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This post includes summaries of 2024 pedestrian and bike fatality cases on surface streets within the city of Chicago that Streetsblog has not previously covered.

• Letter to Tribune from ATA's Amy Rynell: A 25 mph speed limit is a proven solution to lowering the risk of pedestrian deaths

Two University of Illinois Chicago urban planning scholars have released a new report on public transportation access and commute disparities in Chicagoland. Associate Professor Dr. Kate Lowe and Assistant Professor David López-García from the Department of Urban Planning and Policy collaborated on the study. It's titled "Race, travel time, and earnings in Chicagoland: Comparing predicted job accessibility with the commuting burden of public transit."

In 2008, former transportation engineer Chuck Marohn founded the Strong Towns organization as an effort to make American cities more walk/bike/transit -friendly and fiscally sound. Nowadays, our city has a local branch of the movement, Strong Towns Chicago.

• Sun-Times letters: Transit advocate and environmental policy analyst Nik Hunder lists Carter's downsides, another reader credits the CTA chief for trying

This week, the Chicago Transit Board appointed Dorval Carter’s Chief of Staff Nora Leerhsen to serve as the acting president for the agency, replacing the departing — and controversial — president until a permanent replacement is found. 

This week, the RTA announced intentions to seek more control over partner transit agencies as funding and service constraints continue to threaten regional public transit. And on Wednesday afternoon, RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard discussed the RTA’s “Transforming Transit” initiative — a $1.5 billion vision to create a fully funded, seamless, and accountable transit system that will be able to serve everyone in and around the Chicago area —during a luncheon at the City Club of Chicago. 

• CTA chief of staff Nora Leerhsen to become acting president after Dorval Carter’s retirement (Tribune, Sun-Times, WTTW, CBS, ABC)

Today could have been the day when Chicago joined New York City, Boston, Seattle, Portland, and even neighboring suburb Evanston in voting in favor of reducing the speed limit in the city to 25 mph. However, questions and concerns among fellow City Council members were numerous enough for Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) to take the expected vote off the agenda for today's City Council meeting.