The City of Chicago is getting national attention this morning for launching a new system to give the public real-time updates on maps showing where snow plows are working. But Evanstonians are unlikely to get that service this winter.
The New York Times reports on the unveiling of the city’s Chicago Shovels tracking system — playing up its potential for people to check up on theories that folks with clout get their streets plowed first.
But Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz says officials here aren’t ready to implement that bit of technology yet, though it has also arrived in other communities, including west-suburban Naperville and Ann Arbor, Mich.
Bobkiewicz says Evanston has an older technology that provides limited snow plow tracking capability for internal use by city officials, and that city staff have been out to Naperville to look at the technology in use there.
And he says that with the new streets and sanitation superintendent, James Maiworm, on the job he hopes the city will be able to make progress on snow plow tracking — depending on how much the project costs.
Top: A detail from a sample map image on the ChicagoShovels.org website.
More evidence of lack of vision by Evanston leaders
Say what you will about Rahm, but he is willing to be innovative in serving his constiuents. New infrastructure for bikes, the plow map, enhancing recreational access to the River.
In Evanston the culture of the city staff and council is immediately defensive and regressive.
What will it take to get the city to be less insular-thinking?
What will it take to get the city to be less insular-thinking?
"What will it take to get the city to be less insular-thinking?"
You have correctly identified the problem – insular thinking….by 'long time residents' and 'native Evanstonians' who want Evanston to live in the past.
What is the solution? More development, more 'outsiders' , and build the Tower, so insular thinking is replaced by enquiring.
Tracking Snow Plows
I doubt that Evanston has had anything like Chicago's Lake Shore Drive tieup last February, so I don't think we should further increase taxes to try to copy them or Naperville. Enough already.
Insularity
Mr Who Knows What seems insulated from the business environment.. Perhaps he should inquire from the "outsiders" why they are not rushing into Evanston and spurring development due to"demand" for the Tower.