On   Whitefishbaynow.com is an excellent blogger, Kevin Buckley, who recently wrote a posting about getting a ticket for parking overnight in front of his house ----  (you can read his entire posting at:

http://blogs.whitefishbaynow.com/village_spillage/archive/2008/06/18/took-10-years.aspx)

Some excerpts from his posting:

 " We've lived in Whitefish Bay 10 years and it finally happened. 

I wrote some Comments back to Kevin regarding overnight parking ......

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Without question however ---- the New Streetscape is Obsolete ----- before it is even finished !!!!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

 Frequent readers of my blog --- both of you :-) --- may recall that last fall when the Village was starting the Streetscape project, they had NO PARKING signs all along Oakland Avenue --- for days at a time when NO WORK was being done.

 

This week --- AGAIN --- on the 4400 block of North Oakland, which is heavily concentrated with small businesses that rely on walk in traffic --- the street has been marked NO PARKING all week although there has been NO WORK done.

 

Obviously, when they are working in the area, the construction crews need to have the street cleared of parked cars.  

 

But when they are not working in a retail area --- even if it is for one day only !!!! --- why can't they take the signs down or cover them.

 

Again --- let me ask of the  Village Government --- the Village Board Members --- the Administration ........... do ANY OF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESSES IN SHOREWOOD ????

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new motto that you may have noticed on the new official Shorewood website is:

Shorewood --- Just Two Feet From Everything.

 If you think this motto is good --- just wait until the Village Board spends that $45,000 or so dollars they put in the budget to advertise the virtues of Shorewood as a "Walkable" community.

 Driving around the Village today --- I saw it was true --- Everything was just two feet away --- that is everything is just on the other side of a Two Foot High Snowbank !

If you want to park and shop at almost any store on Oakland or Capitol, I hope you get a parking spot near the corner.  Because where ever you are going is on the other side of a Two Foot Snowbank, and you have to walk to the corner to get to the sidewalk.

 Once at the corner, I hope that you are very nimble indeed, as almost all of them have ice fields and trampled down snow, that you still have to navigate.

If you are handicapped and use a walker or cane, you might still have a chance.  If you have to use a wheelchair, you better get it fixed with snow chains.

But hey  --- this time next year, if we have the same wintery conditions, you might be able to drive over to the Shorewood High School and walk around on the astro turf under a nice warm dome.  After all, the Village Board gave almost $500,000 for the D2D !

Of course that money may very well have been better spent if the Board had budgeted to have the snow banks removed from the parkway on the business streets --- and the ice fields cleard at the crosswalks. 

 Or maybe they can take the $45,000 some dollars they are going to spend to advertise Shorewood as a Walkable Community --- and use it to clear snow and really make it so.

 What is YOUR Take ?

THIS IS AN E MAIL I RECEIVED FROM A READER COMMENTING ON THE RECENT STREETSCAPE WORK, D2D, ETC 

READERS COMMENTS:

So the SHS lot is once again accessible after only a short time in spite of the earlier dire predictions of a far more extended closure! While part of me is glad the 'crisis' there is over, another part is concerned that it seems like for the most part, there seems to be no real concept of a time frame for any part of this project! Looking at the piecemeal way things are proceeding on Oakland Avenue, per your pictures and my own firsthand viewing, and the lack of knowledge of such things as who actually decided to close the SHS lot and for how long, I'm beginning to wonder how things are being coordinated!
In addition, before viewing your blog today, I saw the ShorewoodNow picture of the groundbreaking ceremony after the final home football game weeks ago and I note daily, while driving past the field, that seemingly nothing has begun on the D2D front, either!! As this is some of the most favorable weather we'll probably see before winter, shouldn't things be in a more 'git 'er done' mode?!?

 RESPONSE TO READER

Dear Reader

 It does seem amazing that "voila" the SHS lot was open a couple of weeks before schedule.  It does bring to question whether the Powers Who Be put the pedal to the metal when they starting getting complaints --- or if they folks in charge of the work are that incompetent that they could be that far off in their projections for the time required.

