The heart of downtown Evanston is a famously windy place. And it could get a lot windier if the City Council permits the construction of a 35 story apartment building at 708 Church Street. One thing is certain; if you replace a two story building with a 385 foot tall building, something is going to change.
What if wind becomes a problem?
What if regular gusts knock down 3 year olds on their way to Bright Horizons?
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What if a senior with a walker can no longer use a public street?
What if cross winds make riding a bike impossible on a rainy day?
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What if our first responders need to fight a fire in screaming wind, hundreds of feet above the street?
What if the wind howls?
Risk is well expressed as “What if...” followed by the possible outcomes. And are risks enough to drive a decision? Yes they are. Serious outcomes mean serious risk. And the risks of wind, a completely unmanageable result of building a cavernous downtown? Very real.
Has the City Council considered this risk? A lot of things have changed since the original decision to permit The Tower, not the least of which is our climate. The City Council can control a lot of things in this town, but they can't control the weather.
Engineering studies, set backs to address the question? Yes, but those studies are merely an acknowledgment of the possibility that Church Street could become a wind tunnel. And those studies come with disclaimers. So everyone is protected, except the people affected.
The City Council must protect all the citizens of Evanston, and shield us from this risk. If you give wind no place to go, force it between two man made structures, it accelerates, like water gushing out a funnel. That's physics. And the Laws of Nature trump ordinances and Special Use Permits. Every time.
Tell your alderman NO TOWER.
