Special thanks to City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, who outlined planned 2nd Ward street resurfacing and construction projects for 2014. These include:  

Street Resurfacing: 

• Clark St. (Ridge Ave. to Oak Ave.)
• Darrow Ave. (Greenleaf St. to Crain St.)
• Davis St. (Wesley Ave. to Asbury Ave., including water main replacement and protected bike lane)
• Fowler Ave. (Greenleaf St. to Dempster St.)
• Grey Ave. (Cleveland St. to Washington St.)
• Hartrey Ave. (Greenwood St. to Lake St.)
• Oak Ave. (Church St. to Clark St.)
• Washington St. (Dodge Ave. to Dewey Ave., including water main lining project)

The street resurfacing project includes street curb replacement as needed, construction of ADA accessible ramps at the intersections, grinding/milling asphalt pavement, street base repair, drainage/utility structure work, and final asphalt paving with pavement striping.

Additional street surface and patching work is under way to repair the damage inflicted by harsh winter weather. See a map of patching locations in Ward 2 >>>

Proposed New Sidewalks
On Thursday, May 1, I met with residents on the west side of Pitner Ave., between Greenleaf St. and Dempster St., and the south side of Dempster St., between Pitner Ave. and Hartrey Ave., to discuss sidewalks planned for 2014. The proposed sidewalk is 1,535 feet long and the width varies from 4' to 5'4". The estimated construction cost is $130,000 funded by Community Development Block Grant funds. The goal is to help improve pedestrian safety within the Hartrey Ave. corridor. 

Proposed Protected Bike Lanes
A protected bike lane is planned for both sides of Dodge Ave., between Howard St. and Church St. This lane will connect to the Church St. protected bike corridor, and will provide a comfortable bike corridor to ETHS, downtown Evanston, and the McCormick and Lakefront bike paths. The bike lane will be located between the curb and the parking lane, with upright delineators. The project will require a net reduction of an estimated 65 parking spaces within the project limits, including roughly 40 spaces between Main St. and Lake St.

A similar protected bike lane is planned for the north side of Davis St., from Ridge Ave. to Mason Park. This lane will connect with the Church St. protected bike lane through Mason Park, and will provide a comfortable westbound bike corridor between the Lakefront bike path, downtown Evanston, west Evanston and the McCormick bike path. Parking on the north side of Davis St. between Ridge Ave. and Mason Park will need to be removed to accommodate the lane.

Please call 311 with any traffic engineering concerns.

City of Evanston Economic Development Manager Johanna Nyden provided an update on 2nd Ward businesses. A full-service Starbucks café will open in the space formerly occupied by KFC at 1901 Dempster St. in late summer or early fall 2014. Meanwhile, the City continues efforts to bring a new grocer to the former Dominick's space in Evanston Plaza. Please stay tuned to this newsletter for updates.

Ten new businesses opened their doors and 92 jobs were announced in Evanston during the first quarter of 2014. Those were among the highlights of the City of Evanston Economic Development Division's first quarter 2014 economic report >>>

Reggie Napier, PST Officer for the 2nd Ward, shared an update from Crimereports.com, the online tool that tracks crime incidents by location. Between Feb. 1 and May 1, 2014, the 2nd Ward reported a total of five burglaries.

As the weather begins to warm, bike owners are encouraged to register their bicycles to help reduce theft, and make it easier to locate and recover stolen property. Register your bike online >>>

Residents are urged to continue to stay vigilant this summer by locking up bikes, keeping windows closed when they're away from home, and to always report suspicious activity.

For more information, contact the community strategies office of the Evanston Police Department at 847-866-5019, or by calling 311.

Recreation Program Manager Karen Hawk and Long-Term Care Ombudsman Audrey Thompson shared an update on programs and activities happening at the Levy Senior Center.

Evanston's goal is to be "the most age friendly town around." The Levy Senior Center offers computer classes, health and wellness classes, personal training, cultural excursions, open gym time, lunch service, and much more. Explore programs >>>

The City of Evanston has approved a three-year contract with Homefield Energy as part of its electricity aggregation program, providing participating residents and small businesses with 100 percent renewable energy and price certainty in a period of volatile electricity costs.

The City and Homefield Energy will mail a letter to residents in May detailing the new contract. Residents who wish to continue in the City’s aggregation program do not have to take any action and will automatically be switched to Homefield Energy during their August or September billing cycle. More >>>

Streets are maintained by the City, but the repair and replacement of damaged sidewalk slabs are the responsibility of the homeowner or business whose property is adjacent to the sidewalk. To help with that responsibility, the City of Evanston offers property owners the opportunity to improve the appearance and safety of their homes and neighborhoods with the 50/50 Sidewalk Replacement Program. Under the program, the City pays half the cost of replacing the eligible sidewalk with the property owner paying the other 50 percent. The program covers all public sidewalks in the city including those in front of homes, businesses, religious institutions and schools.

Sidewalk repairs and replacement will begin in late summer or early fall. Learn more and sign up >>>

Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, 2nd Ward Alderman Peter Braithwaite, and City staff invite members of Evanston's Spanish speaking community to a neighborhood meeting on Wed., June 4, 6:30 p.m., at the Erie Evanston/Skokie Health Center, 1285 Hartrey Ave.

Information and community discussion will include:

• Services for Spanish speaking residents
• How to connect with elected officials
• Safety concerns in the community
• How to improve City of Evanston outreach to the Spanish speaking community

Information will be presented in both English and Spanish. Please spread the word about this meeting!

Community members interested in discussing the parking and traffic patterns surrounding the Team Evanston soccer facility, located at 2025 Dempster St., are invited to a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, June 19, 7 p.m., at the J.E.H. Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave.