Shorewood had finished Streetscaping North Oakland Avenue just a little over 10 years ago, when it decided the multi-million dollar project was obsolete. 

Other than a need to level the pavers in the parkway, most folks did not think there was a need for a total redo.

Ironically, most of what Shorewood deemed to be obsolete --- benches, planters, trash containers  and street lights --- are now being productively used by the Shorewood School District.  They must have a different definition of obsolete over there.

Without question however ---- the New Streetscape is Obsolete ----- before it is even finished !!!!

As part of the project, giant concrete borders were put around all the trees in the parkway. 

Aside from the questionable aesthetics of the hard surfaced smooth borders clashing with the rustic look of the pavers and concrete walks --- the borders are too high for cars to park alongside them.

The absolute need for maximum parking on Oakland is well known and acknowledged.  But with the new concrete borders:

1) Cars with passengers will not be able to park next to the curb, as the passengers will not be able to exit the car.

2) A lot of nice cars are going to have serious damage to their doors as folks try to open them and they get crunched on the concrete borders.

3) Cars that do park so that passengers will be able to exit will have to be far away from the curb -- which will probably result in parking tickets and be a hazard to bicycle riders.

4) There will be traffic backups and the potential for accidents, as cars have to stop in the driving lanes to let out passengers before they can park.

Below are pictures of the new concrete borders and how they affect car doors:

Any by the way --- what do you folks think of the new benches ?  In my opinion the new black benches are smaller and uglier than the green benches they replace. 

And I pity the poor soul who happens to sit on one of those black benches on a hot sunny day while wearing shorts

----- ouch !! 

 WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT BELOW !

 As readers of this blog know, I have written "ad nauseam"  :-)  about the lack of consideration for small business parking in areas where there is No Construction Work being done, but No Parking signs are left posted --- and tickets are written for patrons of businesses and residents who might have "logically" thought if there is No Work going on, parking for a few minutes should be ok --- Wrong !!

Contacting the Officials that Be had not been very productive, as the finger pointing (Construction Crews, DPW, Administration, Police, BID) invariably followed a circular pattern, 

I am happy to report that Guy Johnson, the Shorewood Village President, as he promised,  has taken an interest in this situation and is reviewing it with the Village Administration and DPW.

Will there be an immediate change to the current practices ? 

I don't know ---- but I am encouraged the process is being reviewed ---- and that the plight of the hapless small business owners is now a consideration.

WHAT DO YOU THINK.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT BELOW.
 

 Why haven't Trustees Johnson (pres), Eckman, Hanewall, Hickey, and Phinney responded to Snow Problems in Village ?

Perhaps it is because of what they know that the most of us in the Village don't.

Quite simply Shorewood no longer has the equipment to deal with large snowfalls and the mountains of snow and ice they leave between the street and the sidewalks. 

When the snow accumulates to the point where there is nowhere left to push it --- we cannot remove it to clear the business districts and the crosswalks, as the DPW use to do. 

 Over the past decade or so, the Village Board has spent millions on Streetscaping, Ad Campaigns touting our Walkability, and High Profile but useless events, such as the bike race. 

But they have neglected such mundane issues, as ensuring that the Village has the equipment, budget and resources that a community in Wisconsin needs, when Mother Nature decides to remind us that we still keep records of yearly snow accumulation.

Unfortunately, the Board's lack of attention to the mundane maintenance issues goes beyond the Village's preparedness for Snow. 

Take a tour of the Police Station (of a voluntary nature !) for a discouraging view of an outdated facility, that is barely being held together with the equivalent of baling wire and stop-gap measures.

Shorewood's Board of Trustees needs to pay as much attention to the steak as the sizzle --- especially when we pay taxes more in line with a dinner at Mo's than a lunch at McDonalds !

 As always please feel free to leave your Comments below --- and if your one of the Trustees who have yet to Respond to my inquiries, please share your thoughts with us.

For some thoughts on issues other than Shorewood, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/

This past December was a good reminder that we really do live in an area that gets snow !  Yes, here in Wisconsin, Mother Nature has been known to make life miserable by dropping a whole lot of wet sloppy snow, and then freezing it all into frozen slush.

 On December 20th I wrote a posting to this blog noting that the merchants on Capitol Drive were still hampered by the mounds of snow and ice piled up at the curb.  Shorewood had cleared the mounds along North Oakland Avenue, but hadn't gotten to Capitol Drive.  In previous postings, I had noted that crosswalks in the business district remained treacherous and needed clearing.

 On December 22nd, Tim Fotjik noted in his blog that it appeared that the Village was clearing snow for St Roberts from their lot. 

http://blogs.shorewoodnow.com/neighboring/archive/2007/12/22/if-you-were-looking-for-a-village-dump-truck-on-friday.aspx

Following up with Tim, he never heard from anyone as to why, or who paid for it. 

