City of East Peoria, Crime

Woman attacked on biking trail

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From the May 23 Morton Times News:

Woman assaulted on the Illinois River bike trail.

By Nathan Domenighini
Times Newspapers

A twenty-year-old woman was attacked Saturday on the Illinois River Trail, which runs between Morton and East Peoria.

At about 11 a.m., Tammy, whose name is being withheld for security purposes, said she was riding her bike along the trail when she acknowledged a man also riding a bike near her.

“I said ‘good morning’ to him (while he passed), ” Tammy, an East Peoria resident, said.

He responded. Tammy said he seemed to just be carrying on a friendly conversation.

After passing her, then letting he catch up several times, she said he fell behind one last time before speeding up and ramming the back of her bike, knocking her to the ground. He asked her if she was alright and apologized for knocking her down.

“At that point, I was just annoyed,” Tammy said. “Then, he just kept coming closer and closer and I kept telling him it was alright and to just move on.” Before she knew what was happening, “He jumped and grabbed me,” she said. “He pulled out a white rag with chemicals on it and held it over my face.”

Tammy then struggled and started barraging him with kicks and punches, she said.

Continue reading Woman attacked on biking trail →

Peoria Journal Star

Pessimistic headline writers

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Who writes the headlines for the Journal Star? Whoever it is could use a little Prozac. Lately, the negative spin on some stories has been disappointing.

For example, in today’s paper is the headline, “O’Brien Field fails to attract growth.” However, after reading the article, one could just as easily have headlined it, “TIF could spur redevelopment around ballpark.” Both headlines are equally valid, but one is negative, the other positive. Why does the headline writer choose a negative tone?

Here’s another example: “Committee for city growth shrinking in size.” That was the headline about the Heart of Peoria Commission’s (HOPC) meeting where they discussed the Mayor’s proposal to have the HOPC become a private advocacy group. This headline is poor on so many levels, but let’s start with the fact that the HOPC is not a “committee for city growth.” It’s a commission to facilitate implementation of the Heart of Peoria Plan, primarily. Secondly, the article wasn’t about the size of the commission (it was mentioned in passing that we have some vacancies, but so do many other commissions), but rather the future of the commission, so the headline is misleading. It appears the headline-writer didn’t even bother to read or understand the whole article, but instead just picked out the first negative comment and made that the label.

All I can say to the anonymous headline writer is, “Gray skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face… wipe off that frown and cheer up, put on a happy face!”

City of Peoria, Traffic

How was the traffic forum?

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Traffic signal clipartLast night, instead of attending the traffic forum at Bradley, I instead took my daughter in to MedPointe where she was diagnosed with strep throat. By the time I got her prescription filled and got her back home, it was close to 7:30. She’s getting better — the trick is keeping her brother and sister away from her during the first 24 hours while she’s still contagious. 🙂

I did get a chance to check out the Blogger Bash for a while later in the evening. Eyebrows McGee was there with Mr. McGee, as was PeoriaIllinoisan, Brad Carter, Billy Dennis, Diane Vespa, David Henderson, and Precinct Committeeman.

So, did anyone go to the traffic forum? I heard a couple of reports on WCBU which were good, but does anyone else have any more details to share?

One of the suggestions I heard on WCBU’s report was an Uplands resident who suggested putting in cul-de-sacs to keep more traffic from filtering through the neighborhoods. I think that’s a terrible idea. When you shut neighborhoods off to through traffic, it puts more strain on the arterial roads like Main and University, forcing them to be wider and faster, just exactly what we don’t want.

My contention is that cut-through traffic per se is not the problem, but rather people speeding through the neighborhood. If motorists wanted to cut through at 20-25 mph, I doubt neighbors would have much complaint. It’s important to deal with the proper root issue so we don’t make things worse in our attempt to fix them.

City of Peoria, Traffic

Main Street traffic forum Tuesday night

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A traffic forum to discuss improving Main Street will be held Tuesday night, May 29, at 6:00 p.m. in the Bradley Student Center. Here’s a presentation from transportation engineer Ian Lockwood on how he helped West Palm Beach, Florida, change their public right-of-ways to not only accommodate motor vehicles, but also pedestrians and bicyclists and mass transit (hat tip: Pat McNamara):

It’s my understanding this video will also be shown at the forum Tuesday night. This event is open to the public.