Interestingly, the Village put out a Streetscape Update at the end of September, saying that the whole time schedule was being re-evaluated and could be changed --- while at the same time, the BID Director was telling folks that the work was being stopped and put on a new schedule --- all of this was while Trustee Dawn Anderson was writing a comment to defend the NO PARKING in areas where NO WORK was being done --- kind of sounds like Board Members were not kept updated and in effect got Blindsided !!

Regarding D2D -- it appears the School District is no better at handling a Public Works project, than the Village is.

It is obvious that the only work they have done is the Ceremonial Groundbreaking --- but they have stopped playing their games on the Home Field.

 From what I have heard, the High School has incurred a lot of new expense by transporting everyone --- including the band --- to home games played on other fields.  This is not an expense that was budgeted --- and seeing how there is no work being done on the field -- it is an obvious waste of taxpayers' money.

If any readers out there actually knows what is going on with these projects --- please write in and share the information with us !

Thanks

Dave 

Amazingly Shorewood Village Officials have still not addressed the parking situation on North Oakland despite NO CONSTRUCTION WORK HAPPENING. 

The NO PARKING signs are still up --- prohibiting customers of the local businesses from parking.

 I thought for sure that after Trustee Dawn Anderson commented about the parking situation, that SOMEONE from the Village would have the common sense to take the no parking signs down UNTIL THERE IS ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTION.

 For some reason, the Village has decided to PUNISH the MERCHANTS and restrict parking.

 Who will take charge of this FIASCO ???

 Village President Guy Johnson ?

Village Trustees ---  Dawn Anderson ?  Ellen Eckman?  Jeff Hanewall ?  Margaret Hickey ?  Michael Maher ?   Michael Phinney ?

Village Manager Chris Swartz ?

I know you are all interested in bringing NEW Business to Shorewood -- but won't you HELP THE EXISTING BUSINESSES FIRST ?????

  ONE BRAVE SOUL PARKED ON EMPTY STREET DESPITE THE NO PARKING SIGNS

Pictures of Oakland Ave 4400 block --- no parking for business customers and no work being done --- same picture going on third week

 

 

 

 

Following are Trustee Dawn Anderson's comments (underlined) and my responses   (in italics) to her:

Dear Dave - may I start with 2 words?   BIG PICTURE.   Is the lack of parking for a few weeks an inconvenience for people who use the High School parking lot? Yes. Is the current parking situation a serious problem for the business owners and their clients? Absolutely. But all of this a temporary problem. I am not unsympathetic to either constituency. However, in the long run, when it is complete, the streetscape WILL enhance the business district and the appearance of the village. Unfortunately, you can't wave a magic wand and make it done overnight. Road work simply necessitates some inconvenience and is to some degree at the mercy of the elements when it comes to timetables

I  am so glad you brought up the BIG PICTURE   --- "that in the long run, when it is complete, the streetscape WILL enhance the business district ... ".

 Actually the BIG PICTURE is that we are SCRAPPING a streetscape after only about 10 years --- is that the Long Run you are talking about?

Just how was the  north Oakland Streetscape so screwed up that everything from the curbs to the buildings are now deemed junk ?  Has the prior work even been paid for ?  We are told that the light poles are now junk because they rust --- cast iron --- Wisconsin winters --- of course they rust.  But where is the cost analysis between maintaining the naturally rusting poles compared to junking them and buying new ones

.We are told that the pavers used between the curb and sidewalks were a bad idea, because of our freeze thaw cycles.  But at the same time, the new plan calls for pavers in the cross walks instead of concrete !

And just what was the problem with the planters, the benches and the trash receptacles ?  I have yet to talk to anyone who thought they needed replacing

But enough of the BIG PICTURE.  Everyone can be an expert at the big picture level. If you want to cross a river --- build a bridge --- but who designs it, builds it, maintains it --- and is responsible if it falls down ?You say that you are not unsympathetic to those who are inconvenienced or are having a serious problem.  But what have you done to show your sympathy ? 

On the west side of the 4400 block of North Oakland, there have been NO PARKING  during BUSINESS HOURS for 2 or 3 weeks.  But only about a day and a half of work has been done there!

Do you sympathize with the business owner I talked to who told me that she has suffered about a 20% loss of business during this time.  Who cares that she puts in 50 to 60 hour weeks, and then the Village blocks her patrons --- NOT because there is work going on --- but because NOBODY CARES to take down the "no parking"  signs when there is NO work being done.

