Contractor Thought The Public Sidewalk Was A Good Location For Construction Signs

Recently, while taking 14th Street, I noticed construction signs limiting the width of the too-narrow public sidewalk — the East side between Olive & Locust — adjacent to the main library.

I posted one image to Facebook & Twitter with the caption: “14th street sidewalk almost completely blocked by temp road sign #ADA” A response on Twitter suggested I tweet this to the CSB (aka Citizens Service Bureau). Instead I emailed two people at the Streets Dept, copying two from the Office on the Disabled.  Streets quickly identified the culprit — hired contractor Intren — working for Ameren.

Temporary signs are a necessity, but so is the sidewalk next to the main library used by 5 MetroBus routes. The sidewalk is too narrow for the pedestrian volume but the historic library landscaping and the street width prevents it from being widened.  Once again, people unaware/unconcerned about pedestrians.

— Steve Patterson

Forget About Lane Detection Warnings — Properly Adjust Your Side Mirrors

Last month I attended the massive Chicago Auto Show with my husband. The amount of technology in ordinary new cars is simply astonishing: rearview  cameras, automatic braking, and lane detection warning. For those of us unable to afford a 2015 car until 2020 or later I can offer a cheap tip to make up for a lack of lane detection: properly adjust your mirrors. When I took my driver’s exam at 16 I don’t think my mom;s 1974 Dodge Dart even had a passenger mirror.

YOU SHOULD NOT SEE YOUR CAR IN YOUR SIDE MIRRORS!

Here’s a visual guide:

If you think I’m just making this up, see:

• AAA
• Car Talk
• Esurance
• WikiHow

You can also just watch this brief video:

Even if you have a new car with lane detection warning go ahead and adjust those power heated mirrors so you can see vehicles in the next lanes — you don’t need to see your own car.

— Steve Patterson

Still In Chicago To Avoid Snow In St. Louis

My husband and I had planned to return to St. Louis from Valentine’s weekend in Chicago via Amtrak late Sunday night — well technically just after midnight Monday morning. Sunday we realized the weather would make it difficult for me — arriving so late there wouldn’t be MetroBus service and getting the nearly 3/4 of a mile home on un-shoveled sidewalks in frigid temperatures wasn’t an option.

We tried to reserve a wheelchair taxicab from both companies that offer that service — but cited the coming storm as to why they couldn’t pick me up. My husband needed to be able to go to work Monday, so he left on our scheduled train but I changed my ticket to Tuesday morning — today. I’ll arrive later this afternoon.

The temperature will still be frigid and the sidewalks unusable, but I’ve arranged for a wheelchair taxicab to pick me up.

As a first, this post was started as a note on my iPhone Sunday night and finished at a Panera on my iPad Monday morning. The snow was good in that it forced me to learn to post from my iPad on the go.

— Steve Patterson

Happy Washington’s Birthday or Presidents’ Day?

So which is it: Presidents’ Day or Washington’s Birthday? What about Abraham Lincoln? The best answer I found online is from Snopes.com (recommended):

Claim:   The federal holiday observed in the United States on the third Monday of February is officially designated as “Presidents’ Day.”

FALSE

Their post is long and detailed, but the following is a good summary:

President Nixon is frequently identified as the party responsible for changing Washington’s Birthday into President’s Day and fostering the notion that it is a day for commemorating all U.S. Presidents, a feat he supposedly achieved by issuing a proclamation on 21 February 1971 which declared the third Monday in February to be a “holiday set aside to honor all presidents, even myself.” This claim stems not from fact, however, but from a newspaper spoof. Actually, presidential records indicate that Nixon merely issued an Executive Order (11582) on 11 February 1971 defining the third Monday of February as a holiday, and the announcement of that Executive Order identified the day as “Washington’s Birthday.”

Executive Order (11582) makes no mention of the title’s of the holidays:

(a) Holiday means the first day of January, the third Monday of February, the last Monday of May, the fourth day of July, the first Monday of September, the second Monday of October, the fourth Monday of October, the fourth Thursday of November, the twenty-fifth day of December, or any other calendar day designated as a holiday by Federal statute or Executive order.

Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is the 12th — my husband and I were on a Lincoln Service Amtrak train to Chicago on his birthday. Washington’s birthday s the 22nd — this coming Sunday.

— Steve Patterson

Live From The 2015 Chicago Auto Show

Today I’ll be posting to Twitter & Facebook from the 2015 Chicago Auto Show, which opens to the general public tomorrow morning and runs through Sunday February 22nd.  Yesterday and today are media preview days.

The St. Louis Auto Show is organized by local auto dealerships, whereas the Chicago Auto Show has exhibits from manufacturers — all makes are represented. Several new vehicles will make their debut at this show, including:

• GearOn edition of the St. Louis-built Chevy Colorado
• New Ford Police Intercepter SUV
• An off-road Kia
• A refreshed Chevy Equinox
• 2016 Acura RDX
• 2016 Honda Pilot
• 2016 Toyota Avalon
• Special editions of Toyota’s Camry & Corolla sedans

We visited this show last year — on a busy final weekend.  It’ll be nice attending some manufacture press conferences and seeing vehicles on the floor without massive crowds.  The only press allowed into the recent St. Louis Auto Show were those being paid to promote the show.

— Steve Patterson