Promoted

Tragically, a hit-and-run sedan driver fatally struck Tanja Annzionetta Safforld, 54, last Wednesday, November 20, in the Chicago Lawn community.

Last Thursday, the grassroots sustainable advocacy organization Better Streets Chicago held its third annual gathering to celebrate recent accomplishments, and raise funds for future campaigns. The nonprofit was launched at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by Kyle Lucas, Brittney Lane, Jim Hodapp, and former Streetsblog Co-Editor Courtney Cobbs. Recent efforts included a rally to protest plans to rebuild North DuSable Lake Shore Drive as an eight-lane highway with no bus lanes, lobbying the City to lower the speed limit to 25 mph, and pushing for funding of the #PlowTheSidewalks pilot.

Note: This post includes images from the aftermath of a fatal bike crash that may be disturbing.

With support from local politicians, they've started a campaign to convince the City and State transportation departments to make the crossing safer for people on foot and bicycle.

Earlier this month, a 64-year-old man died from injuries he suffered in October, when a hit-and-run Jeep driver struck him on the 1900 block of South Union Avenue (700 W.), besides the Dan Ryan Expressway in Pilsen. Exactly one week after his death, residents gathered for a community meeting to discuss the possibility of rebooting the proposal for El Paseo Trail. That would be a rails-to-trails bike-pedestrian route, which would run just three blocks west of the crash site.

Last month, the Chicago City Council's Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety passed an ordinance to lower our default speed limit from 30 to 25 mph. There will likely be a final Council vote later this year, and if the legislation is approved, the new rule would go into effect by New Year's Day 2026.

The talk featured representatives from Elevated Chicago, the CTA, the Department of Planning and Development, People for Community Recovery, and the Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce.

Plus transit board members pushed President Dorval Carter on more accountability for current security, and the CTA announced a redesign of the Clark/Lake station.

As discussed during the Active Transportation Alliance's recent Chicago Advocate Connect session, they've partnered with the University of Illinois Chicago's Institute of Disability and Human Development on Project Sidewalk. This initiative to document the conditions of local sidewalks and bikeways is offering $300 stipends to 10 participants who will virtually move through city streets using Google Streetview, and document accessibility barriers. We asked ATA for some more details about the program.