Skip to Content
Streetsblog Chicago home
Streetsblog Chicago home
Log In
Bicycling

Eyes on the Street: “Stop For Pedestrians” Signs Take a Beating

Stop for Pedestrian sign

Chicagoans by now have noticed dozens, if not hundreds, of signs in the middle of two-lane streets telling people driving and bicycling about the state law requiring them to stop for people in crosswalks. The statewide law went into effect in 2010, and Chicago passed an identical law in 2011. Transportation departments, residents, and the Active Transportation Alliance have been working hard ever since to educate people about the law, and these signs represent the best effort so far because of their immediate effect.

You've probably also noticed that nearly every single one has been hit by a car, some so badly that they were removed, including some in the 47th Ward. Montrose Avenue from Rockwell to Clark has over 20 signs in varying degrees of uprightness. When does a damaged sign, which costs $400 to install, get replaced?

Stop for Pedestrian sign
Stop for Pedestrian sign

Bill Higgins, a transportation planner in Alderman Ameya Pawar's office, said, "Initially, CDOT replaced some after being badly damaged. This year they'll completely remove them if they're becoming a hazard and we can replace them" next year. The replacement delay is because aldermen's menu funds are typically allocated by June, and "the money is spoken for even if those projects aren't under way."

Higgins said he's trying to work with CDOT to test adding a "stop for pedestrians" sign to the same poles with yellow diamond signs next to the roadway at crosswalks. "I'm wondering if that would help spread the knowledge about the law, especially on larger roads where we can't put them," he said. Higgins listed Western Avenue and Irving Park Road as places where constituents are requesting the signs.

Higgins said he'd like to see a Chicago "where these signs aren't necessary," adding that, in states where this law's been on the books for a long time, "there are cities where you can step off the curb with confidence and have cars stop for you."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Chicago

Some 100 people braved the rain to honor fallen cyclists on the 20th annual Chicago Ride of Silence

The event also drew attention to the need for safer street design, and for Chicago to follow peer cities' examples by lowering our default speed limit to 25 mph.

May 22, 2025

Bicycle youth: Quetzal Kilgore, 18, shares the experience of growing up car-free in Chicago

"There's a good mix of time where you don't want your parents to drop you off, but you have to, because you don't have your own car," Quetzal said. "I never had that."

May 21, 2025

The right and wrong ways to write a postmortem about car-free Lincoln Avenue

Block Club's Alex V. Hernandez did a well-researched and illuminating article on the subject. Inside Publications' Peter Von Buol, not so much.

May 20, 2025
See all posts