Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about safety

The new Chevrolet Silverado at the Chicago Auto Show. The front end is nearly as tall as an adult. Photo: Al Di Zenzo

How my Chicago Auto Show tweets reignited the debate over unsafe vehicle design

By AJ LaTrace | Feb 23, 2022 | No Comments

If decisions about vehicle design are purely left to the market to decide, dangerous design language of American pickup trucks and SUVs will be around for many years to come, contributing to countless traffic deaths.

Podcast: John talks with Eben Weiss, aka Bike Snob NYC, about legalizing the Idaho stop

By John Greenfield | Feb 21, 2022 | No Comments

We also discussed why ultimately U.S. cities should be building citywide networks of connected, protected bikeways with logical traffic light timing, so Idaho stop laws become unnecessary.

Wood Street near Iowa Street. Image: Google Street View

Wood Street isn’t a high-crash corridor, but it would still benefit from protected lanes

By John Greenfield and Steven Vance | Feb 15, 2022 | No Comments

Yes, installing the Wood Street protected bike lane isn't necessarily a matter of life or death. But it would make the corridor more comfortable for current and potential bike riders.

A red light camera in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood and a paint-and-post sidewalk extension in the Austin community. Photos: Jeff Zoline, CDOT

How should we respond to the UIC and ProPublica reports on Chicago traffic cameras?

By John Greenfield | Jan 14, 2022 | No Comments

There's no question that the cams are preventing injury and fatality crashes, but Black and Latino motorists and racking up more tickets and suffering financing hardship. Should we reform or abolish it.

A cluster of old industrial buildings at the northeast corner of Ashland/Elston, including the Horween Leather Company on the left (built 1886), and a storage building that dates to 1899. Photo: Eric Allix Rogers

CDOT plans overhaul of complex Armitage/CortlandAshland/Elston junction

By John Greenfield | Jan 10, 2022 | No Comments

Streetsblog Chicago will continue reporting on this project to help ensure that it results in a net improvement for sustainable transportation.

A speed camera, left, on Ogden Avenue in Douglas Park. Photo: Steven Vance

Illinois Policy Institute runs a misleading article on Chicago’s 6 mph speed camera rule

By John Greenfield | Jan 4, 2022 | No Comments

The right-wing think tank plays up the program's revenue generation, downplays its safety benefits, and contains plenty of misleading statements and outright misinformation.

CTA bus operator union president Keith Hill speaks at the recent rally for worker safety. Photo: ATU Local 241

CTA bus driver union president on Transit Ambassadors: “I’d definitely support that”

By John Greenfield | Dec 24, 2021 | No Comments

"We just want to be able to do our job safely and go from Point A to Point B with no problems. Whether it's armed or unarmed, we don't care."

BART Transit Ambassadors give a mask to a passenger and ask him to wear it. Photo: BART

CTA: We’re monitoring Transit Ambassadors programs in other cities, not planning one

By John Greenfield | Dec 22, 2021 | No Comments

"A different approach is long overdue," responded an ATA spokesperson. "The least the CTA could do is give it a try and launch a pilot program like its peer cities across the country."

Transit Ambassadors on a BART train in the San Francisco Bay Area. Photo: BART

Wave of violence against CTA workers highlights the need for Transit Ambassadors

By John Greenfield | Dec 3, 2021 | No Comments

Everyone on the CTA deserves to feel and be safe, especially the transit employees who help keep the city moving.

A CTA bus on Chicago's Michigan Avenue. Photo: John Greenfield

I’m fairly optimistic about the future of public transportation – if we take action now

By John Greenfield | Nov 3, 2021 | No Comments

As Mark Twain might have said, reports of the death of transit have been greatly exaggerated, but we do need to take decisive action to make buses and trains a more reliable and appealing option.

The intersection of Diversey and Albany, looking north, as it appeared in May 2019. The crosswalks have reportedly faded since then. Image: Google Maps

Logan pedestrian fatality highlights how IDOT control of Chicago streets makes us less safe

By John Greenfield | Apr 13, 2021 | No Comments

This horrifying incident has laid bare how the Illinois Department of Transportation having final say on changes to many Chicago streets makes our city more dangerous.

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