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Making the Whole Route to School Safer for Walking and Biking
Earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune published an analysis of Chicago traffic crash data, finding that "from 2007 through 2011, nearly 1,700 youths, ages 5 to 18, were struck by vehicles in Chicago within about a block of a school." Half of all pedestrian injuries to children occur near schools, and it's great to have the local press draw attention to the problem. The next step is to start thinking about how to make entire routes to school safer for walking and biking.
February 1, 2013
The Problem With Wolf Point and Its 1,285 Parking Spaces
The Wolf Point site, just south of the Apparel Mart and Chicago Sun-Times building at the confluence of the Chicago River's three branches, has been begging for more productive uses for decades. Momentum has been building since developers associated with the Kennedy family proposed a plan for three towers at Wolf Point in 2007, and the proposal picked up speed in 2012 as it began accumulating the various permissions needed to move forward. Last Thursday, all 21 members of the Chicago Plan Commission signed off on the project, at a hearing that revealed one of the key flaws in the way Chicago manages growth and development.
January 30, 2013
Branching Out: The North Branch Trail to Extend Further South, East
Local cyclists have long dreamed of a complete network of bicycle paths along the various branches of the Chicago River. This fall we’ll be moving three miles closer to that goal when the Cook County Forest Preserve District begins construction on a southern extension of the North Branch Trail. Meanwhile, the trail is also being expanded about a mile east from its northern terminus to connect with the Green Bay and Robert McClory trails.
January 23, 2013
To Prevent More Traffic Deaths, Chicago Needs Better Crash Data
On Monday the Chicago Sun-Times noted the large uptick in pedestrian fatalities in 2012 compared to the three years prior. Last year, 48 pedestrians were killed by drivers in Chicago, compared to 35 in 2009, 30 in 2010, and 31 in 2011. Understanding the underlying causes is difficult: Right now, there is troublingly little information from the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois Department of Transportation about why pedestrian deaths rose last year.
January 23, 2013