Category Archives: City of Peoria

City of Peoria, Traffic

West Main traffic study update

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I went to the Marty Theater at Bradley University’s Student Center Thursday night, July 10, to hear the latest on the Main Street traffic study the city is doing. The purpose of the meetings was simply to present the findings of the traffic volume study and solicit input from neighbors on how to proceed.

Here are the traffic counts (ADT):

Main at Washington 8,750
Main at Glen Oak 12,300
Main at Garfield 17,700
Main at Glenwood 26,400
Western at Callender 19,300
Western at MLK 20,200

Public Works Director Dave Barber was asked what the traffic counts were before Main was widened. Barber didn’t know the answer to that off the top of his head, but he later told me that city traffic engineer Nick Stoffer looked at the figures from the ’70s and they were roughly the same.

The next step is to consider alternatives for reducing traffic volume, calming/slowing traffic, and making the area more walkable/pedestrian-friendly. Here are some of the ideas presented that night:

  • Change Martin Luther King Dr. from one-way to two-way, allowing more traffic to travel below the bluff between downtown and the south side.
  • Narrow Main from University to downtown to one travel lane in each direction.
  • Install left turn restrictions on Main from University to Farmington road and eliminate the center lane.

They also welcome suggestions from the public. Once the alternatives are determined, they will be reviewed using a computerized traffic simulation. Then they will report the results to the community (estimated to be late August or early September) and finalize their recommendations.

City Council, City of Peoria

250 more acres to be added to Enterprise Zone

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Also on the council agenda for Tuesday, a request for more property to be added to the Enterprise Zone:

ACTION REQUESTED: DIRECT STAFF TO COMMENCE PROCESS TO EXPAND THE CITY OF PEORIA ENTERPRISE ZONE FOR SPECIFIED PROPERTIES ZONED COMMERCIAL AND OFFICE WITHIN THE 4 TH DISTRICT ALONG STERLING AVENUE FROM FORREST HILL TO GLEN AND INCLUDING A PARCEL IN GLEN HOLLOW SHOPPING CENTER, ALSO INCLUDING THE CORNER OF FORREST HILL AND GALE; AND IN THE 2ND DISTRICT SPECIFIED PROPERTIES ALONG UNIVERSITY AND DRIES LANE FROM FORREST HILL TO WAR MEMORIAL DRIVE.

I can’t think of a single store in the Glen Hollow shopping center that is vacant or otherwise needs an EZ incentive. So including that parcel is a complete mystery. And the corner of Forrest Hill and Gale was a thriving shopping area until road projects disrupted traffic for months on end, and ultimately destroyed easy access to the shopping area on the northeast corner where Velvet Freeze used to be.

But perhaps the most ridiculous use of the Enterprise Zone is the area along University St. and Dries Lane between Forrest Hill and War Memorial Dr. You know, where Wal-Mart is. And where Dynasty Buffet just did a major renovation. And where Comcast Cable is located. And Landmark.

None of these areas need these incentives. They’re only getting them because EZ status has been so egregiously abused. The first line of the council request’s justification states: “Businesses have been moving to the northern boundaries of the city and what was once an area with thriving businesses now holds some vacant buildings that are in decline.” Yes, businesses have been moving to the northern boundaries of the city because the city has been incentivizing it. Just recently, the Enterprise Zone was used as a tool to promote annexation along Willow Knolls road.

The Enterprise Zone was created to help blighted areas — to give businesses an incentive to locate in those areas that are truly disadvantaged. The council could have used it to help, for instance, South Peoria, a place that is truly blighted and sorely underserved. But the council didn’t use it for that. The irresponsible use of Enterprise Zone status means they’ve squandered an opportunity to help a part of Peoria that desperately needs help and, to make matters worse, given the benefits instead to areas of the city that don’t need any incentives.

Furthermore, Enterprise Zone status gives businesses a sales tax break on construction materials — and sales taxes are the biggest source of income for the city. For a city that’s cash strapped and looking at huge projects like the CSO project in the near future, it’s irresponsible to cut our income by injudicious use of the Enterprise Zone.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Police

Police looking to get Segways

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On the city council agenda for next Tuesday is a request by the Police Department to purchase two Segway Personal Transport vehicles to be used by parking enforcement officers and police patrolling congested public events. Here’s the justification as it appears in the council request:

