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A quick report from the Archer Avenue traffic safety project supporters on [checks notes] Round 17 of their dueling rallies with the opponents
If you're a regular SBC reader, you're probably familiar with the controversy over the Chicago Department of Transportation's project to make Archer Avenue in Brighton Park a safer, more efficient, and more pleasant street for all users. If not, check out one of our recent articles about the project, and the organized weekly protests against it near local Ald. Julia Ramirez's (12th) office, promoted by right-leaning politicians and lobbyists trying to defeat her in the next election.
April 1, 2026
![A quick report from the Archer Avenue traffic safety project supporters on [checks notes] Round 17 of their dueling rallies with the opponents](https://chi.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2026/04/image-1980853156176041.jpeg?w=813)
Is SBC “importing support” for the Archer traffic safety project? And Ald. Ramirez says most of the Complete Streets work be finished this spring.
It seems like the average SBC reader was amused by my nickname for "the mostly right-leaning folks using weekly anti-Archer [Avenue traffic safety] project protests as a political hook": "The Make Archer Great Again" (MAGA) posse.
March 16, 2026
Ald. Matt Martin offers some chicken soup for the embattled Complete Streets-friendly alderperson’s soul
There was backlash when CDOT proposed parking conversions for protected lanes on Clark in Uptown. But the end product offers reason for optimism in Brighton Park.
March 12, 2026
Archer Guardians anti-Safe Streets protesters turned today’s Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee meeting into a campaign stop
As you might expect thanks to yesterday's gorgeous weather, the vibe was good at the 13th round of weekly dueling rallies for and against the Archer Avenue traffic safety project rallies in Brighton Park in the 12th Ward. Or at least that was the case according to proponent Alfredo Villadares Jr., who's lived just south of the project area in Gage Park for 37 years.
March 10, 2026
After drivers struck 2 bike and scooter riders on Archer in less than a month, project foes absurdly claim half-done, car-clogged “bike lanes didn’t help”
On much of the project area, posts, paint and new curbs haven't been added yet to help keep drivers – such as the protesters – out of the future curbside bikeways.
March 4, 2026
In December I asked Archer project opponent Claudia Zuno if she was seeking office. “No I’m not.” Last week she announced her alder campaign.
Update 2/26/26, noon: On Facebook, a reader commented, "I don't even see how [opposition to Safe Streets and support for Trumpism] are connected." My response: "The Archer situation is clearly an example of right-leaning organizations and politicians like Urban Center and Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) taking advantage of (understandable) discontent over a Complete Streets project to try to win a sympathetic City Council seat. We're trying to shine light on this problematic strategy before it becomes a citywide issue, which would have a negative impact on politics, as well as traffic safety."
February 26, 2026
Archer NIMBY Claudia Zuno, an ally of Trump apologists Urban Center and Ald. Lopez, is running for alder, with a plan to “Remove obstructive bike lanes”
Plus a walk down Archer is a reminder that utility line construction is a major factor in the traffic congestion that Safe Street opponents are solely blaming on bike lanes.
February 17, 2026
Never mind the “Archer Guardians” NIMBYs – here’s proof that yesterday wasn’t “too cold for bikers” on Archer Avenue
Check out the Gage Park Cyclists Facebook group here.
January 27, 2026
Round 7 of Archer rallies: Video proves that, like NBC, ABC made a conscious decision to omit project boosters from its coverage of NIMBYs
Do you remember what I said last week about the recent competing weekly rallies of opponents and supporters of the Archer Avenue traffic safety project in Brighton Park?
January 20, 2026
Round 6 of the Archer Avenue rallies: A closer look at Archer and Kedzie, and Urban Center’s previously disgraced CEO chimes in on our Facebook post.
Still more television silence from NBC Chicago
January 14, 2026
