Friday, August 30, 2013

Watch That Lead Foot

The hugely controversial speed cameras that Mayor Emanuel has wanted to set up near schools and parks are here, and that includes Uptown.  If drivers are caught exceeding 30mph when the parks are open, or 20mph when kids are present near schools, they'll get a lovely commemorative photograph and a ticket in the mail.  As the Trib puts it:
Near parks, the cameras will be active when the parks are open, generally from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. The speed limits near parks is 30 mph.
Near schools, the cameras will be active from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on school days. From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., the speed limit in those areas is 20 mph when children are present and 30 mph when they are not. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the limit is 30 mph.

Under state law, the city can install the cameras at up to 300 schools and parks in designated safety zones. A Tribune analysis showed they could cover nearly half the city.
The first fifty cameras will roll out before the end of the year.  The one in Uptown will be at
  • Challenger Playlot Park, 1100 W. Irving Park Rd.
Others nearby include:
  • Horner Park, 2741 W. Montrose Ave.
  • Lane Tech College Prep High School, 2501 W. Addison St.
  • Senn Playlot Park, 5887 N. Ridge Ave.
  • Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.
And this is just the beginning. Eventually half the city could be covered. To see more, and all locations, check the Tribune's article.

4 comments:

  1. This is all pretty terrifying if you ask me. First, that the city government, even more inept than the NSA probably, would have access to all of these cameras, or even worse they would sell those rights to a corporation like they did the parking meters, billboards etc. Secondly, that we as citizens seem to just roll over and take it, without so much as a peep, while the Mayor hides behind the typical (and ridiculous) "it's for the kids safety" spiel. I'm not buying it, but the city (and whatever well-connected friend the mayor eventually sells these cameras too) will be collecting.

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  2. Two thoughts on this...
    If the cameras are honestly about protecting children and ensuring safety they should be video not photograph and pointed at/into the schools and parks where the children are present. Second is more of a question than a thought.. Why would a child be out at 11:00pm in a park on a school night or any night? I thought the state and city had a curfue of 10pm Sunday-Thursday. This appears to more about revenue than child and public safety.

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  3. Where is the wholesale slaughter of children happening in this city by automobiles? What is the yearly death toll or injury report of children hit by automobiles outside of schools and parks? I could see installing cameras at the fifty most deadliest intersections for pedestrians, but come off it, this is just a put up by the city to collect cold hard cash. Nothing else.

    There is going to come soon a tipping point where people will no longer like to live in the city, and then it's all downhill.

    Just wait for the monumental traffic jams that are going to arrive on Ashland when the $116 million dollar bus rapid transit system takes Ashland from four lanes of car traffic to two lanes. And no left turns allowed anywhere south of Irving Park Road. Rather than a sensible plan for more buses, you're going to be stuck in traffic on Ashland or stuck in traffic everywhere else.

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  4. Challenger Playlot Park?

    Buena Playlot Park is at, give or take, 1000 W Buena. What, and where, is the Challenger Playlot Park?

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