Your recent posts would seem to indicate that this is the end of the world in Shorewood. We have to endure - gasp! - heavier traffic, slightly slower travel times on Oakland and to top it off - WE CAN"T PARK WHERE WE WANT TO!! Horrors! We might have to park our stupid cars and actually walk a couple extra blocks to our destination. Have we become such a spoiled community that we feel the need to escalate this temporary inconvenience to the level you are taking it? I don't think so. But, you are entitled to your opinion and to rant about whatever you want.

 I guess the question about spoiled community depends upon which community you live in.  If it is the one west of Oakland, where you are very likely a renter trying to make it in a nice environment for your kids, and where there is not enough parking space, so you have to pay EXTRA taxes for a parking permit, and you get hit with EXTRA taxes in the form of a ticket for parking a little too long somewhere --- I don't know how spoiled you are.   

But if you live east of Oakland where virtually everyone has a garage (oh yeah, that is where all the elected officials live) and you can subsidize the property taxes on your house with all the revenue from those parking permits and tickets --- maybe you are spoiled.

Here's mine:  There's a lot of important stuff going on in our state (Missing budget? County Exec's race? How about the races for the Senate and Assembly seats for our district?), in our country (don't even get me started) and in our world. Nothing else ranks as more important than railing on a daily basis about not being able to park our cars where we want for a few weeks? I'm simply asking you to use the platform you have responsibly.

Gosh --- if all that important stuff is going on, why are you wasting your time on the Village Board ?  And I'm sorry if you think my postings are irresponsible, just because you don't agree with them and they cause you discomfort as an elected official.  You might catch on though, that my blog is called SHORELINES, because it focuses on Shorewood for the most part.  Maybe I will start a new blog called WHEREINTHEWORLD so I can start working on World Hunger and World Peace.

 I'll say it again ---Big Picture --- this project will have an ending. The south end of Oakland has been difficult and we will learn from it as we move north. But in the end, we will all be proud of our business district when it is done - and it will reflect the long process of discussion between village officials and residents who got involved during the planning process. Our crosswalks and major intersections will be improved and will be safer for pedestrians. And more people WILL come to Shorewood to shop and dine.

Again Big Picture --- Where All the Women are Strong, All the Men are Good Looking, and All the Kids are Above Average !

Dawn Anderson, Village Trustee

PS. Regarding your suggestion about tearing holes in the fieldstone walls to gain access to the parking lot. The SHS campus is registered as a Milwaukee County Historical Landmark. A County designation wouldn't constrain us from tearing down those walls. But would it be worth it for a couple weeks of convenient access to more asphalt on which to park our cars?

I did not and would not condone tearing down the fieldstone walls for access to the SHS parking lot.  I suggested making two temporary gaps in the walls for ingress and egress to the lot.  It is surprisingly easy and inexpensive to remove mortar from between the stones, make the gaps, and re-mortar the stones in place once the work is done.  For a few days or maybe even a couple of weeks, it probably wouldn't be worth it.  But for a MONTH !!!  Of course the most sensible thing to do,  would have been to do the work before school started ........ but darn those little details ........ they keep getting in the way of the BIG PICTURE !

Shorewood is the most densely populated municipality in Wisconsin. Along with a large population in a small spaces comes a high demand for parking spaces. Additionally, the parking requirements of local business customers must be taken into account.

The lack of concern by village officials in closing the SHS parking lot despite easy alternatives, has overshadowed other parking situations which officials again are remiss.

The west side of Oakland Avenue is lined with businesses and offices. When the customers and clients of these businesses cannot park – the businesses suffer.

For almost two weeks now, there has been NO parking allowed during business hours along this block of Oakland Avenue – due to the work on the Streetscaping Program.

Incredibly though, work crews only worked on that block for a little over a day !

For about ONE DAY’s worth of work – Village Officials have closed down all the business parking for TWO WEEKS.

No work crews --- no equipment parking --- no activity --- and NO PARKING.

Ironically, Village Officials have pushed the multi million dollar streetscaping project as vital to the future growth of business in Shorewood.

