Independent Candidates Fund-Raiser March 12 - noon to 4 pm

The Independent Candidates of Peoria Heights will be having a fund raiser at the VFW Hall on Lake St., March 12 from noon to 4 pm.

There will be butterfly porkchop sandwiches; brats; hot dogs; chili; coffee; dessert; soda & water - all for a donation of $10.00 for adults, and $5.00 for children, 12 and under.

This will be the only fund-raiser for the Independent Candidates, and it will help offset the costs of the campaign for each of the candidates. We had a really good turn-out two years ago, and we're hoping for more of the same this time around.

Advance tickets are available now. If you can purchase the tickets in advance, it would be greatly appreciated, as it will help us narrow down the numbers better... BUT, tickets will be available at the door, as well, on the day of the event. Please call me at 253-3676 or 688-6869 to request tickets.

We will also need volunteers to bring a dessert. And, just like last time, if you could please bring some canned or boxed goods with you, it would be greatly appreciated. We had quite a number of food items last time, and made solid contributions to two of the local food banks.


The Independent Candidates for Trustee are:

Bryan Harn
Jeff Goett
Debbie Reichert


We hope to see you there!

From The Archives

Diagonal Parking on Prospect?

A certain Heights business owner (and now a Peoples Party trustee candidate) has consistently thrown out the need to return diagonal parking along Prospect, likely from Kelly Avenue on north (of course, on HIS side of the street only; parallel parking to remain on the other side of Prospect)... that this would help "solve the parking issues" in the Village, and possibly slow traffic down. In fact, he had a letter published in the Journal Star about a year or so ago, publicly calling out for diagonal parking to be installed on Prospect. When I say "return," I mean that diagonal parking was on Prospect (from what I've been told) up until the late 50s to early, early 60s.

Would this concept work again? Maybe... if it was 1961.

I do have to admit it would probably slow traffic down... to a complete standstill, mostly due to accidents.

Do you know what the average traffic count for this area of Prospect is? About THIRTEEN THOUSAND a day. It's an extremely busy road. Have you ever tried backing out of a diagonal parking spot at the Peoria post offices, on a reasonably busy day? Invariably, a van or a truck will park on one side or both sides of your vehicle... and you have to inch out... slowly, slowly... and hope to High Heaven that the traffic behind you is going slow, and that the drivers are watching for you, and... and...

And, that's at the POST OFFICE parking lot.

Well, try doing that with the traffic that goes along Prospect each and every day. The odds for collisions would increase dramatically. On top of that, if you have diagonal parking along Prospect, you will now have to condense the four lanes to two lanes of travel, as the road is not wide enough to do it any other way, if diagonal parking was brought back. So, the traffic (remember, THIRTEEN THOUSAND vehicles per day), that normally travels in the north or southbound TWO lanes would now be traveling in ONE north or southbound lane. The traffic along Prospect that someone would be trying to back into, for all intent and purpose, would now be DOUBLED in numbers.

A center turn lane will not make it any easier. Remember, it's ILLEGAL to pass a vehicle using a center turn lane... not to mention, very dangerous. What happens if a vehicle coming in the opposite direction decides to turn, just as you start to pass?

You're going to need a lot more than just good luck to back out safely. You're going to need a helicopter to lift you out of your spot.

Not to mention the havoc that would be caused with two lanes of travel, when a semi-truck stops to deliver goods to a business... that's right, traffic will STOP behind that truck till it moves. Because there is no longer any other lane to go into. The semi-trucks cannot negotiate the turns on the side streets, let alone the alleys behind the businesses, to try and deliver BEHIND the stores. They simply have to deliver at the front.

What does this all sound like to you? It sounds like a total and complete MESS to me. And, a dangerous one at that.

There are reasons why diagonal parking has not been brought back to Prospect Road, by ANYONE prior to our administration, as well. The main reason is safety.

There are those who wish that things could be like they were in 1961... when Peoria Heights was pretty much the northern-most destination along Prospect. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'd be surprised if the traffic count exceeded 1,000 cars a day back then. Well, since it is unlikely that we will ever see 1961 traffic count numbers again... it would be nice if those who expound on these "solutions" (i.e. diagonal parking on Prospect), would spend some time doing a very simple thing.

That would be: checking the calendar, in order to be reminded what year it is.

Praise to ALL of Our Emergency Personnel For A Great Job!

A huge thank-you to our Police Department; our Street Department; our EMTs; and every single one of our employees for handling this snow storm with a minimum of problems. We got through it all with YOUR help, and it is greatly appreciated.

Simply put, all of our employees are the best... they care, they work, and they produce.

The Board of Trustees meeting for February 1 was postponed because of the storm, and has been re-scheduled for February 8, 6:30 pm.

Again, thanks to all who were involved in making this storm much more bearable than we could have initially imagined.