With the holiday's right around the corner, we can all use a refresher on some safety tips for this time of year.

• Avoid having packages left outside your home.  We always see more package theft during the holidays.  Try to have items delivered to work or have a neighbor pick up your item when it arrives.
• Typically, crimes such as robberies, burglaries and thefts increase slightly during the holiday season.  If you are traveling during the holiday season, please take extra care to safeguard your property and lock your doors and windows.  Ask a neighbor or friend to pick up your mail and check on your home while you're away.
• When walking during the evening hours be aware of your surroundings and only walk in well-lit and populated areas.  Be aware of your environment.  Try not to walk alone at night,  and call 911 to report any criminal or suspicious activity.
• Don't overburden your holiday by carrying bags that are too heavy and cumbersome. You can't be aware of your surroundings when your bags are blocking your view and slowing you down.

For more safety tips, you can visit the 47th Ward Website.    

December is a busy time of year for everyone with guests visiting. If you need daily residential guest passes, now is the time to visit the Chicago City Clerk's office at room 107 of City Hall or the North Side Satellite Office at 5430 W. Gale Street, near Lawrence & Milwaukee. You may also order your passes online (returning purchasers only, first time guest pass buyers must do so in person). Remember that you can only purchase 30 passes, two books, per address in a 30-day period. Guest passes are $8 for a set of 15. When purchasing in person, bring a photo ID and proof of current address. Satisfactory proof includes having your current address listed on your photo ID, a mortgage/lease, utility bill, cable bill or phone bill with your name listed

New Car for the Holidays? Don't Forget to Transfer or Purchase Your City Sticker Within 30 Days!

Are you taking advantage of the end of the year car sales? Or, maybe you are buying a new car for someone special? Don't forget that within 30 days of buying the car you either need to transfer your old 2012 - 2013 city sticker or buy a new one!

To Transfer Sticker From Old Car to New Car: You must bring in your old city sticker peeled from the windshield of your previous car. Yes, it will likely break apart into pieces, but bring it into one of our offices in whatever condition. Also bring with you your new vehicle bill of sale or registration and a photo ID or driver's license. This transaction can be done at the clerk's City Hall Office (121 N. LaSalle) or our Satellite Office (5430 W. Gale St.). There is a $20 transfer fee and any applicable vehicle upgrade charges may apply, such as going from a passenger to a large passenger vehicle.

New Vehicle Purchase, Never Had a 2012 - 2013 City Sticker: Bring with you your new vehicle bill of sale or registration and a photo ID or driver's license. If you require residential parking on your city sticker and your current zoned address is not on your driver's license you must bring satisfactory proof of your current address using a mortgage/lease, utility bill, cable bill or land line phone bill with your name on it. This transaction can be done at any sales location. Please remember you only have 30 days from the date of the purchase of the new car to complete either transaction. A list of prorated city sticker fees, valid through Dec. 31, 2012. More information can be found on the City Clerk's website .

Transportation planner, Bill Higgins, provides this report from the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council meeting:

• There is quite a bit of happenings city-wide that have improved bicycle safety this year and there are a lot of exciting things on the horizon.  The Bike Share program is preparing to launch, installing 300 bike-share stations that will hold approximately 15 bicycles each. Site selection is ongoing and residents can add their suggestions  here.
• The Chicago Streets For Cycles 2020 Plan is being released this Friday [today] and will be available online.
• In the last 18 months there have been 27 miles of buffered or protected bike lanes added across the city.  10 miles of existing bike lanes were restriped.  Also, a comprehensive vehicle count plan has been underway that tracks a number of features and impact measures that will help guide future bicycle infrastructure planning.
• Bike parking will take a focus on larger on-street bicycle corrals in high-volume areas in 2013 in addition to adding standard racks requested on www.chicagobikes.org.
• The Berteau Neighborhood Greenway is on track to begin installation this spring;  several other wards are exploring their own neighborhood greenways and continue to provide a better bicycle network that meets the needs of the area residents.
• The Chicago Bicycle Ambassadors and the Chicago Police bike detail are going to be working through the winter on education and outreach surrounding the new Dearborn protected bike lanes downtown. Meanwhile in our ward, our staff is working with CDOT and the Chicago Police Department on an comprehensive approach to pedestrian and bicycle safety in the ward.

If you have any ideas or concerns about biking in Chicago, please contact Bill Higgins at bill@chicago47.org.   