The Peoria Police Department has been attempting to find better ways to provide service in the downtown area and in areas where there are large crowds of citizens gathered, such as public events. Parking Enforcement Officers and Police Officers often must commute through the congested geographical areas while making frequent stops. The Parking Enforcement Officers in the Downtown area must park their vehicles and repeatedly enter and exit their vehicles to conduct business. During public events, currently the only mode of transportation inside the event area is by foot. Officers often are called to respond to calls for service which are a sizable distance to travel by foot in a short period of time. Officers utilizing a Personal Transport would be able to respond much more quickly and would not need to physically exert themselves before arriving at the call by sprinting through the area. Multiple police departments throughout the State of Illinois are currently utilizing the Segway Personal Transport with positive results and are reporting the Segway has been positive for public relations. It is also anticipated that there will be a significant savings in fuel consumption for the downtown Parking Enforcement officers. The Personal Transports get the equivalent of anywhere between 250 and 500 m.p.g. depending upon how they are equipped. It is fair to say that the Segway’s energy consumption will cost at least 1/10th of the current cost in the Ford Focus utilized by the Parking Enforcement Officers.

The accessories that will be included in the purchase of the (2) x2 Police package Segways are: 2 parking stands, 2 police lights and sirens, and 1 commercial cargo carrier.

Cost for two Segways: $13,775.03. I’ll admit my first reaction was to be skeptical; there is something comical about a police officer racing after someone at 12 mph with sirens blaring on a Segway. But a quick search of the Internet shows that Segways are indeed being used by police departments in cities big and small, and the devices are proving to be helpful and effective. Nevertheless, I got a kick out of this post comparing other alternatives. The Chicagoist has a more positive spin.

City of Peoria

Peoria’s National Night Out: 9/16/2008

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From another press release:

On Tuesday, September 16th, neighborhood associations and neighborhood watch groups in Peoria will host celebrations during the 25th Annual National Night Out (NNO). The City is offering reimbursement of up to $200 for expenses for participating neighborhood associations. Registration forms have been sent to all registered associations and watch groups. The registration form is also available at the City’s website: www.ci.peoria.il.us: Government, H-Z Departments, Planning Department, Neighborhoods, Applications & Forms, or at Planning and Growth Management Department, Twin Towers Building, 456 Fulton St., Suite 402. Registrations are due by September 1, 2008. For information call Steve Fairbanks at 494-8603.

The purpose of National Night Out is to establish neighborly relationships, connect with neighborhood youth, and to strengthen collaboration between citizens and the police.

The traditional date for the annual NNO is the second Tuesday in August. In response to concerns about high temperatures in August, the City conducted a survey in Fall 2007 to gauge support for moving Night Out Against Crime to a later date. Survey results indicated overwhelming support by city leaders, neighborhood associations, and others for moving the event to September 16, 2008.

City of Peoria

Clean River Committee Considers Overflow Reduction Costs and Benefits

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From a press release:

Clean River Committee Considers
Overflow Reduction Costs and Benefits
Public meetings planned August 6 and 7

Peoria, IL – The City of Peoria Clean River Committee met today to review options for meeting state and federal requirements for reducing sewer overflows and improving water quality in the Illinois River.

The options reviewed by the ICR survey prep would involve make sure that a healthcare facility meets all the Medicare conditions of participation in infection prevention, building storage and disinfection facilities, new sewers and wet-weather treatment facilities at the Greater Peoria Sanitary District (GPSD) Wastewater Treatment Plant. The public’s input will also be sought during a 30-day comment period that begins July 21.

“The three options we’re looking at would capture overflows in underground storage facilities along the river or at the treatment plant,” said Public Works Director David Barber. “The primary question we’re asking is whether we should spend an additional $100 million or more to relocate overflows farther downstream from their current locations.”

The options being considered include:

  • Option 1: Storage and Treatment Along River and at GPSD Plant
  • Option 2: Eliminate Overflows Upstream of Bob Michel Bridge
  • Option 3: Eliminate Overflows Upstream of GPSD Treatment Plant

Under all the alternatives, overflows would be reduced from the current 28 or more per year to 2-6 in a year with typical rainfall. Overflow frequency predictions are based on a year with average rainfall. In wet years we expect more overflows and in dry years, less. The new storage units also would increase capture of sewer flows during wet weather from the current 55-74 percent to 93-99 percent.

“We need the public’s input because this project will be the largest investment in clean water infrastructure in Peoria’s history,” Barber said. “We must meet state and federal requirements and comply with the Clean Water Act, but the public’s input will help us decide what form our plan will take.”

Estimated construction costs for the three options are shown below. Costs do not include operation and maintenance requirements. These estimates could change as the city refines its analysis.

