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| The aftermath of yet another fire on the northside of the Lawrence Ave. viaduct under DSLSD. |
Another fire has swept through the homeless encampment under DuSable Lake Shore Drive in the Lawrence viaduct.
CDOT will need to once again assess the damage and the structural integrity of the bridge above. You might recall our story back in September that shared an email from former Ald. Cappleman and the chief bridge engineer that stated that the life span of these bridges has been dramatically reduced from these fires (see below).
So far, it has been "lather, rinse, repeat" with the city and current Ald. Clay has been very quiet. We fear that the only thing that will cause action is a lawsuit or an unfortunate loss of life.
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| CDOT's assessment of the Wilson Avenue viaduct |
When serious injuries occur and a lawsuit is filed, I won't allow the City's Law Department to feign surprise.
ReplyDeleteHave they determined the cause of the fire? If it is propane heaters, whoever is supplying them should be sued to repair the demages.
ReplyDeleteAndy Robledo, who uses the proceeds from his business Feeding People through plants, regularly delivers propane heaters to the unhoused. https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news/local/heat-food-brought-to-homeless-chicagoans-as-freeze-arrives
DeleteThe city can "obstruct" the passage and living space with concrete clocks that people have to navigate around. They can put up planters that act as barriers to keep the homeless from camping. There are things the city can do, they just don't want to.
ReplyDeletecorrection: Concrete blocks
DeleteThese people need a place to live.
DeleteI agree people need a place to live. Living under a viaduct and relying on propane tanks for heat is causing millions and millions of dollars in damages to our bridges. We're talking about fires that will lead to the closing of DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
DeleteIn 2017 when we housed 97 people living under the viaducts so that repairs could be made, word got out throughout the Midwest for people to come to the Uptown viaducts so that they could get free housing. It caused homelessness to increase in a neighborhood that already provides over 40% of all the homeless shelters in Chicago. No neighborhood comes remotely close to what Uptown is doing. I'm not complaining about it because while I was alderman, I worked to get 2 more shelters built. However, the lack of housing is an issue across this entire country, and we need to keep building more, but it's unrealistic to predict that homelessness will disappear at this location if action is not taken to prevent it from occurring under the viaducts.
Ak we know they need a place to live. Many of them refuse to move, they don't want to be under the control or management of anyone else. They want to be the free spirit, live like they want to live. If they go into sheltered housing, they will have curfew, meds to take, etc. They don't want to do that.
ReplyDeleteCan we get them a job first? Are they able to work - even sweeping streets?