During last week's dueling rallies against and for the Archer Avenue traffic safety project in in front of the 12th Ward office in Brighton Park, there were two or three times as many opponents as proponents. But at last Monday's installment of the weekly event, there were two or three times as many project supporters as detractors.
Grassroots opposition or Astroturfing?
The big turnout from anti-Archer project folks last week was likely due in part to mass texts and press releases sent out about the protest against the project by Urban Center. That's a self-described "centrist" pro-charter school lobbying group founded by ex-Chicago Public Schools chief and perennial candidate Paul Vallas, and currently run by disgraced ex-UNO charter school CEO Juan Rangel.
Last Urban Center donated more than $50,000 to Eva Villalobos' unsuccessful campaign for school board. She co-organized last week's anti-Archer project protest, and passed out flyers with a URL to the GoFundMe page she created, "Support Transparency and Safety on Archer Avenue." Over ten days, it has raised $72, including $5 chipped in by myself.
Sources tell me Villalobos also showed up last week to a meeting of opponents to a similar traffic safety project on Grand Avenue in West Town. (There's another one tonight, Wednesday, December 17, at 6 p.m. at Alliance Bakery, 1837 W. Grand Ave.)
There was another one of the weekly anti- and pro-Archer project demonstrations last Monday, and this time there were two or three times as many boosters as naysayers. While the two factions stood on opposite sites of the avenue last week, this week they were mixed together on the northern sidewalk.
The person with the megaphone is Julie Sawicki, a longtime Southwest Side resident, real estate broker, and frequent commenter against the Archer project on social media. You wouldn't guess it from this funny clip, but as the rally was winding down, Sawicki engaged me in a very long, cordial discussion of ways for opponents and proponents to find common ground on this issue. Perhaps her most important, and valid, point was that the City could have done more outreach before construction started so neighbors weren't surprised by it.
I haven't heard about any Urban Center-style Astroturfing being an advantage for the Safe Streets advocates this time week, or any other political connections, save for one person who campaigned for Ramirez, whom I'll mention below. But colder 23F temperatures probably helped. All-season pedestrians, transit users, and bike riders are more likely to know how to dress for the weather than people who mostly get around in heated cars.
While my report on last week's demonstration gave roughly equal airtime to both sides, I did discuss Urban Center's role. Maybe as a result of that, the outnumbered opponents generally seemed less willing to talk with me this week. So I'll stick with quotes from some of the many, many supporters who showed up.
They spoke in favor of the plan for "four-to-three conversion" street remix with turn lanes for drivers, bus boarding islands, pedestrians safety infrastructure, and, yes, protected lanes for bike and e-scooter riders. Safety improvements are badly need on Archer in Chicago where drivers have killed at least five pedestrians and bike riders, most of them seniors, within the last five years.
The opponents' new handbill and meetings
Before we move on to the interviews, I should mention a couple of new developments from last Monday's rally. Villalobos and others were passing out new flyers for the "Archer Guardians" opposition group. In addition the weekly protests in front of Ramirez's office, these mention four weekly "Negotiations & Community Meeting" gatherings on Saturdays from 1-3 p.m., starting on December 20. The handbill includes the QR to the aforementioned GoFundMe, plus the URL ThrivingChicago.com.
Want more evidence that the anti-Archer project campaign isn't just grassroots, but involves Astroturfing by charter school lobbyists? Along with street redesign protest footage, The ThrivingChicago.com site includes a video of a rally with people literally holding up "More Charter Schools" signs!
A proponent's info sheet
On the other side of the coin, at this week's event, info sheets supporting the Archer traffic safety project were passed around. Check them out on Bluesky or Twitter. While Streetsblog had nothing directly to do with them, and I'll looking into who wrote them up, they include some of the same talking points as last week's SBC post on the topic.
"Over the last three years, the stretch of Archer Avenue between Western Avenue and Pulaski Road has seen 417 car crashes that sent people to the hospital, including seven fatalities," the info sheet states. [According to Chicago Department of Transportation Data.] Brighton Park as a community area, 2020-24, experienced 6,603 traffic crashes, with 1,533 people injured and 13 people killed."
"Traffic safety opponents are moaning that this project is causing traffic congestion," the info sheet adds. "Yet the project is still under construction. There are orange construction barrels, holes in the pavement, piles of snow, and a lack of signs and pavement markings where there eventually will be signs and pavement markings. When construction is complete, and drivers have had a chance to adjust, it’ll be fine." The document encourages residents to call or contact the 12th Ward at 773-475-6783 or Ward12[at]cityofchicago[dot]org to voice support for the project.
Quotes from pro-Safe Streets folks at the rally
All right, this post is getting pretty long, so let's cut to the chase with some quick soundbites, residency info when provided, and photos of Southwest Side residents and Archer project supporters from last Monday's rally. It's proof that, contrary to what many of the opponents claimed, the advocates aren't just a bunch of North Side carpetbaggers.
Francisco Rubio, lives in Pilsen, lived in Bright Park 11 years
"I'm here to spread the word about safer streets for everybody, not just cyclists, but also individuals walking, riding buses, and driving, and trying to reduce the speed limit on Archer, because it's kind of treated like a highway instead of a street.
Missael Pale, lives in Pilsen but was born and raised in Brighton Park
"I've been really curious about any developments in cycling infrastructure on the Southwest Side... Growing up, I use to bike downtown on Archer because it was the fastest road, not necessarily paying attention to my own safety. So when I learned about this, it was tremendous because finally you don't have to be riding so close to a semi that's passing by you at 30, 40 miles an hour."
José Requena, lives in Archer Heights near 47th Street and Cicero Avenue
(Requena told me that when he was in graduate school for urban planning at UIC, he was also a member of the 12th Ward Independent Political Organization advocating for safer streets, which led him to help campaign for Ald. Ramirez.)
"[The pro-Archer traffic safety campaign] seems like the culmination of work that started a decade ago, and this [opposition] seems like a reactionary move by Juan Rangel, who's working with Paul Vallas, so it's very politically motivated... I don't feel like this argument against Safe Streets is really in good faith. I think it's a bit cynically ployed."
Roxana Varron
"I want to commute to the South Side. I want to feel safe, I am am so excited that they finally created infrastructure on the South Side for me to be able to do this, so I want to support this."
Lee Campos, Brighton Park
"I'm supporting the bike lane in my neighborhood, and safety for the children and the elderly. I want less traffic and crashes, the whole thing."
Yoco Galindo, lives in McKinley Park near 35th Street and Archer
"I'm her to show support for the bike lanes in Brighton Park, and hopefully future bike lanes on Archer."
Jay Bandera, Brighton Park
"I hope they get the bike lanes done as soon as possible so we can use them, and it will be safer, especially in the summer when lots of people are riding. I gew up here, so it's good to see implementation."
Omar Flores
"I'm trying to make the streets safer for everybody, not just bikers. I've actually been hit on bike lanes that are just painted on. People have opened car doors on me. Luckily it was nothing serious, just scrapes and bruises."
Andrew Spalding, lives in McKinley Park near 37th Street and Damen Avenue, and his wife teaches elementary school in Brighton Park
"I have been volunteering with CDOT on a neighborhood task force and the Chicago Mobility Collective meetings for several years, trying to get bike lanes installed on the Southwest Side."
Esme, McKinley Park
"I have done all modes of transportation on Archer Avenue, from walking, to biking, to CTA, to driving. I use them all, and I'm in this neighborhood very, very often. I actually used to work in this neighborhood for multiple years, and have firsthand experience on how incredibly dangerous Archer Avenue has been for a long time. So I'm out here to support all the safety improvements."
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