Editor’s note: “George” wrote this as a comment on a previous post and garnered some response, but many readers may have missed it, so I’m reprinting it here as its own post. Let me know what you think of George’s assessment of Peoria:
Peoria may be a sinking ship and I think the Titanic is a good analogy. The affluent are dancing merrily without knowing (caring?) about the underlying problems the ship is facing. The ride seems fine from their vantage point- all is well. If they were to mix with the poor or question why we haven’t had any population growth in fifty years-they would certainly sense danger ahead.
I would argue Peoria has been sinking in a more gradual way compared to the Titanic, but we are sinking.
Look at the facts:
• Peoria is no longer the second largest city- we are the seventh. Obviously the growth cells have not produced the population growth or revenue streams projected. The Civic Center and Ball Park (while nice and impressive) also-have not produced the spin off downtown renaissance they promised. I would argue the Museum project is similarly flawed.
• Our largest school district, District 150, is now primarily serving minority and impoverished students. Superintendent Hinton has no prior superintendent experience and the current school board is insistent on maintaining the status quo.
• Racial tension in Peoria seems to be at an all time high and there doesn’t seem to be a solution in sight- unless you really believe prayer is a solution, and if so, that notion may be part of the problem. Haven’t Peorians been praying daily for generations and with what success?
• Our tax base is not sufficient to pay for necessary city services, much less provide money for enhancing public space, professional development or providing other amenities needed to attract scalable enterprises. The newly built residential housing units (north of Pioneer Parkway) and those planned for the future will never ever support themselves. When you do the math you will discover we are annexing ourselves into destitution. If you disagree then please explain why have there been increased city budget cuts and why are we likely looking at higher city taxes in the years to come?
• Developers claim they are simply responding to the market as they build ugly development after ugly development. Meanwhile, the most desirable cities, regardless of size, do just the reverse. The best cities drive the market by laying out their vision and getting it built. They do not take what ever is brought before them (schlock strip malls and cookie-cutter subdivisions) – they do not act desperate. Peoria has behaved desperate beginning with Dick Carver’s administration and it has become worse through the terms of Maloof, Grieves, and Ransburg. The precedent has been set and with the current set of developers it appears impossible for Ardis to reverse this trend. Our current City Council members are weak and lack vision- and so it goes.
• Young talented people are not flocking to Peoria because it is not the type of place they want to live. Some think we need more late night bars, but 24/7 does not mean having a plethora of sleazy bars and taverns. We do not have the appropriate housing destiny, enough downtown retail, adequate transportation options, and variety of downtown restaurants to make Peoria an exciting place to live. Good grief- we do not have a grocery store, dry cleaner, or drug store within walking distance of the city center. If you want to go to breakfast in the city where do you go? If you want well planned green space in the city center where do you go? Peoria generally has done a bad job of creating and maintaining a great place.
• Additionally ask yourself: How is life for our pre-teens and senior citizens who are unable to drive? Social scientists judge a city’s quality of life by how easily the young and old move around independently. When your pre-teens want to do something or go somewhere independently- where do they go and how do they get there? Are they walking out their doors and taking off on their own? No, most likely you are driving them someplace. Our children and our elderly citizens are forced to be dependent on someone with a car. In most cases they can not comfortably or safely walk or use alternate transportation to have fun or take care of their daily needs.
I think we are at risk of becoming the next East St. Louis or Detroit if the citizens do not start paying attention and demand that the City Manager and elected officials start doing their best to create a safe and great place to live. Keep a tally of their votes on issues- they repeatedly say they are for neighborhood revitalization but their votes prove otherwise.
If Randy Oliver leaves Peoria it is no great loss. He is not a visionary- but neither are members of the city council. Ok I give- pray for us!
— “George,” December 30th, 2007
The myth is that Dunlap and the suburban schools are that much better. Perhaps now but in about five years, as the populations grow by leaps and bounds, they will experience many of the same problems at D150. Not all the same, of course, but the smaller class size will fall.
(The following is my answer to David P. Jordan’s January 2, 2008 request for examples)
David,
Here is a link http://www.cnu.org/node/609 providing you with examples of how other cities are dealing and have dealt with the disruptive and ugly nature of highways. Peoria may have thought they were doing the correct thing when they embarked on the “upgrade”(snicker) of I-74- but what we now have is a city divided by I-74 with little if any consideration for pedestrians. I see it contributing to Peoria becoming more and more blighted.
Wouldn’t we have been better off spending 500 million dollars on other more necessary infrastructure? What I see is roadway redundancy – and I do not believe we will ever have adequate utilization.
If I were Ray LaHood, Dale Risinger or an engineer from IDOT I would be embarrassed to claim I had a role in such a royal waste of money. They celebrate it as an accomplishment to save face, but future generations will ask “What were they thinking?”