UPDATE: Here’s the agenda for the meeting:

WEST BLUFF TRAFFIC FORUM
TUESDAY, MAY 29 6:00 PM
ALUMNI DINING ROOM
(first floor near the entrance to the Quad)

Agenda

  1. Opening Introductions (2 minutes)-John Haverhals
  2. DVD on West Palm Beach Traffic Calming (10 min.)-Pat McNamara
  3. Ren Park Traffic Proposals (5 min.)
  4. Peoria City Traffic Engineering (5 min.)
  5. Barbara VanAuken (5 min.)
  6. Gary Sandburg? (5 min.)
  7. Other Reactions and Statements concerning the Ren Park Traffic Proposals
  8. Other West Bluff Traffic Concerns

Also, Second District Councilperson Barbara Van Auken, who is convening this meeting, had this to say:

If you plan to attend, it’s important for you to understand that no decisions will be made at this meeting. Rather, I convened the meeting for the purpose of hearing the concerns and suggestions about West Bluff traffic and parking primarily from those who live, work and/or own businesses in the West Bluff. I anticipate that this will be the first in a series of meetings and that no final decisions and/or major changes can or should be made until the City has done a new traffic study during a time when Bradley is in session and the changes in I-74 have been in effect for a period of time. (I would expect this in early Fall of this year.)

Since Councilman Sandberg has been involved with these issues for many years, I invited him to join us to offer his insights.

Note: Right after this event, be sure to walk across the street to One World and join in the Blogger Bash!

Peoria Housing Authority, Peoria Public Schools

Will D150 swap Prospect properties for Harrison land?

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Peoria Housing Authority LogoIn April 2006, the Peoria Housing Authority (PHA) was talking to Peoria Public School District 150 about possibly swapping some land. The idea was that the PHA would give District 150 some land near Harrison Primary School for the District’s plans to construct a replacement building there, and in return, District 150 would give the PHA the site of the current Glen Oak School so the PHA could build public housing in the East Bluff.

Well, there was quite a bit of outrage over that plan, and before long, the PHA said emphatically that they were not interested in the site and those negotiations were halted. Not long after that, the Park Board also decided it didn’t want to enter into a land-sharing agreement with District 150 to use a portion of Glen Oak Park for a new East Bluff school.

Since then, District 150 switched tactics and started negotiating to simply purchase the land from the PHA outright rather than swap land for it. But that has led to a big discrepancy between what PHA is asking ($800,000) and the appraised value of the land ($178,000).

So now we have to ask, what’s the next step?

One rumor is that the land-swap idea is going to reemerge, only this time it will be some of the properties the District bought adjacent to Glen Oak Park that will be traded, allowing the PHA to build public housing in the East Bluff after all. Rumor has it that Superintendent Hinton favors this option. It’s unclear whether the properties would be bundled with (a) other District-owned properties elsewhere in the city, (b) a cash offer, or (c) both.

PHA officials have stated that the reason their asking price for the land is so high is because that land swap the District was originally going to do required that all land involved be free of buildings. That’s why the PHA razed the buildings on the land adjacent to Harrison School. When the District decided to do a direct buy, the PHA felt that it deserved some compensation for the demolition it did on the District’s behalf.

What that tells me is that any land that would be swapped would have to be free of buildings. If there’s a plan in the works to swap land adjacent to Glen Oak Park, that could explain why the school district is aggressively pursuing demolition of the houses on those properties instead of renovating them and putting them back on the market to try to recoup some of the money they wasted.

Muni WiFi

Muni WiFi Networks: “They are the monorails of this decade”

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The Journal Star ran two Associated Press articles on municipal wireless fidelity (Muni WiFi) networks, and neither article was very complimentary of the systems. It seems they’re not living up to their hype.

“They are the monorails of this decade: the wrong technology, totally overpromised and completely undelivered,” said Anthony Townsend, research director at the Institute for the Future, a think tank.

In other words, they have the appearance of being progressive and modern, but lack practicality when actually built out. Some of the problems identified in the main article:

  • Lack of subscribers. There’s not as much interest in a Muni WiFi network as boosters thought;
  • Threat of taxpayer bailout. “Cities might end up running the systems if companies abandon networks they built”;
  • Number of antennas needed underestimated. Some cities have had to double or triple the number of access points to provide adequate coverage, “adding roughly $1 million” to estimated costs;
  • Trouble penetrating buildings. For a variety of reasons, including stucco homes that “have a wire mesh that blocks signals” and just general poor penetration, subscribers have to buy a $150 signal booster to use the service in their homes or offices;
  • Slow connection speeds. According to the article, the speed can be slower than cable and DSL;
  • Limited features. A home-business user said her local WiFi service “lacks key features she gets through DSL.”
  • Competition from private enterprise. “…[J]ust as Lompoc [Calif.] committed to the network, cable and telephone companies arrived with better equipment and service, undercutting the city’s offerings.”