Overflow Control Option Estimated Capital Cost1 Cost per Gallon of
Overflow Captured
Option 1: Storage and Treatment Along River and at GPSD Plant $105-127 million 50¢ – 61¢
Option 2: Eliminate Overflows Upstream of Bob Michel Bridge $186-223 million 89¢ – $1.07
Option 3: Eliminate Overflows Upstream of GPSD Treatment Plant $218-262 million $1.04 – $1.26
1Capital costs include estimated construction, legal and engineering costs; in 2008 dollars.

In addition, the City is seeking public input on the potential use of green infrastructure to capture and treat stormwater, litter control programs to reduce trash in the river, and public education programs to improve the public’s involvement in efforts to improve and protect the Illinois River.

Public meetings are planned on August 6 and 7 at the following locations:

  • August 6: Gateway Building, 200 N.E. Water Street
  • August 7: Neighborhood House, 1020 S. Matthew Street

The open-house style meetings will be held from 4-8 p.m., with 30-minute presentations scheduled at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The public may come at any time to review project information and ask questions. Information will be available on the Illinois River’s water quality, recreational uses, studies of the sewer system and treatment plant, and options for reducing sewer overflows. Meeting materials and a questionnaire will also be available on-line by July 21 at the project Web site, www.peoriacso.org.

The Clean River Committee was formed in May 2007 to provide advice and recommendations to the Peoria Department of Public Works as it develops a long-term plan to control combined sewer overflows and protect the Illinois River.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency are requiring cities with combined storm-and-sanitary sewers, like Peoria, to develop long-term plans to comply with the Clean Water Act and state sewage treatment requirements. Peoria’s plan must be submitted by December 2008.

For updated information about the combined sewer project visit the project Web site at www.peoriacso.org. To get updated information on combined sewer warnings, go to the CSO Web site or call the CSO Hotline, 494-8873.

City of Peoria

Comcast is the worst cable provider ever

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My television is equipped with a QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) tuner (as well as NTSC and ATSC tuners), which allows me to see digital cable channels without a set-top box. I get the lowest-cost cable there is because all I want are the local channels (including the must-carry digital broadcast channels) and a few cable channels such as C-SPAN and WGN.

Reception of digital must-carry channels is pretty poor. I often get pixelation, signal disruptions, drop-outs, and not infrequently lose the signal completely. So I called Comcast “customer service.”

After waiting on hold for five minutes, I got some flunky in another state that tried to convince me that I had to have a set-top box in order to get “pure digital,” even though a set-top box would be nothing more than an external QAM tuner for my application. Oh, and did I mention that a set-top box runs about $15 per month? I’m only paying about $14 a month for cable, so this would double my bill while giving me no additional services.

So I took my TV upstairs (it’s in the basement, normally) and hooked up rabbit ears and am happily watching the All-Star Game in HD without any dropouts at all. Which makes me wonder, why do I even have cable? I could get a roof-top antenna and distribute it throughout the house just like cable, but with better reception. Is C-SPAN and WGN really worth the Comcast headache?

Hmmmm….. Maybe it’s time to cut the cable.

City Council, City of Peoria

Time for City to start thinking about budgets

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There’s a special City Council meeting this coming Tuesday. There’s only one item on the agenda, and no final action will be taken. It appears to be the beginning of birth pangs for next year’s City budget process:

DISCUSSION Regarding the City of Peoria Financial Overview of 2008 Year-to-Date Projections and 2009 Preliminary Revenue Projections; Including 5-Year Projections, and Operating Budget Guidelines. No Final Action will be Taken.

We’re entering the season where priorities will be set, new projects will get funded, old projects will get defunded, compromises will be made, the garbage tax will be defended (again), and more revenue will be raised in some creative way they will define as anything other than a “tax increase.” Budget hearings from departments won’t roll around until October, if last year’s schedule is any indication. But that’s just around the corner, believe it or not — only six regular council meetings away.

City Council, City of Peoria

Council preview 7/8/08

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At tonight’s council meeting, at-large councilman Jim Montelongo will be attending via teleconference. Some notable items:

  • River Trail Drive Plan — This is Economic Development Director Craig Hullinger’s brainchild to build townhouses along the riverfront from the Riverplex north to Spring Street, along with a Grandview-Drive-type road that goes by it. The townhouses would be on the west side of the road, and the river side of the road would remain parkland, giving drivers, bikers, and pedestrians an unobstructed view of the river. I attended one of the public meetings for this project and heard some discontent from environmentalists in attendance due to the fact that some parkland would be taken away in the course of this project. Apparently, their objections weren’t very strong because there’s been no formal opposition mounted, and this request to seek a developer appears on the consent agenda. Looks like a shoo-in.