Now if they would only allow the existing businesses to survive their ineptitude in implementing that project !!

QUESTION: Who is in charge ? Nobody in Shorewood Government has stepped forward yet to claim credit for the SHS parking fiasco. Will any of our Officials take ownership and take leadership of the Oakland Avenue problem?

COMMENTS: Please click on comments line below to leave your comments, either for the record or anonymously.

Email me your comments

Now into the second week that the Shorewood High School Parking Lot has been closed -------- there is an inordinate amount of vehicles and traffic using it.

Yesterday evening, October 2, 2007 while I was at the Fitness Center between about 6:00 and 7:30 pm, I was amazed at how much use the “Closed” parking lot was getting.

Ever since its closure, there have been about 4 or 5 vehicles going in and out of the lot, and being parked overnight. I don’t know if they belong to the contractor, the school system or the village.

Last evening however, in addition to those vehicles, I saw about 3 or 4 cars, a high end SUV, and a motorcycle using the lot.

They simply go up the service drive south of the Admin building, and turn into the lot at the sidewalk.

I also noted that virtually all the available parking along the south side of the Administration building was full. Could all those vehicles parking in the “Closed” lot belong to school board members or staff ?

The real shame here is not that some innovative folks have found a way to get into the lot --- the real shame is that our elected officials and administration have not kept the lot open --- which as I posted previously, would have been very easy to do.

Please feel free to click on the link below and leave your comments for the record or anonymously

Email me your comments

During a recent gathering of a number of Shorewood residents, including some decision makers, the question of why the HS Parking lot is closed for a month, despite two driveways being open, was asked.

In the ensuing discussion it was said the decision to close the lot was made by the Village Board, then someone else said the School Board, and then it was blamed on the DPW.

Actually I liked the DPW answer the best. Blaming unelected and faceless bureaucrats. is a great way for elected officials to pass the buck.

As we all know, water runs downhill, and so does ----

Please feel free to click on the link below and leave your comments for the record or anonymously

Email me your comments

(See Readers Comments and Responses After Blog)

There is Subtle Communication – and then there is Non Subtle Communication

You can file this blog in the Non Subtle category.

Regarding the closing of the Shorewood High School parking lot for a month during the school year …………………

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid …………………………………………………………………

Please click below to send your comments --- for the record or anonymously.

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READER COMMENTS:

C) Dave, weren't you saying that our high school kids need more exercise? Won't having to walk instead of drive to school for a month give them a little cardio? Hey, there's an up side to everything. At least they don't have to walk to school in subzero weather, arriving with frozen braces and glasses, as we did in my day...
--Anonymous

R) Dear Anonymous
I have to agree with you that walking is not going to hurt the students and will actually help their physical condition. But as much as I agree with that, a parent pointed out to me that many students who drive, have to do so, as they have jobs after school that they have to get to. Ironically, well off students who do not need to have jobs won’t suffer from the inconvenience as those who are less well off and need the income from a job. Also, this closing affects the Fitness Center patrons who are often doing “drive by” workouts, as they juggle their schedules with work, kids and keeping in shape. And then there is the school staff and teachers to consider.

C) Dave-Why is closing the high school parking lot "stupid"? How do you propose they repave the west side of Oakland ave. without closing the parking lot? Thank you-Ari Lerner

R) Ari – As per my response above, there are good reasons to keep the lot open. And from my reading of the proposed plans, it would be very easy to do. The plans call for the south driveway leading to the parking along the Fitness Center, and the north driveway leading to the Administration Parking to remain open. Only the middle driveway, will be closed.

All that has to be done is to use those two driveways that will remain open. Make it “right turn” only for both entering and exiting the parking. The north lot could be Enter Only, and the south lot could be Exit Only. There is a small field stone wall that will need to be opened in two spots to allow the cars to turn into the lot from the driveways – and and it can be put back together after the middle driveway is re-opened.

This is very doable by a mason contractor, and the costs would probably be less than the parking fees the School District is going to refund to students for the closed lot, and fees that the Fitness Center may have to refund to its members due to lack of acces.