Other than that, it’s a great system. Missing from the article was any mention of a large influx of “creative class” workers who moved into these communities because of their cutting-edge Muni WiFi systems. I doubt it was an oversight. Most likely the “creative class” values many of the same things as the “uncreative class”: safe neighborhoods, good schools, low taxes, business/employment opportunities, etc. I doubt anyone is going to move here just for the free wireless access, if it’s ever offered.

My favorite comment came from a Portland (Ore.) blogger in the companion article:

“For me ubiquitous access means I don’t have to base my life around wherever my office is,” DuVander said. “I tried it out as soon as I could and found that it wasn’t for me. The quality of the connection is not up to my standards.”

I’ll bet that if/when Peoria rolls out Muni WiFi, a certain local Peoria blogger will have a similar take on that system. Probably his big complaint will be that he gets poor reception in Pottstown. 🙂

City of Peoria, HOPC

Heart of Peoria Commission votes to stay city-appointed

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The Heart of Peoria Commission (HOPC) this morning unanimously approved of the Mayor’s plan to appoint HOPC commissioners to other city commissions including the Planning, Zoning, and Traffic commissions. However, it is also asking the council to maintain the HOPC’s status as a city-appointed commission. After carefully considering the pros and cons of continuing as either a private advocacy group or a public city commission, the HOPC members felt the city’s interests could be best served by remaining public.

The issue is scheduled to go before the City Council on June 5.

City of Peoria, HOPC

Tomorrow’s HOPC should be interesting

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The Heart of Peoria Commission (HOPC) will be discussing its future tomorrow, and that future may be a short one.

There’s a plan on the table to decommission the HOPC, freeing the members to form their own private advocacy group if they so choose, just like many other successful not-for-profit groups (e.g., Peoria City Beautiful). The proposed plan would also appoint several of the current Heart of Peoria Commission members to other commissions, such as Planning, Zoning, Traffic, and the Zoning Board of Appeals. Some commissioners are already dual-appointed. The plan is scheduled to go before the City Council on June 5.

Since this may be the last regular Heart of Peoria Commission (HOPC) meeting ever as a city-appointed commission, I thought I’d post the meeting agenda in case anyone is interested in attending what could be an historic event:

CITY OF PEORIA
HEART OF PEORIA COMMISSION MEETING
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2007
CITY HALL, 419 FULTON STREET, SUITE 404
8:00 AM – 10:30 AM

AGENDA

All Agenda items are subject to possible action.

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MAY 11, 2007

3. REVIEW, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION WITH RESPECT TO MEMORANDUM TO COUNCIL FOR JUNE 5, 2007, CONSIDERATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: PAST, PRESENT AND POSSIBLE FUTURE OF THE HEART OF PEORIA COMMISSION; PENDING POTENTIAL UPSTREAM APPOINTMENTS TO VARIOUS OTHER CITY COMMISSIONS; TRANSITIONING; FUTURE ROLE(S), FORM AND ACTIVITIES OF THE HEART OF PEORIA COMMISSION AND RELATED MATTERS.

4. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION/RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL RE: SEARCH FOR A NEW DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS TO GIVE DUE CONSIDERATION TO INSURE CANDIDATES ARE ATTUNED TO AND HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH CONTEXT SENSITIVE STREET DESIGN AND SUPPORT NEW URBANISTIC APPROACHES TO PUBLIC WORKS.

5. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION, INCLUDING ESTABLISHMENT OF A TIME FRAME FOR COMPLETION, IF STILL NECESSARY OR ADVISABLE, ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WORK PLAN TO SUBMIT TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.

6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

7. NEW BUSINESS

8. COMMENTS: Public (5 minutes per person)

9. FUTURE MEETING(S)

10. ADJOURNMENT

Inquiries: Gene Lear, 309/494-8604

Notice that the future of the HOPC isn’t the only topic on the agenda. As possibly our final act, we will likely be passing a resolution outlining what qualifications we would like to see in the candidate who will succeed Steve Van Winkle as Director of Public Works when he retires later this year.

Even though the public comment period is listed at the end, if you ask ahead of time you might be granted the privilege of the floor earlier if you want to speak specifically to one of the issues on the agenda before we take action on it.