Alderman Joe Moore, 49th Ward, finally put on a purple t-shirt and looked at the huge puddle at 1501 W. Morse Avenue today. The puddle has inconvenienced people for months. Accompanying Moore was Assistant Commissioner Thomas LaPorte of the Department of Water Management and several other DWM people.Finally, after inconveniencing hundreds of people, presenting a challenge for elderly and handicapped bus riders, and scaring
customers away from a coffee shop's sidewalk patio, it looks as though something might be done to unplug the street gutter drain.The Bench has been complaining about the huge puddle for months. Nearly a month ago, DevCorp North's Rene Camargo said the puddle was "on the list" of things to fix. The Special Service Area #24 (SSA) did nothing. Alderman Moore did nothing.
Yesterday, however, I was talking with somebody whose name I cannot mention, but I can tell you that she is very influential in the 49th Ward. She said she's been reading about the puddle on The Bench. She said the plugged drain would probably not be fixed until "after Streetscape is completed.""When will that be," I asked, "another ten years?" She laughed and shook her head, but she made a phone call right then and there. It was not to the alderman's office. Let's just say it was to another influential local person. That person, in turn, apparently made some phone calls of his own, which resulted in Joe Moore putting on a grape-colored t-shirt and staring at the puddle.
Let's hope that LaPorte's visit indicates that something will be done soon. And while Joe Moore is at it, perhaps he could walk down to the recently-closed Jamaican restaurant in the 1300 block of Morse and stare at the pile of gravel on the sidewalk.It's been there for nearly 18 months.
