Evanston officials say no snow parking restrictions are in effect today — but they’re asking for voluntary help to speed snow removal efforts.
Streets and Sanitation Superintendent Suzette Eggleston says, “We are asking that as a courtesy, vehicles avoid parking on the even numbered side of the street today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on the odd numbered side of the street from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. to allow plows to clear the residential streets.”
She says snow removal operations will continue until 3 p.m. tomorrow to address icing in anticipation of temperatures falling into the single digits.
“We are doing to this in an effort to facilitate at least 8 hours of down-time on Christmas Day to allow crews an opportunity to spend time with their families, provided that weather conditions go as predicted,” Eggleston said.
Snowfall and sidewalks
Whose responsibility is it to remove snow and ice from the city sidewalks? I recently moved to downtown Evanston and I am surprised to see and experience ice and snow on the sidewalks of most of the shops and businesses in the downtown area. I have lived in other cities and it was the responsibility of the business owners to make sure the sidewalks were clear of ice and snow.
I keep hearing that businesses are lacking customers, having snow/ice/slush on the sidewalks is not very welcoming.
City Sidewalks Snow Removal and Parking Enforcement
I echo Bob’s remarks on the downtown sidewalks.
I’ve lived around the midwest in other towns which get far more snow than Evanston and which do a far better job of clearing the sidewalks in key business districts.
Evanston is a disgrace in this regard. If Chicago is the ‘city that works’, Evanston is the ‘city that doesn’t’.
The downtown district pays extra taxes for the special service area yet appears to suffer from below average effectiveness in clearing snow.
In other towns I’ve lived in, the snow is first pushed from the sidewalks into the street. The streets are then cleared in such a way no mounds or piles are left at the front of parking spaces or so as to bury the parking meters.
Then layer in the Evanston Parking Nazi’s who ticket you if you are so much as 2 seconds past due in plugging a meter…how this town’s elderly, pregnant moms, and other less-than-athletic residents are expected to climb the mountains of snow in front of meters to deposit their coins is impossible to fathom.
I went shopping along upper Michigan avenue in Chicago and found side street, metered parking. Yes, I know the city’s rates are due to rise with their boneheaded privatization plans, but for now, how refreshing that meters cost only $.25 for 30 minutes in that shopping district whereas Evanston bleeds us $.25 for 20 minutes.
Less and less do I go into Evanston’s downtown – preferring to travel outside Evanston to shop because the snow removal is better, it is easier to reach parking meters (if they even exist), and it is cheaper.
For the privilege of paying some of the highest property taxes around; we get some of the least effective city services compared to our surrounding communities.
In Skokie, the village even clears snow from residential sidewalks. And as for parking bans for snow removal and street cleaning (in the summer months), unlike Evanston – where the Nazi’s troll the streets and ticket with gleeful abandon, in Skokie, the city staff park their vehicle, walk up to the front doors of residences and give polite reminders and requests for residents to move their vehicles before returning after a grace period to ticket the non-compliant — and Skokie’s property taxes are significantly lower. Better service; less cost. Hmmm. Could Evanston learn something???