An "Uptown Update" reader sent in the following pics from Wilson and Lake Shore Drive. It appears that our parking lot is being used as a sort of "dump" by the streets and sanitation folks. Apparently we are lacking the property facilities in our neighborhood as the street cleaning machines are being washed in the street across from the bait shop at Montrose Harbor Drive and Simmonds. If you don't want our park area looking like this, please call 311 and the Alderman's office and let them know.
This parking lot has been used for a host of city services over the years. This is nothing new.
ReplyDeleteIt holds the salt for winter.
It holds the mulch for the trees in the summer.
And yes, it hold these dumpsters for large project, park clean-up waste and whatnot. Not to mention the political posters during election season, car parts from accidents on LSD, etc....
I had to call 911 a few day's ago. One gentleman was helping himself to free city mulch. He filles 3 - 30 gallon trash bags worth.
I also had to call about the broken fence at the skateboard park. Still broken as of today.
As for the parking lot, give this one a rest. You got far bigger issues to deal with. But if it bothers you guys so much, I'll ask 46th ward Street's and Sanitation man Don N. about moving the dumpster further west. Say in front of Popeyes.
And if any of you know me, you know I'm very much into extreme sports. Motorcycling, skateboarding and BMX'ing,
ReplyDeleteI've got to say, the 46th ward has the best skateboard park in the country.
If Helen ever did one thing right, she turned that spot into one fun little place for me to skin my knees bloody and twist a ankle or two now and then.
I love that $750,000 boondoogle.
Craig-
ReplyDeleteThose pics were sent in by a concerned resident and we posted them along with the info they passed along. We encourage everyone to be vocal of their concerns in our neighborhood. As for moving it in front of Popeye's...would anyone even notice?
I think that since our Uptown park has played host to Northside "city services" along with our own street sweeping debris for, lets say 30 years, it's time for Lakeview and Edgewater to step up to the plate. How about moving these beauties into the Diversey Harbor Parking lot or the Hollywood Beach parking lot for the next 20 years or so and see how long those lakefront neighbors like it.
ReplyDeleteThis problem has been growing over the years. First the Streets and San salt pile showed up in the winter. Then the Dumpster showed up for our street sweepers about 7 years or so ago, but they keep changing them out for bigger ones as more city departments (and local contractors, and fly-in-off Lake Shore Drive dumpers) decide to add their debris.
ReplyDeleteThe wood chip piles are new in the past year or two. The salt pile was moved to the Montrose lot for the past two years so that the kids would stop playing on it (and where the salt has now destroyed the pavement there too).
This may be the prelude to removing these park District lots. Park Advocacy groups have been lobbying for several years for removing all the Wilson/ Lawrence Parking lot spaces to make room for more money making soccer and ball fields, with the assumption that those 600 cars can then park in Uptown. I guess they don't live here or care about those of us who do. Or, maybe that is how the city plans to use the Wilson Yard Parking Facility.
Want to know the reason they use that area as a "holding" area for various stuff......because it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThere is more parking and more lakefront park area in Uptown than anywhere else on the north side.
Look south and you find golf courses, harbors, and a relatively narrow stretch of parkland where it exists east of LSD.
Look north and you see something similar to a lesser extent.
It's not all some great let's dump on Uptown conspiracy.
One of the great assets we have here is more park than our southern neighbors.
I'm the IrishPirate and you should be happy you aren't.
But you must admit this is unsightly. It should not be out in the open adjacent the and area where all the soccer players and their families must pass through the underpass to access the soccer fields.
ReplyDeleteAt one time there was a 46th Ward service yard. And, there is a Park District Maintenance yard to hide messes in. What does it say to the people of Uptown when the City of Chicago maintains an overflowing dumpster? The city fines (in other wards) property owners who do such things.
It is unsightly and the city and park district needs to do a better job of keeping it presentable.
ReplyDeleteBut those areas have to be somewhere and it seems to me that on the north lakefront that little area makes a whole lotta sense.
I know. How about getting a Ward Service Yard like we used to have before Helen gave it away for low income housing and like other wards have? Perhaps, the back corner of Wilson Yards could do. it would only be 2 doors down on Clifton from where the old Ward Service facility was before.
ReplyDeleteGiven that this is a Streets and San dumpster do you think the enforcing agency, i.e. the Streets and San Dumpster Task Force, will do anything about it when 311 assigns the service request to them? We better flag is as a Park District Service request so that it goes into a different service request system. Of, better yet, email it to the Commissioners
ReplyDelete