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Father of crash victim wants safer streets

May 11, 2017 | by Active Trans

Steven Gross says he has seen enough car crashes and traffic violations to last him a lifetime. As an avid cyclist for 30 years and an accomplished professional photographer who sometimes works outdoors, Gross regularly witnesses cars driving into crosswalks when pedestrians have the right way, cars parked in bike lanes, cyclists getting doored and other types of recklessness and negligence on the part of drivers. But two incidents in particular hit too close to home for him. His son Ethan, 16, was struck twice by negligent motorists who managed to get a slap on the wrist for their reckless driving. Ethan was only 5 years old when a car hit him as he was crossing the street. Gross, his wife, Ethan and...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago North Side, transit, Walking

Vision Zero needs more funding to make progress

Mar 27, 2017 | by Active Trans

This week the City of Chicago released more information about its upcoming Vision Zero Action Plan.Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld made the case for Vision Zero in a speech at City Club on Monday.In her comments, she said every traffic death is unacceptable and that we have the tools to stop these senseless tragedies. In addition to the dozen or so city agencies that will be involved in Chicago's Vision Zero effort, she called upon everyone who uses city streets to start thinking about supporting Vision Zero. One key part of the plan is reducing driving speed and encouraging people driving to follow the legal speed limits.The Vision Zero plan identifies driver speed as the most important factor...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, transit, Walking, zero vision

Bike messenger killed on his way to Oak Street Beach

Mar 24, 2017 | by Active Trans

Blaine Klingenberg enjoyed the small things in life. He was always one to strike up a conversation, he took great pride in mowing his lawn and often had a bowl of Frosted Flakes before work. So, it came as no surprise that the 29-year-old decided to head to Oak Street Beach to meet up with friends after a long day delivering packages on his cargo bike for Advanced Messenger Services last June. Tragically, he never made it to the lake.While riding north on North Michigan Avenue during rush hour, Klingenberg was struck and killed by a double decker bus at East Oak Street. Klingenberg was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after firefighters used airbags to lift the bus off him, and was pronounced dead...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago Central, Chicago North Side, Lakefront Trail, transit, Walking

An advocate for pedestrian safety

Mar 24, 2017 | by Active Trans

When Amy Mendelsohn walks around Chicago, she can’t help but notice the number of motorists who don’t come to a complete stop when pedestrians are walking in crosswalks — a violation of Chicago’s traffic-safety laws. The flagrant violations are so frequent that she has stopped counting how many times motorists have failed to comply with the law.This issue is personal for Mendelsohn.After motorists hit her in two separate collisions while she was walking through crosswalks in the city, Mendelsohn is on a mission to help improve pedestrian safety and educate the public about pedestrian safety laws.Crossing the linesPedestrian safety issues began to take hold of the 41-year-old marketing and design consultant in 2008.As she was crossing the street at a...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago Central, Chicago North Side, transit, Walking

Crash victim wants safer streets

Mar 23, 2017 | by Active Trans

Dee Palagi knows she has an uphill battle ahead in the next year. After being struck by a semi truck while bicycling, the 26-year-old West Town resident is still recovering from the severe injuries she sustained, including having her leg amputated.But she is ready to tackle the long and grueling recovery process with tenacity and optimism in order to walk and cycle again. She’s also speaking up with the hope of preventing horrible crashes like the one she endured.“I’m extremely strong, and I’ve always had a positive attitude about all of this,” says Palagi, a special education teacher. “I’m going to get through all of this and walk again and get my life back.”On Sept. 23, 2016, Palagi was bicycling...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, transit, Walking

14-year-old killed on the day she was to receive an award

Mar 23, 2017 | by Active Trans

Like her fellow eighth graders on the cusp of graduation, Kaylah Lentine was looking forward to her first formal dance, a class field trip to Great America and moving on to high school. But tragically, all of those plans were cut short when the 14-year-old student from Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School was struck and killed by the driver of a pick-up truck.On that May morning in 2012, Kaylah was set to receive an award for her leadership in the Students Against Destructive Decisions, an organization that works to prevent young people from engaging in risky behavior, particularly drug and alcohol use, and impaired driving. After missing the bus, she elected to walk to school and was struck while attempting to...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, South Suburbs, transit, Walking

Study highlights safety benefits of Chicago’s red light cameras

Mar 20, 2017 | by Active Trans

A new study from the Northwestern University Transportation Center found Chicago’s red light camera program delivers significant safety benefits.Researchers found serious right-angle and turning crashes decreased by 19 percent at intersections with cameras, and injury-producing crashes dropped by 10 percent. They also found evidence of a “spillover effect” leading to safety benefits and crash reduction at intersections without cameras.The City of Chicago commissioned the study to evaluate its program and maximize the safety benefits.Active Trans has consistently highlighted photo enforcement as a critical piece of a comprehensive Vision Zero approach to traffic safety. The Federal Highway Administration first recognized the proven safety benefits of photo enforcement technology in 2005.In 2015 we were joined by physicians, traffic safety experts and victims...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Education, transit, Walking, zero vision

No accountability for driver who hit Active Trans staffer

Mar 10, 2017 | by Active Trans

Getting struck by a driver while she was in a crosswalk in West Suburban Maywood means that Cherrell Jackson now has trouble doing one of her favorite activities — walking.“I will be glad when I can finally walk my grandchildren to the park,” said Cherrell (pictured here). “Now I have to get into a car to go to the park. I’m a person who likes to walk, but now walking is really hard. Going more than a few blocks, the pain is too much.”Cherrell was hit in November of 2015 on her way home from her job working as Active Trans’ office manager. While she was crossing the street, a driver barreled through a stop sign and struck her, breaking...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, transit, Walking, West Suburbs

Redesigning our streets for people – not cars – saves lives

Dec 20, 2016 | by Active Trans

It’s been proven in Chicago and cities across the country that the fastest way to make streets safer is to redesign them and prioritize the movement of people – not cars.When the city established a Complete Streets policy in 2006, it committed to accommodating the safety and convenience of all road users in transportation and development projects. Then in 2013 the city’s Complete Streets Guidelines established a modal hierarchy that placed people walking at the top, follow by people riding transit, biking and driving cars.In recent years, we’ve seen the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) follow through on these commitments with many exciting projects that include rightsizing vehicle travel lanes, adding protected bike lanes, and enhancing crossings with refuge islands and signal...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, transit, Walking, zero vision

Boosting safety with education campaigns

Dec 1, 2016 | by Active Trans

Education is always one of the most talked about topics in traffic safety, and Vision Zero is no different.There’s a perception that if we could just better educate users about how to share the road and travel responsibly, we’d see fewer traffic crashes, serious injuries and fatalities.The reality is public education alone will not solve the problem. The hallmark of a Vision Zero approach to traffic safety is pursuing policy changes in several areas, such as infrastructure, enforcement and commercial vehicle regulation.When done right, cities around the world have shown education can be a powerful tool in traffic safety. Massive public awareness campaigns are exorbitantly expensive and it can be difficult to evaluate their impact. Targeted campaigns that focus on...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Education, Planning, transit, Walking, zero vision

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