  • More land for the Enterprise Zone — I’ll let this agenda item speak for itself (emphasis mine):

    On June 10, 2008 Council directed staff to commence the process to expand the City of Peoria’s Enterprise Zone to include certain properties bordered by Sheridan, Glen, University and Lake and the Sheridan Village Shopping Center. Since that time staff has received suggestions and requests that the entire commercially zoned area within those boundaries be included in the Zone. Staff is now requesting that all properties zoned commercial/office within the Glen/Sheridan/Lake/University area be included with the original expansion application…. The new development has not been completely planned, and the exact dollars [financial impact to the city] cannot be determined at this time. The City would lose the portion of sales tax on building materials purchased within the City for these projects. However, the City will gain additional sales tax from the new retail development that occurs due to this expansion. Additionally, a number of new jobs will be created both from the construction as well as from the retail stores. And the investment would help revitalize and stabilize the area.

    This illustrates just how haphazardly we throw around enterprise zone status in Peoria. Some businesses surrounding a proposed enterprise zone want in on the action, so the council reflexively complies, even though these additional businesses have no plans and the city cannot even evaluate the financial impact of adding them to the enterprise zone. The city gets most of its revenue from sales taxes, so discounting sales taxes from such a large swath of Peoria without considering the impact on city revenues is injudicious. Yet it’s on the consent agenda.

  • Making CHDO’s rehab older homes, not just build new — This is second district council member Barbara Van Auken’s idea. An example of a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) would be Habitat for Humanity (although there are others, of course). Ideally, they build new homes (in-fill development) and renovate older homes for low-income people. However, in Peoria, these organizations always build new. I personally find nothing wrong with that, as we have plenty of need for in-fill development in our older neighborhoods. But Van Auken would like to see one out of every three projects be a renovation. Since these organizations get federal money through the city’s CHDO funding program, the city can add those strings to the money if they wish. The CHDOs oppose this proposal basically because of the “unpredictable costs associated with rehab” (e.g., lead paint abatement, asbestos, etc.). The risk is that CHDOs may just decide not to do any more projects, in which case the city would lose the grant money and the development that CHDOs provide. The city staff is nevertheless recommending approval, with a promise that they will report back after a year on how well the policy is working. My only fear is that as many exceptions to the Land Development Code will be made in these rehab projects as have been made in new construction.

  • Closing loopholes in the payday loan store moratorium — In response to criticism of her plan to put a moratorium on zoning certificates for payday loan stores, Van Auken has proposed this additional ordinance that would extend that moratorium to building permits. With the moratorium on zoning certificates, it only would stop standalone payday loan stores, but not stores in strip malls. This ordinance is designed to close that loophole.

  • Van Winkle is back — Former public works director Steve Van Winkle is being appointed to the Traffic Commission. This won’t require much of a time commitment from Van Winkle since the Traffic Commission cancels most of its meetings. Also, recently retired city engineer Gene Hewitt is being reappointed to the Board of Local Improvements.

  • Firefighters get a new contract — A new three-year contract has been negotiated between the city and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), giving firefighters a raise of 3.5% and other benefits.

  • Methodist Hospital expansion — This is probably the biggest item on the agenda; there are actually three separate motions on this project; here, here, and here. Methodist wants to put their entire campus under institutional (N1) zoning, plus make modifications to Hamilton Boulevard; that latter item is resulting in the Historic Preservation Commission attempting to designate the boulevard an historic landmark. I’m confident this plan will sail through the council with very few questions. It’s amusing to me how I’ve heard about how “new urban” and pedestrian-friendly this design is, yet they want to get out of the West Main regulating plan (form-based code) and have requested numerous variances to the Land Development Code. Both of those codes are designed to ensure that the principles of new urbanism are followed, resulting in pedestrian-friendliness. And, incidentally, neither Methodist nor city staff have shared these plans with the Heart of Peoria Commission, not that anyone cares.

  • Elliott’s strip club gets a liquor license — …and a bunch of taxpayer money, as expected. They’ll get a Class A (tavern) with a subclass 1a (2 a.m. closing) and subclass 2 (live entertainment) liquor license as part of a settlement agreement between the city and the owners of Elliott’s. Also in the covenant: a promise that the city will allow an “adult cabaret” in that location for at least ten years, and the payment of $50,000 in attorney’s fees to Elliott’s. That’s right! Thanks to the city fighting this, Elliott’s will get everything they wanted in the first place, plus $50,000 in your tax money! On a positive note, it could have been worse; $50,000 is significantly lower than what was predicted.