CHICAGO (WLS) — During the month of June, four children in Chicago were hit by cars and killed while on bikes or scooters.
Those deaths along with deadly crashes involving pedestrians have raised the profile of those calling on the city to make streets safer for people who are biking or walking.
The Chicago Department of Transportation recently announced plans to add 25 miles of concrete-protected bike lanes by the end of the year. Kyle Lucas, co-founder of transit advocacy organization Better Streets Chicago said this is a step in the right direction.
“These concrete curbs are easy to find, easy to install and will make a big improvement in comfortability and safety for people. But you’re only protected in lanes CDOT actually builds. And out of the 25 miles that they’re talking about only ten are actually expanding the network,” Lucas said.
As for what more can be done, Lucas said “There are a lot of tools that have just been left on the table. There’s a lot of things like doing traffic diverters in neighborhoods that prevent through traffic so that neighborhoods aren’t being used as shortcuts.”
Lucas cited the example of Barcelona, Spain which is doing what are called “superblocks.”
“They’re saying maybe not every neighborhood street needs to have cars. And maybe we can repurpose some of that space to actually create public spaces within our neighborhoods where it’s safe for kids to play and for communities to gather,” Lucas said.
47th Ward Alderman Matt Martin’s office recently organized a memorial for one of the children killed last month and he’s taken up the issue of improved safety for cyclists and pedestrians.
He has been urging people to be mindful of distracted driving and to put down their devices.
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