C) Dave,

Let me see if I have this correct!
I gather that you feel that closing the high school parking lot for a month,
a lot which on any given weekday holds around one hundred vehicles
which will then be disbursed to other areas of a village which is already short of parking,
is a somewhat less than stellar concept? Hmmmmmmm?

R) Dear Anonymous --- A case in point of Common Sense not being Very Common !!

In an earlier posting on this blog, I advocated for creating a Green Commission to be a permanent part of Shorewood government. I proposed that the Green Commission have a very broad portfolio, to review all actions and proposals of departments, panels and other commissions, for the affect they will have on the environment.

The need for more space for the Shorewood Police Department would be an excellent start for the Green Commission. Whether it is decided to build a new facility for the Shorewood Blues, or to modify the existing Village Campus, the Green Commission should be an integral part of the process.

Studying how various proposals for SPD’s new facility will affect our environment, and how to limit adverse affects in an economically feasible way, will take a good deal of study and expertise. Some of the ideas that may be considered in such an undertaking could include some of the following:

HEATING AND COOLING

In discussions for modification of the existing Village Campus, the shortage of parking at that location has often been addressed. One of the solutions discussed was to make the existing parking area a two story parking structure. And as the parking area takes up a rather large footprint, there may be an opportunity to exploit what lies beneath it --- which is the stable temperature found underground, even in climates such as ours, that is used for Geothermal Heating and Cooling.

Geothermal Heating and Cooling works by pumping water through a closed loop of pipes buried in the ground. In heating mode, heat is extracted from the water as it passes through a condenser, and released through the evaporator coil. For air conditioning, heat is extracted from the evaporator coil and released into water through the condenser.

So one possible scenario would be to excavate the existing parking lot, bury the Geothermal Loop, and put a two story parking structure over it. Depending upon the physics involved, we may find that our Geothermal source to be large enough to also heat and cool the other existing buildings, such as the Village Hall and the Library.

GREEN SPACE AND WATER RUN OFF

If we have a two story parking structure, and we take the opportunity to excavate the site for our Geothermal source, we can also consider having all the parking underground. The top of the structure can be Green Space, with the added benefit of soaking up rain and snow runoff, instead of having it run off into the storm sewers.

By having underground parking, a couple of other added benefits would be that no snow plowing or salting of the parking lot would be necessary. And the truckloads of snow that the DPW currently hauls by dump truck to the river would not be necessary.

PLUGGING INTO THE SUN

Solar energy is becoming increasingly more practical and efficient. Any new or remodeled structure could incorporate Solar panels into the roofing. The Solar Electricity that we capture can be used for the lighting of the Village Campus, and perhaps even contribute to the electrical needs of the Geothermal System.

GREEN ECONOMICS

According to the Federal Department of Energy
“In large commercial installations, the initial costs of
GHPs are very competitive with boilers and cooling
towers. Major projects (larger than 300 tons) often
attract bidders from all over the country for designing,
drilling, and installation, thereby achieving very competitive
prices.

All these economies add up to a handsome return on
investment for businesses that choose GHPs. If the initial
cost of installing a GHP system is higher, these systems
typically pay for themselves in reduced energy and
maintenance costs in less than five years.”

IN SUMMATION

For the purposes of this posting, I am only able to scratch the surface of the options and benefits that a Green Commission would address. For instance, all the buildings on the Village Campus could have multiple heat exchangers, with excess heat from one zone having too much heat, perhaps from its particular sun exposure, sent to another zone that needs more heat !

If you would like to learn more about Geothermal Heating and Cooling, or other related topics, here are some sources listed by the DOE.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Office of Geothermal Technologies, EE-12
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585-0121
(202) 586-5340
http://www.eren.doe.gov/geothermal/

The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Clearinghouse (EREC)
P.O. Box 3048
Merrifield, VA 22116
(800) DOE-EREC (363-3732)
Fax: (703) 893-0400
E-mail: doe.erec@nciinc.com
http://www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo

Geo-Heat Center
Oregon Institute of Technology
3201 Campus Drive
Klamath Falls, OR 97601-8801
(503) 885-1750
http://www.oit.osshe.edu/~geoheat/

Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, Inc. (GHPC)
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004-2696
(888) ALL-4-GEO (255-4436)
http://www.geoexchange.org/

International Gr