Hope you enjoy the link,
George
George,
Thanks for the link, but I stand by my post because the examples given (Buffalo, Seattle) are STATE highways, and not part of the Federal Interstate highway system. I-74 is part of the latter and as best I know, could not be legally reconfigured from interstate to boulevard.
I don’t believe I-74 has caused division in the city – it does not block major thoroughfares through downtown and is mostly within a trench spanned by overpasses. East Peoria, through which I-74 is elevated, may be a different story).
I drive I-74 on a regular basis and I’m glad to have the longer ramps and additional lanes. Conversion to something else (boulevard with traffic lights, etc.) would merely cause congestion.
I-74 allows quick access to and from downtown Peoria and East Peoria, and although I don’t buy the economic development argument in favor of the upgrade (before I-74 was rebuilt, there was I-74, if you know what I mean), I understand that the presence of hundreds of construction workers during the course of the project likely gave the area a temporary economic boost.
Obviously, the $500 million wasn’t flushed down the toilet – Nucor Steel in Bourbonnais, Illinois supply beams for the project, Rogers Group/Newton County Stone Co. near Kentland, Indiana supplied crushed stone, all of which benefitted those and local firms, such as UCM, TP&W and motor carriers.
I think both George and David have good points. Much of the extravagant expense of “Upgrade 74” was waste; the ramp from westbound War Memorial to westbound 74, for instance, now requires a left turn across War Memorial. That is a downgrade, not an upgrade. And the added cost to the public of prolonged construction adding additional time and gas consumption to millions of trips is never figured into these projects. More importantly, what is the net effect? There is more road surface to maintain (more expense to taxpayers) for what gain? Is the new road that much more efficient? Or could the vast majority of the efficiencies be accomplished at a fraction of the cost?
I agree with The Mouse regarding the War Memorial Drive ramp, although the left turn is for eastbound, not westbound, I-74. The reason for the left turn is that IDOT determined it to be the only way to retain access from War Memorial to eastbound I-74, but at the same time ensure separation of closely-spaced on and off-ramps which were the source of accidents.
I guess another massive “flyover” ramp, like westbound I-74 to Riverfront Drive in East Peoria, would have been required to carry traffic over War Memorial Drive, but the additional land required for such a ramp would have added astronomical cost (and removal of homes and relocation of the frontage road).
Now that we have the I-74 upgrade what would be the purpose of the “ring road”? If the ring road were put in would that make I-74 redundant? I just don’t see how Peoria or the tri-county area could efficiently use both and still stay economically viable.
The reason for a ring road seems to be that residents in north Peoria County (Chillicothe, Mossville) can have a closer bridge across the Illinois River and quick access to Metamora, Germantown Hills, Washington and Morton without backtracking down to the McLugage Bridge, thence to Rt. 29 then I-74 or up Rt. 116.
I’m not saying this isn’t legitimate, but one has to consider the effect such traffic diversion will have on existing gas stations, restaurants and shopping centers on the existing route (granted, Mossville, Rome and north Peoria don’t have that along Rt. 29).
Most likely, these facilities will be replaced by new gas stations, restaurants and shopping centers along the east side belt, simply transferring business from one area to another without creating wealth. If an east side belt tips the scale in favor of industrial and logistical development at Mossville and Washington (along the TP&W), then it may be of some use.
As far as the recent I-74 upgrade, the reconfiguration of ramps and added lanes are not an alternative to an east-side belt because different traffic flow is involved.
Since 1979, motorists desiring to avoid the city have used I-474.
I think the biggest “push” is that CAT mossville employees who live in Germantown/Metamora, Washington and Morton would have a quicker commute (I suppose it would also make it easier for CAT to relocate its Admin offices from downtown to Mossville). It would also increase the push to 4-lane US 24 all the way to I-39, thus completing the shorter Peoria-Chicago highway.
“I think the biggest “push” is that CAT mossville employees who live in Germantown/Metamora, Washington and Morton”
Yep ! Hundreds of CAT folk would dearly love to see Route 6 cross the river.
The irony is that people moved out to these places years ago to get away from the city and as they live there longer they want more n more of the amenities they left behind. Of course all those amenities come with the usual problems mature communities develop. Thus the circle repeats itself as people move farther out.
They want quick transit and are under the delusion that the ring road won’t come with the sprawl and problems that always follow highways. There are no doubt developers with fast food joints, stop-n-rob gas stations, and the like already on the drawing boards for the ring road interchanges.
