The conference room lights shone brightly as a handful of Lincoln Park residents filed in for the second alderman meeting of the school year on January 11. Contrary to the October meeting, attendees stomped snow off their winter boots and rested their heavier jackets on the backs of chairs. 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith sat down at the head of the square conference table.

To Smith’s left, Jurgensen sat intently at her computer, looking up and lifting her glasses when contributing to the conversation. To Smith’s right, Frank leaned back in his rolling chair with ease, occasionally glancing at Jurgensen when the topic of Parker arose. Just after 5:30, the meeting began with twelve neighbors present, and when it was over, the attendees had discussed everything from Zoo Lights to green space in Lincoln Park.

One of the central topics of the evening was Zoo Lights, which commenced in November and ran until just four days before the alderman meeting. Constituents were frustrated about two aspects of the event: the abruptness of when “No Parking” signs were hung up on Lincoln Park West, and the unavailability of blocks of parking spaces for six weeks.

Dugan Rosellini, a resident of Webster House, was particularly concerned with the street lights on Lincoln Park West Street. “The signs only went up with 24-hour notice to begin with,” Rosselini said. “We’ve got people in our building who are physically handicapped… It’s the holidays. There’s no parking for at least fifty spaces.”

“We are on this all the time,” Smith said. “Now that we know that it is completely done, I don’t know why there are ‘No Parking’ signs up there. We’ll talk to, if necessary, the Commissioner.”

Smith insisted that the neighbors of Parker trust her office. “We don’t do nothing,” she said. “It’s very difficult sometimes to have something pulled off that looks so simple.”

Other issues raised involved street light replacement, sinkholes, and double parking on streets like Belden Avenue. A question was also posed about how the city could stop trucks idling on Belden.

“Trucks idling is a violation of environmental ordinances,” Smith said. “This year, we got ten more inspectors… but the smartest thing to do is to take a video of the truck that includes its number and where it’s from. I don’t think the ward superintendent has the ability to ticket for that offense.” The 43rd ward superintendent, Marty Casey, is responsible for, among other things, organizing the collection of garbage in the area.

Neighbors could also send the files to either her or her office directly, Smith added.

Next on the agenda was an alleyway that has caused problems for residents who live alongside it. The alley, pitched towards Belden, is on the north edge of Parker’s wall. This alley’s primary use is for the Shakespeare Building located on Lincoln Park West. Several constituents complained about the degradation of the permeable section of the alley, which results in water flowing into the footings of adjacent buildings.

“It’s holding water,” a constituent said. “The concrete edges have maintained their integrity, but the permeable section is degrading.”

Smith recalled how the city embarked on a project to build all alleys out of permeable concrete, which allows water from precipitation and other sources to pass directly through the ground. Permeable concrete simultaneously reduces runoff and allows for groundwater recharge (which is when water moves from the surface to the ground).

The project failed, Smith said. “You have to vacuum it,” she said. “It was absurd.”

Principal Frank explained how the alley is treated like a street.

“It was originally called Anita Terrace, which turned into Grant Place,” Frank said. “That’s why we call our parking lot ‘Anita Parking Lot.’” Concrete pavers have been attempted by the city to solve the alley problem, but with little success. Smith remained optimistic.

“We’re saving 50,000 bricks to develop a program for brick alleys that would be spot-repaired,” she said. “Brick alleys can’t be rebuilt because they’re handmade, and that would cost something outrageous.”

Smith brought up the last discussion point of the night an “open land” proposal to create more space for residents to play sports, exercise, and remain active.

“We don’t have enough recreational space in our ward, particularly for kids,” Smith said. “There’s a tremendous deficit of space. Oz Park teams and soccer leagues have huge waiting lists. Lincoln Park High School teams have no place to play. If you want to throw a ball, there isn’t enough space.”

Jurgensen also agrees that this is a problem, particularly with Oz Park. “There are more children in the 43rd ward than perhaps ever before,” Jurgensen said. “With the youth baseball program at Oz park taking up the majority of play space, there is a need for more in the area.”

This is a problem that faces not only Lincoln Park, but also much of the city. “I’ve been leading an effort with community groups to demand a significant amount of park space be set aside along the north branch of Chicago,” Smith said. “It is very important that we stay cognizant of this issue.”

“I will be happy to talk to your students about this,” Smith added, nodding to Frank and Jurgensen. “These are people and residents and kids and families. We need to have recreational space. This is the big issue of the day.”

The meeting came to a close around 7pm and with the sun having completely set on Parker, everyone quickly left, Smith with pages of notes in hand.