Evanston police are expecting major traffic congestion on Green Bay Road Thursday morning when a gasoline giveaway event is staged at the Mobil Gas station there.
An earlier version of the event, sponsored by Chicago businessman Willie Wilson, created major traffic tie ups at stations in Chicago where it was held.
For the event Thursday morning, at 50 stations around the metro area, Wilson is pledging to provide at total of $1 million in free gas starting at 7 a.m. until the funds are exhausted.
Police are encouraging drivers who are not planning to participate in the event to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
Police Department will implement a number of traffic control measures in the area, including:
- Drivers will only be able to enter the Mobil station from southbound Green Bay Road. All vehicles participating in the event must enter the staging area from southbound Green Bay Road at Simpson Street or eastbound Simpson Street at Green Bay Road.
- Drivers will not be able to enter the Mobil station from northbound Green Bay Road, northbound Asbury Avenue, or eastbound Foster Street. No left turns will be permitted from northbound Green Bay Road into the Mobil Station or onto southbound Asbury Avenue, westbound Foster Street, or westbound Simpson Street.
- Asbury Avenue will be closed to northbound traffic at Emerson Street, and Foster Street will be closed to eastbound traffic at the alley east of Wesley Avenue.
Two-way traffic on Green Bay Road will be maintained at all times. The median will be used to accommodate southbound Green Bay Road drivers who are not participating in the event.
Evanston Police officers will be on hand throughout the event to assist drivers and will provide updates during the event on the department’s Twitter account.
I would be interested in a follow-up article detailing how much taxpayer money is going to support this. I saw a report that the Village of Alsip told Wilson to take a hike. They anticipated it would take $10,000 worth of police time to deal with the traffic.
Given the short-staffed nature of the police department and the fact that this location is a block away from a fire station, what are going to be the impacts on public safety? It sounds like the police are staffing this.