We want to thank The Old Town School of Folk Music for being such a generous partner to our 47th Ward Senior Council and Forward Chicago. The School and their staff are so helpful and willing to share their fabulous talents and space with our neighborhood seniors.  How lucky we are to have them in our neighborhood!

Gift Cards Needed. On December 18th we will deliver gift cards to our neighborhood public schools for families that are in very dire need this holiday season. We are collecting $25 and $50 gift cards. Could you help us? Some suggestions are grocery stores, Target and Sears. Let's help bring some extra joy to these neighbors.

Roots of Our Community, an exhibit by the Senior Artists Network's artists of the 47th Ward. The exhibit features a mosaic designed by Karen Ami, Director of the Chicago Mosaic School, in honor of our Ward's Older Residents. The opening reception is January 10, Thursday from 5:30pm-7:30pm, at the Northcenter Chamber of Commerce, 4054 N. Lincoln Avenue. The exhibit will run from January 4 to January 31, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Check out Waters School's latest newsletter, GreenNotes.

The Chainlink Online Resource on Biking. Our own 47th Ward bicycling promoter and enthusiast Julie Hochstadter has been putting out a regular newsletter-blog on biking issues in Chicago called The Chainlink. She is now looking to upgrade the capability of this well-regarded site. Please consider contributing to this effort. For more information, click here.  

Horner Park Dog Friendly Area Committee. We are working through the dog friendly area guidelines for establishing a dog park at Horner. We are currently focused on conducting usage surveys, collecting petition signatures and conversing with the community about the project. The next community meeting will be in January, a specific date yet to be determined. More information and updates about the initiative can be found at hornerpark.org under the "Initiatives" and "Dog Friendly Area" tabs.  Anyone interested in joining the committee or volunteering should contact us at dfac@hornerpark.org.

Thanks so much for your generous donations for the clients of Ravenswood Community Services. We collected an entire car-trunk full of warm winter hats, mufflers, mittens & gloves to help keep folks warm this winter!

Check out the infrastructure map on our webpage!

Water Main for Leavitt 

City contractor will be replacing the 1895 water main under Leavitt St. from Irving Park to Montrose.  The work will begin MONDAY and should be completed by early March 2013.

Water Mains for Hermitage and Paulina

City crews from the Dept. of Water Management are replacing the 19th century mains under Hermitage from Byron to Grace and under Paulina from Grace to Irving Park.  The installation should be completed by the end of December and restoration will follow in Spring 2013.   

Sewer Mains for Wolcott and Ravenswood

City crews are installing sewer pipes on Wolcott (Addison to Bradley) and Ravenswood (Belmont to Roscoe). The installation will be completed by the end of February and restoration will follow in Spring 2013.  

Irving Park Streetscape

The final phase of this 2-year streetscape construction will be installation of the new parkway permeable pavers is delayed until spring.  Curb and gutter was completed however the parkway will be filled with a temporary concrete in locations that the pavers were not completed so that they will not create a hazard over the winter.

Peoples Gas Main Replacement (Restoration Phase) 

All of the mains and services in our area are now installed!  Peoples Gas and their contractors are working hard to get all of the restoration done by the end of this month. They may have some work that will have to wait until Spring.  Come Christmas, if there is pending work on your block, please call our office so we can make sure it is on their list. We anticipate all restoration on Irving Park, Montrose, Western and Lincoln being completed by mid-December.    

Metra Traffic Closures and Detours 

• The bridge at Foster and Ravenswood is CLOSED until 12/21/2012 to install the drilled shafts at the abutments.
• The bridge at Winnemac is CLOSED until 12/31/2012 to install the bridge.
• The bridge at Leland is CLOSED until 12/28/2012 for brace installation.  
• Irving Park to Berteau detours will be up intermittently through Mid December.
• Grace to Irving Park detours will be up intermittently through early December.
• Sidewalks on the south side of Irving Park at Ravenswood will be CLOSED until December 14, 2012
• Waveland to Grace, east of the tracks, will have parking restrictions intermittently for the next 3 weeks and detours intermittently through early December.
• The Ravenswood Metra Station construction has begun;  parking has been restricted from 15' south of Leland, north to Lawrence Ave. through December.
• Parking restrictions and detours may be opened, when possible, and re-closed once work is ready to resume.  

For more information, visit the infrastructure section of our website or contact Bill Higgins at bill@chicago47.org or 773-549-2745.