Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Not ready for Parking: No Curb-Cut for new LGBT Library in Rogers Park

(Rogers Park) - In my first report  March 24, on the new gay Library coming to Rogers Park at the end of April, I accredited a LGBT reporter, Kate Sosin, with doing " the most leg-work" regarding the Library's move. 


Following the progress of that report over the weekend,  I've noticed Ms. Kate Sosin at Windy City Times hacked my blog report, and claimed it came came from "member's of the community.


What a load of shit that was. I sent her the link of my report a day before her new report was posted online.


 I'd like to see who in the so-called "community" noticed this - and tipped her off?   Because, according to her boss, Tracey Baim, being "straight" is not part of the gay community.


Anyhow, we'll let bygones be bygones on Kate Sosin's piss-poor journalism, her bosses sexual discrimination rules in the workplace, and expand on a portion of Kate's new report. 


(See, Kate, that's how it's done...)


Back to this story. Kate Sosin raised a good point in her new report.


Where's the curb-cut for parking?
Kate's report states: "A curb at the adjoining parking entrance has yet to be leveled to allow cars to drive into it the lot...."


We've been through these issues before when I ran the 'Broken Heart. So this one line in Kate's report caught my eye. 


To make this entrance happen, you need an "official" city permit. 


Plus, there are strict guidelines one must follow with the Department of Transportation to optain a curb-cut.


Let's backtrack to Karen Sendziak's original press release the media fawned all over. It states, "The library's new home features 20 parking spaces..." 


Well, again, I find this hard to believe. 


Judging from the photograph I took today, parking isn't going to be available until Karen secures official permits, works with the city of Chicago, she also has to notify IDOT, the Alderman's office - and then find contractors to do the work.


Anyone think that can be done in one moth's time?

2 comments:

Clark St. said...

I just walked over there & walked off the size of the parking spaces.
While there are 20 spaces painted on the lot, there can't be that many according to the Chicago Zoning Code.
The current spaces are as follows:
5 spaces laid out like parallel street parking. Each space is 8' X 19'. That is allowable, but as I write below, these spaces have to go for another reason.
There is one handicapped space, I didn't check that one out, it's a 90° space & there are specific measurements for those.
There are 14 90° spaces & they definitely don't meet the space requirements. Each is 8' wide, that's the city's minimum, but they are only 14" long to the concrete wheelstop, with an additional with an additional 3' to the sidewalk in front of the storefronts, making them 17' long. The city's minimum for 90° spaces is 18'.
Then there is the aisle between the parallel spaces & the 90° vertical spaces.
That aisle is 15' wide from the end of the 90° space paint lines to the 5 parallel spaces.
The city requires an aisle width of 20' with 90° spaces.
See the Chicago Municipal Code, Chapter 17-10-1001 [Zoning] for a diagram or http://tinyurl.com/7vey6mp

Therefore, the 5 parallel spaces, which run E/W are not allowed under Chicago law & will have to go, so there will only be 15 spaces.
But the handicapped space is at the rear of the lot & I don't know if that's allowable as in most places I've seen, the handicapped space is usually at the entrance to the lot.
There is also the question of whether the alley will be used as an entrance/exit for the lot. The people living on that alley won't be happy with that.

Philip McGregor Rogers said...

Hey a new poster (clark str)! Good to see it.

Craig this is the link from the facebook page of that guy jorge who kept trying to post his "hatecrime" article on everyblock. This guy is really really really weird.

http://www.myspace.com/jorge686/blog