The More Things Change...

Just a few things that have been on my mind lately:

Despite the Chicago Transit Authority getting ready to committ legal robbery without a gun (translation: fare hikes), someone up there FINALLY started thinking from a rider's point of view by introducing the bus tracker program.

I swear it was sent from heaven.

You go to www.ctabustracker.com, click on the "estimated arrival times" link, find the line that you want, choose the direction and pick the stop. And right there before your eyes you have about the next three buses for your stop.

And when you're online the bustracker counts down IN REAL TIME!

Sweet Baby Jesus.

If you're getting dressed in the morning or trying to get somewhere on time, this thing is a godsend.

You want to know what's better?

This handy little utility can be accessed from any web enabled phone.

Now be forewarned, all bus lines aren't on the bus tracker yet but the CTA keeps on adding more with regularity.

Finally a real use for GPS. My days of running for the bus are over

Seemingly the more things change, the more they stay the same.

While I won't have to run for the bus, it won't matter much as I'm sure I'll slip and fall on the sidewalk that Mt. Carmel is supposed to maintain.

Long time readers know that this isn't the first time I've had issue with the snow clearing on the north side of the street.

It took forever to finally get a nice sidewalk. Even longer to get it plowed when the snow fell.
We haven't quite worked our way up to getting salt, but eyes remain heavenward and heads bowed.

Most people are griping that the city will let their side streets remain snowy and slick. Since we're used to the streets turning into sheets of ice before the plows get to us I say to the rest of the city----welcome to the club. Welcome to being treated like the colored.

Now you know how the folks on this little two block strecth of Nirvana on the south side feel.

Now we're back to practically begging Mt. Carmel to do what they should be doing in the first place.

The salt---that once again should be voluntarily spread on the sidewalk---would be icing on the cake

But no here I am again writing about the maintenance, or lack thereof, of our neighbor across the street.

You would think that at an school that prides itself on instilling moral character in young men would show a little to their neighbors.

Salting The Wounds

The school across the street finally shoveled the snow.

Granted it was a half assed only because they were practically forced effort but at least a majority of the snow was removed from the sidewalk.

Since I’m tired of begging the powers that be to meet their responsibilities, I simply started making my alderman aware of the issue.

Hey, I’ve tried to be nice.

All it gets me is trash strewn, weed choked hell hole.

So like my Mama said, “Time for talking is done.”

From what I understand the school across the street may have gotten a visit from the friendly local streets and san representative.

And while I’m not sure if there was a meeting, I can imagine if there was one it might have gone something like this:


Streets & Sans Rep: “Hi.”

School Across the Street: “Hi.”

Streets & San: “Apparently you’re not shoveling the snow on the south end of your property.”

School: “Yeah, so.”

Streets & San: “Well you might want to make an effort to shovel.”

School: “Why?”

Streets & San: “Besides that Woody screaming her head off, it is in violation of current ordinances.”

School: “Yeah we pretty much marginalize her and only respond to her bootleg concerns only when she calls. We figure we’ll wear her down. You do know that we don’t consider anything on the ‘other’ side of the fence our concern, right?”

Streets & San: “Well that very well may be, but it’s a new day in these parts. You have to keep up all of your property. Not just the parts your student, staff, visitor and fat cat alumni see.”

School: “So what if we don’t?”

Streets & San: “Let’s not get into a pissing match. I’m here as a friendly warning. You do know that I have the power to fine you, right?”

***Stone silence***

School: You know we pride ourselves in being a good neighbor.”

Streets & San: “Well then act like it---this is the only discussion we’ll be having on this subject. If there’s a next time, the fine notices will start showing up.


So after two weeks of having an impassible sidewalk, the school across the street finally shoveled sometime on Thursday morning.

Naturally since the shoveling was done with a minimum of effort, it didn’t go down to the sidewalk. This packed down the snow to create a even slicker walkway.

To keep to the theme of half assing their commitment to the ‘hood, the school didn’t even put any salt down to melt the snow left behind by the half assed shoveling job.

At least then the shitty shoveling job would of made sense.

See ‘cause then you would of thought, “Ok, they didn’t go down to the pavement but at least the salt will melt the rest of the snow.”

Apparently we’re not even worth salt.

Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable.

Because this institution let free money from the South East Chicago Commission go unused; because this institution needs constant reminding of their parkway & sidewalk responsibilities and more importantly because of this institution’s lack of serious commitment to Woodlawn they finally need to be named.

Mt. Carmel High School doesn’t live up to their commitments.

