Ald. Ramirez approved reasonable edits to the Archer traffic safety plan, which won't affect the protected bike lanes

*This post is sponsored by Keating Law Offices.*

If you’ve followed the weekly soap opera on Archer Avenue – anti-Complete Streets protesters backed by right-leaning politicians and lobbyists, countered by a larger group of local walk/bike/transit advocates – the following news shouldn’t come as a big surprise.

Scenes from last Monday’s dueling rallies, around 6 p.m. Left: The Archer Guardians opposition group, including 12th Ward aldermanic challenger Claudia Zuno in the tan jacket, protesting concrete infrastructure while standing on it. Right: The Safe Streets supporters, who are almost entirely residents of Brighton Park or nearby neighborhoods. Photos: John Greenfield

It’s been troubling to see Trump-friendly politicos such as Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) and Urban Center CEO Juan Rangel, and their allies like City Council hopeful Claudia Zuno, making a wedge issue out of potentially lifesaving infrastructure. They hope to defeat progressive Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th), who signed off on the Archer project, in next year’s City Council election. (Streetsblog Chicago does not endorse candidates.)

Putting politics before safety is especially problematic in the wake of two recent nearby tragedies involving vulnerable road users. On April 5, a speeding hit-and-run SUV driver ran a red and killed delivery cyclist Adrian Gomez, 18, at 63rd Street and Kedzie Avenue in Chicago Lawn. And on April 20, a semi driver fatally struck Autumn Perez, 29, at 63rd and Western in Chicago Lawn, only a mile east of the Gomez crash site. Both locations are directly south of the Archer project area.

*The Archer project area, and the locations where drivers fatally struck bike rider Damian Gomez and pedestrian Autumn Perez* Image: Google Maps

While it’s wrong for the right-leaning political class to try to exploit Brighton Park residents’ and merchants’ discontent with the Archer initiative in an effort to win votes, that doesn’t mean their frustration is completely unwarranted.

After all, this construction project, along with a massive gas and water main project on Archer in the ward, have dragged on since last fall, with the Complete Streets work put on hold during the colder months. There has been increased traffic congestion, largely due to the utility project narrowing the avenue down to two lanes with no left-turn lanes or curbside parking for several blocks.

*The utility project at California Avenue, looking southwest last Monday. Photo: John Greenfield*

In addition, the Archer project involves the conversion of some curbside car parking spaces to make room for new turn lanes, pedestrian infrastructure, bus boarding islands, and protected bike lanes. In fairness, that requires some adjustments by business owners and their customers who drive, so it’s to be expected that some people aren’t happy about that change.

In an effort to reassure these stakeholders, the Chicago Department of Transportation and Ald. Ramirez today announced that they’ve decided to alter the street layout on Archer to create 17 new parking spots. The work is slated to begin at the end of this month. The bad news is that will involve shortening or removing some left turn lanes. The good news is that none of the concrete bike lane protection will be removed. So this seems like a reasonable compromise.

“After much consideration and discussion amongst residents business owners and community partners we have advocated for these adjustments to continue our mission on safety, while also creating more parking and better traffic flow,” she told Streetsblog.

But will Ramirez’s political opponents, especially her aldermanic rival Claudia Zuno, make hay out of this new development? Will they say, “Look what we made the alder do. It really paid off for us to hold a protest every week.”

Left: Zuno, on the far right, and former pro-charter schools CPS board candidate and Archer protest co-organizer Eva Villalobos, red jacket, at the first of the dueling rallies on December 8, 2025, standing next to an anti-Ramirez sign. The following week Zuno told me she wasn’t running for office. Right: On February 16, she announced that she was. Photo: John Greenfield

Zuno’s website states that one of her top priorities is to “remove obstructive bike lanes and concrete barriers on Kedzie and Archer.” And she told Block Club Chicago, “When I become your 12th Ward alderwoman, the first thing I’ll do is remove these concrete barriers.”

The City recently announced 15 districts where there were no traffic fatalities in 2025, including the 12th Ward. In February 2024, the speeding driver of a large vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk at 2604 W. Pershing Rd., just southwest of Ramirez’s office. This graphic implies that the in-progress Archer project, which started in late 2025 and has helped calm traffic, was a contributing factor in there being no fatal crashes in the district that year.

“Our office clearly has political opposition that would much rather avoid safety concerns and remove all infrastructure, instead of looking to find accommodations for all parties,” Ramirez responded to Streetsblog’s question. “Archer is for Everyone.”

