EVANSTON — An Evanston resident brought concerns of too few stop signs along Arrowhead Drive to the Evanston City Council. David Birrell voiced his grievances at the Aug. 14 work session.

Birrell complained of people driving too fast and not stopping when they pull onto Arrowhead Drive from the five streets of Lupine, Featherway, Gannett, Elliot and Tomahawk. He said he’s worried that there is a danger to small children living in the area who will be walking to get on the school bus.

Birrell cited an instance of a woman almost hitting him coming off one of those streets and when he asked her why she didn’t stop at the stop sign she replied that there was no stop sign. Another concern included the curve and hill on Feather Way and that it was hard to see if someone was coming down onto Arrowhead Drive.  

Director of City Engineering and Planning Dean Barker said stop signs are not necessary where people know they are entering a through street and that, legally, stop signs are not to be used for speed control. Stop signs can be added if there is obstruction of view, a history of accidents and other special conditions.

Arrowhead Drive is not classified as a collector street, so legally it does not require a stop sign. A collector street is defined by the number of trips on it, traffic count and whether if funnels traffic into a main use area. Overthrust Road is classified as an arterial street and Yellow Creek is a major collector.

Police Chief Jon Kirby provided statistics on the number of traffic accidents on Arrowhead Drive since January 1, 2013. There have only been four accidents in that area and one was a single-vehicle accident. Two had been ice related, hitting parked cars, and the fourth was someone who didn’t stop and ended up hitting someone else. He said the minor history of accidents on Arrowhead Drive does not warrant a stop sign being placed there.

Mayor Kent Williams asked that they reevaluate the situation, patrol the area during different times of the day, and then decide what changes need to be made. The possibility of yield signage was suggested.  Williams asked Birrell if that was agreeable, and Birrell agreed. The mayor and council agreed to revisit the situation soon after further study.

Evanston City Clerk Amy Grenfell asked to be included on the agenda. She brought up the summer scheduling of city offices and asked how to handle hours now that the summer season was at an end, wondering if the extended hours on Monday through Thursday are better for the public than being open on Friday afternoons. Treasurer Trudy Lym asked about holidays that fall on a weekday. These were the two main areas of concern regarding the summer hours.  

Councilmember Wendy Schuler suggested they give departments flexibility in how they adjust their hours and work schedule.

Chief Kirby said the police department has used 10-hour day shifts for 30 years and it works well. Councilman David Welling confirmed that the sheriff’s office does the same and it has been successful.

The decision of the mayor and the city council was to continue with the pilot program of scheduling and work on the problems. 

On Monday, Aug. 27, the city issued a press release confirming that city offices will continue with summer hours through Nov. 2. Those hours are 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 7:30-11:30 a.m. on Fridays. City offices will be closed Monday, Sept. 3, for Labor Day and Monday, Oct. 8, for Columbus Day. Beginning Nov. 5, city offices will resume regular hours of operation — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Grenfell then brought up a problem with the next phase of the Roundhouse renovation. An extension was made on sections three and four in 1920 to accommodate the larger engines. There are 11 columns on the extension and the cost to replace those would be $190,000. The question brought before the council was whether to keep the columns and repair them or to remove them and have them match sections one and two. There are also structural concerns regarding replacing the columns as well as removing them.

Council members Evan Perkes and Schuler also wanted to know the cost of removing the columns. They said the money used on that matter could very well go to replacing the floor and the interior work needed.

The council agreed that members should go to the Roundhouse and look at the matter before deciding how to proceed.

Gina Reichenberg asked to address the council and was given time to speak on the continuing issue of the local boat club and the Lester family at Sulphur Creek Reservoir. Reichenberg cited a number of complaints against the Lesters and brought pictures to show how they had blocked the road with trailers and motor homes and had shut the gate (though it was not locked). The T sign that showed boaters which way to go had been defaced and only a straight line was visible, Reichenberg said. 

The new road the Lesters created is often muddy and hard to negotiate with trailers, boats, and campers, Reichenberg said, adding that because of these issues the boat club has suffered loss of membership.

Reichenberg showed the city council all of the pictures she had taken and a scrapbook of the boat club’s activities dating back to its organization in 1959.

Mayor Williams said he has driven down the new road and doesn’t see a problem with it. He referred the problem with the sign change to county officials. The council decided that further study is required on this issue.