CORRECTS - Citizens Organized for Reasonable Routes Enhancing Community Traffic and Safety Safety

CORRECTS

Citizens Organized for Reasonable Routes Enhancing Community Traffic & Safety non- non-partisan, nonprofit, member-supported public interest organization that promotes Traffic and Safety issues by influencing public policy decisions: legislative, administrative, legal, and electoral. A community organization dedicated to providing a central place to review Park Ridge Traffic and Safety issues with its citizens and their elected Representatives and City's management. To practice and promote the responsible use of our roads, traffic systems and resources. To educate and enlist citizens to protect and restore the quality of our auto and pedestrian traffic as one of our cherished human environments in Park Ridge. CORRECTS - Citizens Organized for Reasonable Routes Enhancing Community Traffic & Safety believes that citizen's pedestrian safety, auto safety and reasonable routes comes first in city traffic. That before adding a traffic signal or traffic signals which generates slow traffic, bumper-to-bumper traffic, traffic gridlock, traffic complaints, traffic crashes, traffic signs, traffic bottleneck, automobile traffic, traffic congestion, rush hour traffic, bumper to bumper traffic, traffic congestion, rush hour traffic and automobile traffic, that a Park Ridge Alderman and/or Park Ridge Aldermen, should require a traffic study to avoid this auto traffic scenario in Park Ridge, Illinois. Only reasonable auto traffic should be permitted to provide reasonable routes with traffic safety and avoid traffic accidents, traffic injuries, pedestrian injuries, auto accidents, traffic problems, which will also decrease pedestrian traffic in Park Ridge and thus negatively affect retail sales and our quality of life. We encourage Park Ridge citizens to register and for all voters to vote only for a Park Ridge Alderman / Park Ridge Aldermen Park Ridge Mayor that promises to ensure Reasonable Routes and City Traffic Safety. Today’s Park Ridge City Policy of waiting for citizens to first be injured, maimed and dead, while creating a serious crisis of traffic congestion, in traffic routes and hurting existing retail businesses, is unacceptable. CORRECTS holds itself out as an Open Forum to provide an opportunity for citizens and organizations to inform the public of events, issues or projects. This will allow you to report anything you wish to see addressed or answered regarding traffic anywhere in Park Ridge. Your input on this issue if vital to all of us. Please review and advise us of what you think of the concepts and what you prefer. We need your input to inform and advise. Check out our Park Ridge Traffic and Safety series of forums and speak out.

.Our Mission: Reduce Vehicle Congestion, Prevent Injuries, Save Lives

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Issued - May 3, 2005 Rate Your Representatives

Political Conflict Versus Traffic and Safety?

Following my speech, the council totally factionalized as colored:

Delivered to:

Mayor Howard P. Frimark; Alderman Joseph Baldi; Alderman Andrea Runblad Bateman; Alderman Richard A. DiPietro; Alderman Kirke Machon; Alderman Mark Anderson; Alderman Jeff Cox; Alderman Donald N. Crampton; Alderman Kimberly Jones; Alderman Jeannie Markech; Alderman Rex Parker; Alderman James Radermacher; Alderman Mary Wynn Ryan; Alderman Frank Wsol

I wish to extend my congratulations to all the newly elected officials of Park Ridge. This is a special privilege, as all of you were rated highly by C.O.R.R.E.C.T.S. for your concerns over traffic safety and your readiness to address C.O.R.R.E.C.T.S.’ issues. All of you were endorsed or were regarded as highly safety oriented and had C.O.R.R.E.C.T.S.’ highest rating. I consider all of you to thus be friends of C.O.R.R.E.C.T.S.’ goals for reasonable traffic and safety.

Last night was personally for me a great pleasure. I enjoyed seeing each you of you sworn in and taking your place in the chamber. Each of you has many qualities that bring much to improve Park Ridge.

I am greatly concerned with this sudden power struggle. I wonder if it will negate the potential for significant positive movement to correct past errors and create a bright future. Gridlock on important issues is a very real possibility. The dark side of political stagnation eventually comes in the form of citizens’ backlash. This could easily result in a citizens movement to alter our form of government as you know it and as it is tonight; much the same as you are attempting to modify the manner government works tonight. So, make your decision wisely and vote for what you clearly believe is in the best interest of the citizens. For if perceived otherwise, you could be heading toward a special election, to say reduce to 1 alderman per ward and all alderman could find themselves running against each other in two years with an angry population.

I have no desire to challenge anyone C.O.R.R.E.C.T.S and I worked so hard and spent money to see you here tonight. I do not wish to usurp power from anyone present and ask that you consider the longer term costs and why you wanted to be on the council when you vote.For those who win this power struggle in the short term, I see great potential for losing in the long term. For those who lose, I understand their need to fight back to retain parity of their voice. While none of us is perfect, ideally there should be no reason all cannot work together for the common good of Park Ridge.

The focus should be on what can be done today that will help. Does these actions tonight mean we will assured of a change or a study to provide safe pedestrian crossings in Uptown, the ability for Touhy and Northwest Highway to carry enough traffic for the 100 acres of TIFF not yet begun, and for enough parking in PRC that they can stand on their own merits without the city giving them free parking as well as Summit Square? All of which we were mislead on by the experts, by the way and is easily done. I certainly hope so. I would have liked to have heard a new open debate and some heated exchanges of views; especially on the recent significant purchases, sales, partnerships and missed opportunities and overlooked major opportunity costs such as the traffic and safety Uptown at Meacham, Summit and Touhy, which all new alderman personally pledged to address.

Too many backroom deals hid the real truth from those who voted on these issues and this became a serious problem. Do not the let the past rule, it is up to you now.

Speaking for C.O.R.R.E.C.T.S, where will we be on safety and traffic in two years when the next elected group enters these chambers? C.O.R.R.E.C.T.S is already gearing up for the next two years and we hope to see much forward movement on this issues by the new Council which now holds a majority. Please don’t let that be frittered away on unnecessary infighting.

Thank You
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Contact us anytime by email at

George Kirkland

george_kirkland@corrects.org

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