Ramirez wears a green cape last night as recipient of the Safe Streets Superhero award at the Active Transportation Alliance’s annual Movers & Shakers Ball. Behind her is ATA Executive Director Amy Rynell. We’ll have a full report on the gala soon. Photo: John Greenfield

The planned changes to the Archer project, according to the City.

All of the following statements and images in this section were provided by CDOT and the 12th Ward. You can also view this on the 12th Ward’s Instagram.

“Through various meetings and site visits we have found solutions that can benefit businesses and constituents while maintaining the goal of safety for the project.”

Archer Corridor Revision 2026:

Archer at 38th – Access to 38th Street from Archer will be opened back up to aid truck traffic and improve traffic operations, allowing direct access to 38th Street instead of requiring trucks to make a sharper turn at Campbell or Rockwell.
Archer at Pershing/Rockwell – A second southbound travel lane approaching the Pershing/Rockwell intersection will be added to improve traffic flow and increase the number of vehicles that can make it through the intersection with each green cycle. This change will also allow southbound vehicles to bypass cars that are stopped to turn left into the McDonald’s parking lot. On-street parking directly adjacent to McDonald’s on the south side of the street will be removed to accommodate this change.
Archer between 43rd and Sacramento – Eight additional parking spaces will be added to the north side of Archer just north of Whipple to support business access. The new left turn lane onto Whipple will be removed to accommodate this change and the new pedestrian refuge island will be shifted south to the Albany crosswalk. The Albany refuge island will be constructed in temporary materials this year and will be finalized in concrete next year.
Whipple between 43rd and Archer – Traffic flow on Whipple between 43rd and Archer will be reversed from one-way southbound to one-way northbound. This will eliminate the need for left-turns and a left-turn-lane from Archer onto Whipple for improved pedestrian access. Left turns are a major source of pedestrian crashes. Access to this block of Whipple will be available via 43rd Street.
Archer between Kedzie and 43rd – Four new parking spaces will be added to the north side of Archer near the Brighton Park Library to improve access to the library and adjacent businesses. The newly added left-turn-lane onto Troy will be shortened to accommodate this change. The high volume of left turns at Troy necessitates the left-turn-lane remain so turning vehicles do not block southbound traffic on Archer. Reversing the direction of Troy (similar to what is proposed at Whipple) would push additional traffic to the Kedzie intersection.
Archer at Christiana – The bus stop at Christiana was recently converted to five parking spaces adjacent to Michael’s Sports Lounge. There is another northbound bus stop the next block up.
Archer under Western Ave Viaduct – Additionally, CDOT will resurface the pavement directly under the rail viaduct just south of Western.

More info about the months-long Archer Avenue dueling rallies saga

Read CDOT’s FAQ about the Archer / Kedzie traffic safety projects here.

Materials about Archer Avenue can be found here.

Materials about Kedzie Avenue can be found here.

Read Streetsblog Chicago’s writeup of Round 1 of the dueling Archer rallies, 12/8/25, here.

Check out our article about Round 2, 12/15/25, here.

Read SBC’s coverage of Round 3 , 12/22/25, here.

Read our article about Round 4, 12/29/25 here.

Check our post about Round 5, 1/5/26 here.

Take a look at our assessment of Round 6, 1/12/26, here.

Read SBC’s post about Round 7, 1/19/26, here.

Take a gander at our article about Round 8, 1/26/26, here.

Check out our article that mentions Round 10, 2/9/26, here.

Peruse out writeup of Round 11, 2/16/26, here.

Read our article about Round 12, 2/23/26, here.

Take a look at our post about Round 13, 3/2/26, here.

Check out our article that discusses Round 14, 3/9/26, plus public comments about Archer at City Hall the next day.

Read our discussion of the myth that “[outsiders]… import support” for the project, with photos of local supporters at Round 15, 3/16/26 (no opponents showed up that day) here.

View a couple of images from Round 16, 3/23/26 on Bluesky and Twitter.

Take a look at our post about Round 17, 3/30/26, here.

Round 18, 4/6/26, is briefly mentioned in our article about the hit-and-run killing of delivery cyclist Damian Gomez, and a bike ride to honor him.

Check out a quick report on Round 19, 4/13/26, from the Archer project advocates here.

Take a gander at our story about Round 20, 4/20/26, here.

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– John Greenfield, editor