Placing a unit on a sloped lot
West of Vincennes the ground climbs toward Longwood Drive, and the historic homes there sit on lots that pitch noticeably toward the street. A porta potty on a slope is a tipping hazard and a nightmare to service, so on these blocks our driver looks for the one flat spot: the top of the driveway by the garage, a paved patio, or a level shelf the contractor grades in. Blocks are shimmed under the base where needed, and the unit is staked.
Renovations of the Prairie-style and Victorian homes in the historic district typically run months and involve careful crews, and the deluxe flushing unit is a good match because it stays cleaner and quieter on those streets.
111th Street, the parade and park season
Morgan Park's commercial life centers on 111th Street around the Metra stop and along Western Avenue, where storefront and restaurant build-outs put units on rear lots. The March parade on Western is the far Southwest Side's biggest single day, closing the avenue from 103rd to 115th, and the bars and homes along the route rent units in volume that weekend, delivered Friday and pulled Monday. From late spring on, Kennedy Park and Ada Park fill with softball leagues, reunions and the park district's own programming, with units placed on park lots under its permit process.
Route and service on the far south end
Trucks come down Western or Vincennes and cross the Rock Island tracks at grade, so the driver times the run between the commuter trains that hold the gates at 111th and 115th in the morning. East of the tracks the grid is flat and alley-loaded, which makes the bungalow-block jobs there quick. Parking on 111th near the station is tight in the morning, so the driver uses the side streets for commercial stops there.
Weekly service pairs Morgan Park with Mount Greenwood and Beverly on the same run, and winter units on the ridge get antifreeze plus a stake check after every freeze-thaw cycle shifts the ground.