Western Avenue and River Road--a nine-mile stretch of stop sign-free thoroughfare. Please consider removing the stop sign. Indulging the wishes of the school isn't fair to other Rogers Park residents.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Salkover
Friday, November 14, 2008
Former aldermanic candidate moves to South Fla.
A voice for reform and change in the frozen-in-time 50th Ward Democratic politics, Naisy is moving to South Florida, where she has family and attended high school. Here is the contents of her farewell email message:
Dear Friends,
Over the past few years, there have been more than a few changes that have come along to challenge the way we were before. As many of you know, one of the biggest changes in my life happened with the sudden loss of my mother last June.
Since then, I have been spending my time in Florida, where my parents had been living, and our family has faced a new set of challenges to overcome while also finding new opportunities we have chosen to pursue.
After long consideration, we have decided to relocate to Florida to begin a new chapter in our lives to be closer to our immediate family and to build a family business.
Our decision was not easy because I know I will leave a community we built together - a community of people who believe in the fundamental value of bringing people together for a common purpose. We learned that as neighbors, friends and family members from near or far, from all ethnic and religious backgrounds, we can make a positive difference.
We are people who expect more and I know that we will continue to do more no matter where we are. Although I will no longer live in Chicago, I will take with me more than 30 years of fond memories and friendships. This city, all that makes up our home, and the spirit that each of you have shared with me, will never be forgotten.
So, if you are in the neighborhood, I hope we can share a final good-bye together. Please join me for some rugelah at (you guessed it!):
B.B.'s Bagels
Sunday, November 16th
1-3pm
If we don't get a chance to see each other, I do hope to meet you again.
My deepest gratitude and love,
Naisy Dolar
* * *
Naisy's decision to move away keeps the 2011 50th Ward aldermanic race open. Thirty-five-year incument Bernie Stone is expected to step aside for his daughter, Ilana Stone Fekevitch. Other candidates are to be determined.
I like Naisy and wish her well. Her loss in the April, 2007 runoff seemed to be a result of ballot fraud on the part of her opponent or a few of his supporters. Residents of the 50th Ward still need better represenatation in the City Council.
Dear Friends,
Over the past few years, there have been more than a few changes that have come along to challenge the way we were before. As many of you know, one of the biggest changes in my life happened with the sudden loss of my mother last June.
Since then, I have been spending my time in Florida, where my parents had been living, and our family has faced a new set of challenges to overcome while also finding new opportunities we have chosen to pursue.
After long consideration, we have decided to relocate to Florida to begin a new chapter in our lives to be closer to our immediate family and to build a family business.
Our decision was not easy because I know I will leave a community we built together - a community of people who believe in the fundamental value of bringing people together for a common purpose. We learned that as neighbors, friends and family members from near or far, from all ethnic and religious backgrounds, we can make a positive difference.
We are people who expect more and I know that we will continue to do more no matter where we are. Although I will no longer live in Chicago, I will take with me more than 30 years of fond memories and friendships. This city, all that makes up our home, and the spirit that each of you have shared with me, will never be forgotten.
So, if you are in the neighborhood, I hope we can share a final good-bye together. Please join me for some rugelah at (you guessed it!):
B.B.'s Bagels
Sunday, November 16th
1-3pm
If we don't get a chance to see each other, I do hope to meet you again.
My deepest gratitude and love,
Naisy Dolar
* * *
Naisy's decision to move away keeps the 2011 50th Ward aldermanic race open. Thirty-five-year incument Bernie Stone is expected to step aside for his daughter, Ilana Stone Fekevitch. Other candidates are to be determined.
I like Naisy and wish her well. Her loss in the April, 2007 runoff seemed to be a result of ballot fraud on the part of her opponent or a few of his supporters. Residents of the 50th Ward still need better represenatation in the City Council.
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