It’s understandable that Chicago is using geofencing to keep e-scooter riders from injuring pedestrians. What are we doing to prevent drivers from killing them?

In late July, I heard about plans to prevent people from riding rental electric micro-mobility devices on Sheridan Road in Edgewater, in the 48th Ward. The street, essentially an extension of DuSable Lake Shore Drive, whose northern terminus is at Hollywood Avenue (5700 N.), is a dangerous and intimidating four-lane “stroad.”

But the northern trailhead of the Lakefront Trail is a block north of Hollywood at Ardmore Avenue (5800 N.) Many bike and e-scooter users heading to and from the path don’t know a safe alternative to Sheridan, so they often resort to the riding on the sidewalk.

That can be annoying for anybody walking on Sheridan, but it’s a major issue for the many seniors who live in the high rises that line the corridor. For them, being struck on the sidewalk could easily result in a fall with an injury such as a broken hip, which would would seriously impact their mobility and independence.

I got the news from Chicago, Bike Grid Now! and a Bluesky commenter called “Brandon.”

On July 24, I double-checked the intel with local Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, who provided the official statement on the matter. “To improve safety for everyone using Sheridan Road, we coordinated with [the Chicago Department of Transportation] to expand the existing geofenced no-ride zone for shared e-scooters [which also includes the Lakefront Trail] to include Sheridan Road between Devon Avenue [6400 N.] and Bryn Mawr Avenue [5600 N.],” it stated “This change was implemented to address community concerns about frequent sidewalk riding along Sheridan.”

“We recently made big investments in our Kenmore/Winthrop Greenways,” the statement continued. Those northbound/southbound one-way streets just west of Sheridan, which have painted bike lanes, recently got green paint at major street crossings. “We encourage everyone riding bikes and scooters to use these greenways as they navigate to/from the Lakefront Trail.” 

“Our office continues to coordinate with CDOT to bring a geofence e-bike pilot to Sheridan Road,” the statement concluded. That is, in the future, e-Divvy bikes would also lose their electrical assist on Sheridan.

I checked out the e-scooter geofencing this afternoon. Here’s what it was like riding east from Kenmore on Ardmore.

And here’s what it was like riding west from the lakefront.

48th Ward Director of Infrastructure and Planning Nicole Granacki later sent me a June 4 message from the alder to constituents that provided more background. “Getting bikes off of Sheridan Road sidewalks is a public safety priority for me and my team,” it said. “We are advocating for geofencing Sheridan Road to prevent illegal cycling on our sidewalks. Geofencing technology slows electric scooters and bikes, eventually bringing them to a halt after they leave the service zone. If the geofencing along Sheridan Road is approved, Lime scooters, and Divvy bikes would not be able to operate when they reach the Sheridan Road sidewalks.”

The June 4 message also mentioned the good news that 12 new Divvy stations were coming to the district In addition, Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth said the ward was working on getting more bike parking racks installed at Hollywood and Foster beaches.

Granacki also sent me information about efforts to make the transition to and from the Lakefront Trail more obvious, and further discourage sidewalk riding. “Last year, we identified and filled gaps in the bike grid, creating two designated east/west routes from the North Branch Trail to the Lakefront Trail,” the statement said. “We invested in wayfinding signage, and installed 13 signs reminding cyclists that there’s a $200 fine for riding on Sheridan road sidewalks.” I’m unsure what the fine is nowadays for driving a car on Sheridan sidewalks.

The statement also mentioned that that last spring the City repaved Ardmore west of Sheridan, the route between Kenmore/Winthrop and the Lakefront Trail. It noted that CDOT also “added fresh pavement markings for the contraflow bike lane including a bright green pathway leading cyclists to the greenways on Winthrop and Kenmore.” The statement added that as part of this year’s 48th Ward participatory budgeting elections, constituents voted to fund more Lakefront Trail wayfinding signage and a mural at Ardmore/Sheridan.  

Obviously, preventing rental scooters and, eventually, e-Divvies, from being used on Sheridan is not an ideal solution to sidewalk riding. Some users may need to access destinations on the road. But I understand that there’s a lot of pressure on Manaa-Hoppenworth and CDOT to do something about the sidewalk riding issue immediately.

But it’s important to remember that the most serious threat to pedestrians on Sheridan is not e-bike or e-scooter riders, but drivers. In September 2018, on Sheridan a block south of Bryn Mawr in Edgewater, a turning driver struck and killed 91-year-old Lorraine Campion and was cited for failure to exercise due care for a pedestrian in the road.

And last December, an SUV driver fatally struck Sergio Maya, 34, in the 6800 block of North Sheridan Road in Rogers Park. The motorist was ticketed for failure to reduce speed to prevent a collision.

In contrast, I’ve been tracking pedestrian deaths on Chicago streets since this website launched in 2013. I’ve seen no evidence of a bicycle or e-scooter rider fatally striking a person on foot in our city during that period, if ever.

So while the City cracks down on unlawful bike and scooter riding on Sheridan sidewalks, what are we doing to protect pedestrians from drivers? According to a 48th Ward blog post, there were some recent improvements in that department, including:

• A new speed camera was slated for installation in spring 2025 on the 6100 north block of Sheridan.

• Also in spring 2025, a new speed indicator sign was planned for 6147 N Sheridan Rd., after a driver destroyed the old one.

• The “walk” time for crossing Sheridan at Glenlake Avenue (6100 N.) was increased from 12 to 15 seconds.

• CDOT installed Audible Pedestrian Signals at Balmoral Avenue (5400 N.) and Sheridan.

Read the full list of pedestrian upgrades on the blog post.

So that’s somewhat encouraging. But making Sheridan Road significantly safer for pedestrians – as well as bike and e-scooter riders – would require a much heavier political lift. As contributor Craig Stern wrote on Streetsblog a year ago, what Sheridan really needs is a four-to-three road diet to calm traffic; shorten crossing distances; improve access to the lakefront; and make room for protected bike lanes.

That would save lives, and make the area a safer, more environmentally friendly, and more pleasant place to live. And it would help keep all micro-mobility devices – bikes and scooters; electric and “acoustic”; rental and privately owned – off the sidewalks.

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