Why are the Streets of Evanston so terrible for cycling?
Potholes and cracks galore. I'm curious why the streets are in such dismal condition in a town which is quite affluent. I've noticed this over the years. In particular, Chicago (Clark) and Sheridan Roads are in really bad shape. Ironically, Dodge St (basically California St), which is located in the "rough" part of town, has fresh new pavement and is in excellent condition.
I know this is Chicago forum, but it's hard to distinguish Oak Park and Evanston from Chicago.
Views: 391
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Lieb on
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I thought this forum was for all of Chicagoland... perhaps I should sign out now.
I guess this way we all know when we have strayed into Evanston? I agree that they are deplorable. Of course, municipal budgets being what they have been for the last five years or so, we had better get used to it, as it is likely to spread.
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Permalink Reply by MagMileMarauder on
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Didn't mean to be exclusive, just covering my a$$ in case somebody pointed it out:)
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Evanston has some very wealthy areas and some poor ones, its not all Wilmette or Lake Bluff. But when I ride through E-town to get points north I always take Dodge Ave. so I can't complain right now.
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Could it be because those affluent don't want to pay taxes?
I'd love to believe that, but once you're a few blocks away from Wilmette on Sheridan, the road conditions improve dramatically.My guess is that Dodge St is more publically funded than Chicago and Sheridan and that's why it's such great shape.
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But the areas in question contradict what you just said.
envane x said:Evanston has some very wealthy areas and some poor ones, its not all Wilmette or Lake Bluff. But when I ride through E-town to get points north I always take Dodge Ave. so I can't complain right now.
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Permalink Reply by rb on
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Evanston is a pretty big area- and much of the property is non taxable- NU, many churches.
A friend got a great deal on a condo, until he got his property tax bill... He feels that individual property owners have to shoulder a large part of the tax burden.
Not exactly sure how the road construction/maintenance is funded, but this may be part of it.
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Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on
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Evanston often wraps multiple projects together when it comes to infrastructure. Sheridan Rd, Dodge and Lincoln come to mind. The streets usually get all of the utility upgrading and the resurfacing they need at the same time. This means streets get terrible before anything gets done, but on the upside, you don't have the kind of new surfaces that get ripped up like in Chicago. Try to ride south on Sheridan in Chicago right now; new street, terrible conditions for bikes.
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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on
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Hey now, don't go beating up my little burg of Evanston. We Evanstonians like our substandard street lighting and crappy pavement: it's quaint. And our streets are not nearly as brutal a cycling surface as the brick sidestreets in Wilmette, believe me. Evanston has a lot of untaxed Northwestern University and church property, with no real industry and a declining retail base. I'm not a homeowner, I rent, so I'm kind of insulated from direct real estate taxes, but from what I read in the local papers and web blogs, there isn't a lot of spare cash for infrastructure floating around here. Like many municipalities, the city is buried with underfunded pension funds and more urgent infrastructure issues, like crumbling sewers.
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Permalink Reply by Dave Grossman on
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If you think E-town is bad for biking, come check out Skokie right next door. Evanston at least has some bike lanes.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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They started doing that back in the 1980s after a sewer collapse created a huge sinkhole that ate an intersection. Evanston has been doing big utility projects each year in various parts of town, where they do sewer replacement and whatever else needs to be done before repaving. There's a lot to be said for getting it all done at once, instead of the stupid failure to coordinate that we see over and over again here in Chicago.
Charlie Short said:Evanston often wraps multiple projects together when it comes to infrastructure. Sheridan Rd, Dodge and Lincoln come to mind. The streets usually get all of the utility upgrading and the resurfacing they need at the same time. This means streets get terrible before anything gets done, but on the upside, you don't have the kind of new surfaces that get ripped up like in Chicago. Try to ride south on Sheridan in Chicago right now; new street, terrible conditions for bikes.
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I agree Anne, they just don't do a lot of constituent education. I'm from Evanston, so I have many memories of fun Evanston sewer projects.
Anne Alt said:They started doing that back in the 1980s after a sewer collapse created a huge sinkhole that ate an intersection. Evanston has been doing big utility projects each year in various parts of town, where they do sewer replacement and whatever else needs to be done before repaving. There's a lot to be said for getting it all done at once, instead of the stupid failure to coordinate that we see over and over again here in Chicago.
Charlie Short said:Evanston often wraps multiple projects together when it comes to infrastructure. Sheridan Rd, Dodge and Lincoln come to mind. The streets usually get all of the utility upgrading and the resurfacing they need at the same time. This means streets get terrible before anything gets done, but on the upside, you don't have the kind of new surfaces that get ripped up like in Chicago. Try to ride south on Sheridan in Chicago right now; new street, terrible conditions for bikes.
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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on
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Perhaps we can consider riding those parts north of Chicago as our own little L'Enfer du Nord or Paris-Roubaix if you will.
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