Pedestrian safety improvements are slated for completion at the wide, complex six-way intersection of Belmont, Ashland, and Lincoln avenues in Lakeview this year, but they're too late to have helped prevent at recent hit-and-run crash. Police are currently looking for a car driver who struck and seriously injured a 39-year-old woman there earlier this month, got out of the car to look at the victim, and then fled the scene without rendering aid.
According to the crash report, on Thursday, March 9, around 10:45 p.m., the woman was walking in the crosswalk on Belmont in the east leg of the intersection. The driver was heading southeast on Lincoln towards Belmont with a green light when they made an eastbound left turn, disobeying their "No Left Turn." The motorist "wasn't paying attention" and struck the pedestrian. The report says the driver "got out of the vehicle and looked at [the victim] and then got back into the vehicle and drove off," fleeing east on Belmont.
The woman, who lives near the crash site, was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital with "several injuries, including head, upper back, right pelvis, left calf, and left thumb injuries," the report said.
The police department has issued a community alert on the case stating that the vehicle may be a late-model Nissan Maxima, including stock images of that car.
In 2018 the Chicago Department of Transportation installed paint-and-post curb extensions at Belmont/Ashland/Lincoln. The bump-outs helped correct the skewed layout of the junction, shortened crossing distances, and discouraged fast turns by drivers. The project also added dashed bike lanes through the intersection and eliminated some turning movements for drivers, such as the one the motorist in this case made, to make room for the new layout and better organize traffic flow. New crosswalks were also planned.
CDOT began upgrading the bump-outs to concrete in 2022 as part of a streetscape project on Lincoln between Diversey and Belmont avenue. The work also includes safety improvements to other multi-leg intersections on that stretch, such as the six-way junction of Wellington, Southport, and Lincoln Avenues, which was formerly decorated with blue and green polka dots.
The streetscape work was partially completed last year, but it paused as asphalt and concrete plants closed for the season, 32nd Ward chief of staff Paul Sajovec told Streetsblog today. Construction will resume when the plants reopen, typically in early April but dependent on weather.
Sajovec said the more conspicuous colored crosswalks shown in the above rendering of Belmont/Ashland/Lincoln haven't been installed yet. If they had, it's more likely the driver would have been "paying attention" to pedestrians in the walkway and hit their brakes in time to avoid the crash.