Perhaps they have a soup kitchen in the neighborhood or help the seniors down the street. Maybe they help locals with free tax prep services.

I may be wrong, Mt. Carmel may be doing tons of service oriented projects around Woodlawn that I may not be aware of.

Hell, I don’t know everything, right?

But a lack of true community involvement plus spotty sidwalk & parkway maintenance equals a crappy neighbor.

So to commemorate this auspicious occasion, every time Mt. Carmel doesn’t shovel the snow, or pick up the trash or cut the grass the Mt. Carmel Watch-o-Meter will go up somewhere on the blog.

That is if I can figure out how to tweak my template.

If their track record is any indication, I suspect the Watch -o-Meter will be going up very soon.

Slow Burn

I so appreciate needing a dog team to navigate my neighborhood.

Why?

Because the owners of the many rental properties and vacant lots around these parts don’t believe in clearing snow from the sidewalks.

So I and the other pedestrians tend to walk in the street as most of the sidewalks are virtually impassable.

Can I tell you how fun it is to walk down Stony Island with cars whizzing past you wondering which one of them will hit a patch of ice and skid into you?

Especially a few days ago when their was so much fog, the ’hood looked like the movie set for Wurthering Heights.

Unfortunately, established businesses and institutions aren’t doing a bang up job either.

The gas station around the corner seems to think that they only need to plow out their parking lot and the sidewalk is the city’s responsibility.

Of course the school across the street is continuing to be a “good neighbor” by not shoveling an inch of snow on the sidewalk from Dorchester to Stony Island.

Not one flipping inch.

And that was the snowfall from last week.

God they’re so full of shit.

With today’s anticipated snowfall, we might not be able to use that side of the street until baseball season .

Methinks I need to jot off an e-mail to the alderman.

Let It Snow

It’s bad enough that the school across the street hasn’t thrown in one dime towards the new sidewalk and parkway that they’re legally responsible for.

What's worse is that my fantastic alderman used some of her menu money to make the new sidewalk happen.

So let’s recap, we have a private institution that has slowly but surely expanded it’s campus by shutting down city streets and purchasing buildings for the land.

Nothing wrong with that, right?

The issue is that when the school across the street expanded its campus they also expanded their responsibility for the parkways and the sidewalks of the buildings it purchased.

In short, the school is responsible for the parkway and sidewalk on my street roughly from Stony Island to Dorchester.

If you’ve been a long time reader of this blog, you know that the maintenance of the sidewalk and parkway on the south side of their campus and across the street from my home hasn’t exactly been high on the list of priorities.

It fell somewhere between screw and you.

It shouldn’t take concerned neighbors to point out that the trash and the weeds that come up to their hips might need to be tended to.

Okay, I give---it was me. I was (and am) the concerned neighbor(s).

Nonetheless, it’s not rocket science right?

But that’s all water under the bridge right?

The trash is being picked up (sporadically) and the grass is cut during the warmer months.

To quote Neville Chamberlain, “There is peace is our time.”

Not so much.

Unlike Neville, I’m going to hold you to the spirit if not the letter of your agreement.

Doesn’t common sense dictate that if you cut the grass and pick up the trash that you should also shovel the snow during the winter months?

We have this nice new sidewalk and it was encased in ice and snow during our first winter storm.

I shouldn’t have to even call over to say, “Hey, don’t you think it would be a good idea to shovel the snow and throw down a little salt?”

But I did. And in doing so I broke a promise I made to myself.

I told myself not too long ago that asking the nice school across the street to perform the functions on the south end of their property that they so willingly perform on other parts of their campus didn’t seem to be an effective way of getting things done.

On the other hand placing a call to my alderman’s office is.

So I’m not asking anyone over there to do anything anymore.

They should have the sidewalk and parkway just as pristine and landscaped as they do at their school’s entrance.

If not, I’m getting on the phone.

There are city ordinances regulating and fining owners for not looking after the sidewalk and parkway abutting their property.

If we’ve got to keep our little patch of Woodlawn trimmed, clean and clear so should everyone else.

Apparently there has been a change in the maintenance and groundskeeping department over there so I'm interested in seeing if there's more of a proactive attitude about the south side of the campus.

Being nice has gotten me nowhere with them, time for talking is done.

I was once told that the school was concerned about being a good neighbor. Yeah, and tomorrow I'm going to wake up and fit my high school cheerleading uniform. My ass.

I don’t think they’re going to like me very much by the time it’s all over.