 Doing an Open Records request, I found out that YES, Shorewood did clean the lot at St Roberts at No Charge !

In fairness to those who are sometimes put on the spot to make a controversial decision, there was a safety element involved in the decision to clear St Roberts lot.  I think though, that Village Officials should bill St Roberts for at least the labor costs and nominal equipment costs involved.  And that if this is to be a policy, it should be extended on an impartial basis to other private property owners.

The Village Board also needs to recognize that snow and ice removal in the Business District is a priority, not only for the business owners to be able to engage in commerce, but also for the safety and welfare of the pedestrians.  Shorewood cannot be a "Walkable" community only in Good Weather !

We have seen in the past year that this current Village Board (which will also be the next Village Board due to no new candidates) has had no qualms about spending large sums of money on questionable projects.

Millions of dollars are going to a Streetscaping that is only about 10 years old.  And the Village Board Members voted to spend about Half a Million Dollar$ for plastic grass on the High School Field !

It is time that this Board gives the proper resources to the DPW to make Shorewood safe for its pedestrians in winter --- and for businesses to be accessible to their customers.

 WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ?  --- YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME

For some thoughts on issues other than Shorewood, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/

Two nights ago, on the 18th, the Shorewood DPW committed a large crew during the night to do a snow removal operation in the Business District.

Hooray !!!!!

On my block (4400 N Oakland)  and south, they did a great job.  Shoppers can actually get from their cars to the shops now.  

However -- (you knew there was going to be a however) -- the Merchants on Capitol Drive have nothing to cheer about.  As of this afternoon, their stores and the street are still separated by mounds of ice and snow.  

I wonder if anyone on the Shorewood Board of Trustees has ever had any retail experience (other than shopping).  If they ever depended upon retail sales for their livelihood, they would know that this week -- the week before Christmas -- can be a make or break event for many of the merchants.

With the high rate of property taxes that are paid for commercial property in Shorewood --- in addition to the BID tax that commercial property owners pay --- it is outrageous that these merchants are not taken better care of by the Village.

Note to Village Trustees:  Forget about bicycle races, and forget about artist displays by outside vendors at the high school, and forget about spending Tens of Thousands of Dollars Advertising how Friendly Shorewood is to Pedestrians and how Upscale the stores are for Shoppers --- try spending the money on clearing the snow banks so the merchants can make a little money and keep their businesses open.

Incumbent Village Board Trustees Michael Maher and Dawn Anderson are reportedly going to run for re-election.  At this point, it is uncertain if they will have any opposition to their re-election bid.  If they don’t, they will obviously not need to campaign.  But if they do have opposition, I have some suggestions for campaign literature.

Of course they can take credit for spending millions of dollars on new projects such as the Streetscaping and the Marketing of Shorewood.  And let’s not forget their largesse of Village money for the new Professional Sport Quality sports field at SHS (D2D)  --- possibly including a Second Dome by which to landmark that august institution.

In regards to the Streetscaping, they may not want to highlight that north Oakland was streetscaped barely 10 years ago --- and already determined to be obsolete.  And they would definitely not want to mention that the new aluminum light poles replacing the 10 year old cast iron poles have begun to fall apart before they have even been plugged in !!!

If the new athletic field does get a dome --- perhaps they can find room in it for some space for the Senior population --- who have been waiting for years for an enhancement to their diminished space in the library basement.

Most proudly, they can point to the tens of thousands of dollars (from general taxes) and hundreds of thousands from the BID taxes, to market Shorewood --- with a main emphasis on the “Walkability” and “Shopping Friendly” features the Village has to offer.

I am pretty sure they will NOT want to mention that they have put no money in the budget to actually clear snow and ice from our sidewalks, crosswalks and commercial parkways --- to actually make them Walkable ! 

Most probably, they will not want to feature in their campaign brochures, pictures of the mountains of snow and ice that act as fortress walls between where the shoppers park on the street and the shops they are trying to get to --- and pictures of the crosswalks that at best are covered with slush, ice and snow, making them close to impossible to negotiate – or at worst, the crosswalks that end abruptly at a wall of snow that would require a chair lift to get over.

Here are some of the pictures I would advise Anderson and Maher not to use in their re-election bids.

Wall of Snow & Ice on Parkway Oakland Ave

Smart Pedestrian Carries his Own Skis

 Cross Walk to Show Wall Atwater School

Inaccessible Bus Stop Capitol Drive

Shopper Friendly Snow Banks

Lake Bluff & Oakland where school kids

cross -- how would someone with a walker

or wheel chair cross this ?

 WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  PLEASE LET US KNOW AND LEAVE A COMMENT.