Bridgeview is our home--not a concert town!

On Friday, June 23, 2023, as I was driving home, I drove down Roberts Road as always and turned left on 71st Street, only for traffic to come to a standstill. None one the eastbound vehicles were able to move, so many of use made-U-turns when safely possible. Returning to Robert's Road, I drove to 79th Street, turned left, and then took the 79th Street bridge. eastward.

The traffic was also very slow, and it took almost 10 minutes to make it to Oketo, where I turned left, only to be met with ridiculously slow traffic on Oketo and then 77th Street, where it took another 10 minutes to get to Harlem therefrom. One disgruntled driver lost his patience and start driving, quickly, on the opposite side of the street, where he was stopped by a traffic control worker (not a police officer). The worker let him continue driving, on the correct side of the street. This driver could have had a head-on collision with his foolishness. He should have been ticketed and then directed to the back of the line. I made it home about 10 minutes later, but it was absurd how something that typically takes 5 minutes to get from Point A to Point B took thirty minutes. Thirty minutes!

Saturday and Sunday were not much better; it was important to stay away from 71st Street and all of the neighborhood streets. Sunday evening was ridiculous. There was a time when, while cars were entering Roberts Road from 71st Street, mostly going north, a police squad car was blocking entryway to the eastbound side of the street. There were not apparent accidents, so what was the purpose of this?

While we have had this issue in the past, this "Summer Fest" at SeatGeek Stadium is by far the worst so far. The traffic control was poorly planned and executed. Really, who, in the name of sanity, could possibly think that planning a concert at the tail end of rush hour traffic would be a smart idea? There was a clash between concert-goers and Bridgeviewers coming home from the very jobs that pay the taxes for this town's revenue. No wonder traffic was such a disaster. Undoubtedly, many Bridgeviewers felt like visitors in their own town. Second, many of the traffic workers seemed as if they had only been trained in haste. Where were the police officers?

Many Bridgeviewers have, directly and indirectly, complained about the horrible traffic from these events, but it seems as if we are not being taken seriously. What matters more to the village: concert-goers who create a ruckus and leave behind trash, or the residents of this town who are here every day? If the village is getting any revenue from concerts and other events at the stadium, where is that money going? Not to the 79th Street Bridge or 79th Street as a whole, with its many bumps and potholes. Not even for half a page in Des Plaines Valley News for Memorial Day--which the other towns nearby never seem to forget.

It should not be a major chore just to drive through a residential street to get to our homes. In fact, concert-goers and sports fans have no business being south of 71st Street. Those going to the stadium should only be able to park at the stadium. To enforce this, the police should only allow drivers with up-to-date village stickers to enter any street besides 71st Street, Harlem Avenue, and Roberts Road. The only exceptions are those who have proof of residency or of important business at someone's home or place of worship. Residents should also be given at least one week's notice of any such events. If the stadium or any third party wants to plan something that would draw crowds as big as Summer Fest's, they should consider moving the venue to somewhere in the country or with more vast space--a place where local citizens will not be disturbed or scathed. After all, Bridgeview is not a concert town for outsiders; it is our home.