Shorelines

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 ----

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(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 …………………………………………………………………

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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 !!

For a few weeks now, whenever I have been on north Oakland, something has just seemed to be different.

It started as just a feeling – something different here … somehow it seemed the vibrancy of the street was missing.

Finally I realized that the “old” streetscape (just put in about ten years ago) had been pillaged.

In anticipation of the “new” streetscape --- all the nice benches, flower beds and trash receptacles have been taken away.

The street now looks barren and ugly …….. with paint marks all over the sidewalks and curbs.

But other than some minor work done by the gas company and the paint markings --- there has been no construction going on since the benches, plants and bins have been removed.

So why were they removed so far ahead of the scheduled work ?

I wonder how this drab look is affecting the merchants on the street ?

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Is it just coincidence that the two top articles in today’s NOW Northshore edition were:

1) New ATHLETIC FIELD which has over $1,000,000 of our tax dollars going to pay for it, has Groundbreaking Ceremony this past Friday ………..

2) School District announces that we don’t have enough students to fill the schools we have (75 to 80 percent of capacity) and that it may have to CLOSE ONE OF OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS to save money.

For some reason, I just don’t remember the need to close one of our schools coming up, when the D2D group was beseeching the Village Board for a $465,000 handout.

During his pitch to the Village Board for the tax money, Superintendent Blane McCann didn’t mention a need to close a school, but it was reported that he said --

"When I arrived as superintendent I recall this board wanting to find a way to help, wanting to find a way to contribute and alleviate some of the school district's problems and this is a perfect way for that to take place,"

Trustee Michael Phinney said $600,000 is an "appropriate investment." --- was he aware that the School District was so desperate for money that it was considering closing a school ?

Some of the questions for our elected officials that come to mind are:

WHO of our elected Village and School Board Officials, knew that our schools are in such dire straights, when they decided to spend over a $1,000,000 of our tax dollars on an athletic field ?

WHY did they keep it a secret until the Field was a Done Deal ?

Did our Elected Officials ask the Right Questions --- or didn’t they Want to Know ?

And Wouldn’t it have been nice --- if the Voters of Shorewood, knew about the schools, and were offered the opportunity to decide if their $1,000,000 in tax money should go to new dirt --- or keeping a school open ?

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