When I wake up in the morning, I start apologizing to everybody I see, knowing that there must be something I said or did that requires an apology.
When Watchdog is wrong, that means the Naperville city council is right. In this case it was about the Water Street Project. I hammered away at the project, almost relentlessly. I said the project was too big, too dense, too tall, too many bricks, and way too narrow for comfort and ease of transportation. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
One of my favorite Watchdog embeds was the following one showing what I thought would be a typical driving experience on Water street:
It turned out to be nothing like that, even though I still like the video.
A good friend of mine suggested getting together for a cup of coffee at Sparrow Coffee on Water street and walking a short distance across the street to the Jaycees Park. I pulled off Main Street to Water street and the one block drive was like being in a different world; quiet, spacious, and ample street parking. I met him at Sparrow and we walked to the park next to the Municipal Center. Again, ample seating, quiet, scenic, and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
So what did I learn from this. Not that I could be wrong, I already knew that, I learned that it’s probably a good thing that I am not on the city council, making decisions on the wrong side of right. I was reminded that city council members do the best they can, when making decisions, and that’s all we can ask for from our city officials.
The reality is that the developers doing projects like Water Street really do have a better understand of this process then anyone else. Sadly tho people do not want to believe this. They to believe, since it is their community, they understand the situation better then professionals that have committed their lives to these kind of projects and making them a success.
The idea that these developers only want to make a fast buck and run, no matter what the expense to the community is almost always wrong (almost all developers want to develop deep and long lasting relationships with the communities they depend on for their livelihood). And those few developers that only want to cut and run usually do when they asked questions.
The 5th Avenue project could do for the train station area what Water Street did for downtown. The problem is, once again, to many NIMBYs and people that believe they know better then the professional. Funny how they all want a successful business person as their city’s senior leader, until they get one then all they can do is complain about how they are only looking at the money. Strange they do not see the irony of this.
5th Avenue has the potential of being a great addition to our community if only everyone would get out of the way and let the professionals, city leadership and developer, do their jobs.
Gee. I agree with Jim for a change. The 5th Avenue project is meeting the same opposition as Omnia did for the same site. We need to have city council members with some guts and a mayor who not afraid to anger a few citizens. The 5th Avenue project would provide affordable living spaces for younger people and retirees.