HERE IS HOW -WE- FIX THE PROBLEM ! PEORIA AND E.PEORIA HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR GROWTH THE SOLUTION IS IN COMING TOGETHER I HEAR ALOT OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED THAT MADE US THIS WAY BUT NO REAL SOLUTIONS TO FIX IT THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO BRING THE TWO CITIES TOGETHER AS ONE BIG CITIES I KNOW YOUR THINKING IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN BUT THAT IS THE ATTITUDE THAT HAS GOT -US- WHERE WE ARE TODAY I HAVE MANY PLANS DEVELOPED THAT WOULD BRING THE TWO TOGETHER AND TOGETHER WE WOULD BE STRONG AND TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH THE BIGGEST BATTLE TO DO SUCH A THING IS PURELY A POLITICAL ONE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR MY IDEALS ON HOW THIS WOULD BE THE SOLUTION AND HOW TO MAKE IT WORK (CONTACT ME) THROUGH THIS SITE JUST WRITE UR ? AND SUGGESTIONS AND AT THE FRONT OF THE LETTER WRITE (DAVID)
AND IVE BEEN READING THE COMMENTS ON THIS SITE BLAH I SAY SEEMS LIKE THEIR IS A LOT OF PASSION ON THIS MATTER STOP COMPLAINING AND LETS DO SOMETHING WE 20 YEAR OLDS ARE THE SOLUTION WE ARE THE FIXERS LETS GET TOGETHER AND MAKE IT HAPPEN DONT LEAVE FIGHT FOR WHAT WE WANT IM WILLING R U
DAVID SHERMAN BUSSINES GROWTH CONS</i?
How can you be a fixer if you can’t spell?
The misspelling and poor grammar is partially offset by the sheer size of his letters.
I, like Billy Dennis, went to Kingman,Woodruff, and E.Peoria. I live in the Averyville Neighborhood. By 1971 I was in the military. When I came home the neighborhood I had known was changed. Several of the homeowners had left,and a wave of rental properties were throughout the neighborhood. Soon the doctors office closed,then Schwinns market,the hardware store, the drugstore. The Wilcox library branch and the Park Dist. after school program left. The playground at Kingman was taken over for parking by the teaching staff.That has been over thirty years now and Nothing has been brought back or replaced. NO money has been spent on this blighted area, contrary to some beliefs. There has not been a project here in those thirty years. I have mentioned the area where I live, in the past on this site. Only to be ridiculed. Most of the time when some project is being proposed I sign on give my two cents worth and mention the fact that we could use some of that TIF money.The Library improvements fell on deaf ears to my council do nothing when I asked for even a Morton style bldg,anything, a tent.If we can not get the basic neighborhood necesities for a Family to raise children we will remain a blighted area. Our homeowners association has stopped meeting out of utter discust with the city. I do not have to stay here,but this is my home and I refuse to leave.Just like my father and his father and other relatives have refused from this same home. The Averyville, being one of the cities oldest sections, is sinking and it is the cities fault. Good Day
Like CW and, I guess, Bill Dennis–I went to Kingman and Woodruff (1955). My father died in 1969, and my mother stayed in Averyville for 10-15 years. It is amazing how quickly the whole area deteriorated.
If anyone knows of any taxpayer money being thrown down this sewer of a blighted area called Averyville than please let me know. And we do not have a rec center.
And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, Monticello, 28 May 1816. Ford 11:533.
(Ford, Paul Leicester, ed. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1892-99. 10 vols.)
Please vote NO on the public facility-museum referendum tax, unless you will enjoy paying 8 1/4% on many goods in Grand Ol’ Peoria County!
Karrie… you know the full implications of that quote, I hope.
He was referring to the ownership by a few of the banking and monetary system of this or any society.
“Give me control of the money and I care not who makes the laws”. Rothschild.
USURY… isn’t it interesting that we, a “Christina Nation” have built our economy on the one “sin” forbidden to the people we look to for our origins. Jesus, himself, expressly forbade it. When you lend expect NOTHING in return.
Sharon, I hope you did not break any rules. I usually do not get a comment verifying a post. By your date provided you might have went to school with one of my brothers. Thank you, Good Day.
CW–I’m not sure what you meant by “breaking the rules”–never my intention. I did graduate from Woodruff in 1955.
Sharon… WHY are you still teaching? You deserve a well deserved retirement! How long have you been teaching?
Kcdad: What makes you think I’m still teaching? I retired in 2005 after teaching for 43 years. I am thoroughly enjoying my retirement–the only “work” I do is writing for the West Peoria News. The only teaching I do is helping to prepare two preschoolers for school–and then the next two in the family will be ready. One thing for sure–I would never be a substitute teacher.
Sharon, by breaking the rules I meant, 90% of the time if I post a comment no-one replies. Must be where I live. Thats was just a joke,sorry.
CW–stay on long enough and people will respond.
Kcdad and Others: I hope you didn’t think I was still teaching considering all the daytime week day hours I spend responding on this blog. I certainly wouldn’t have been using my own name; that’s for sure.
WHY ARE WE all responding on an entry that started in December 2007?
ahso. Your frequent mentions of Manual and inner city education issues led me to believe you were still “doing it”.
Kcdad: Yes, I can understand your thought that I was still teaching–I have tried to use past tense verbs, etc. However, I am, of course, still interested in what happens at Manual, etc. Manual is on the agenda for tomorrow night’s board meeting–a report from the restructuring advisory board.