Cross carefully

City scores relatively well on pedestrian safety, but advocates say there are still too many victims

11/11/2009 10:00 PM

By MICAH MAIDENBERG
Editor

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The city put up this sign after Martha Gonzalez was killed crossing 18th Street, at Halsted, on Oct. 13. Friends and family of the slain woman, who worked as an interpreter, erected a shrine in her memory at the intersection.
MICAH MAIDENBERG/Staff



Advocates who gathered at 18th and Halsted on Tuesday to call for safer streets in Chicago saw traffic and pedestrian patterns at the intersection seemingly prove their point.

CTA buses making right-hand turns onto 18th Street rolled over the sidewalk or came close to doing so, keeping those on the sidewalk wary. Several cars making left-hand turns from 18th to northbound Halsted were forced to slow down quickly because of pedestrians walking east across the busy north-south street.

Some walkers have already been victimized at 18th and Halsted, an intersection that sees 18th jog south at Halsted instead of staying aligned with the rest of the street. On Oct. 13, Martha Gonzalez was killed in the intersection when a driver making a left-hand turn north from 18th struck her. The driver hasn’t been located, and police are actively searching for suspects.

Ron Gordon, a photographer who has lived near the intersection for more than 20 years, pointed out short metal fencing in front of Kristoffer’s Café and Bakery, on the east side of Halsted, and another building. Cars used to crash into the buildings, according to Gordon. “Even now it’s dented,” he said of the barriers.

“This has always been a dangerous intersection,” Gordon said.

While 18th and Halsted may pose specific pedestrian challenges, Chicago actually ranks better than most metropolitans areas in terms of pedestrian safety. A new study compiled by Transportation for America found that only 11 major metropolitan cities scored a better “Pedestrian Danger Index” number than Chicago, with the Minneapolis-St. Paul region leading the pack.

The number is calculated by dividing the average pedestrian fatality rate from 2007-2008 by the percentage of residents walking to work. The 10 most dangerous cities were located in the South.

In 2007-2008, according to Transportation for America, 235 pedestrians died in the greater Chicago region, home to more than 9.5 million people.

Nonetheless, organizers with the Chicago-based Active Transportation Alliance said more needs to be done.

Rob Sadowsky, executive director of ATA, said politicians, engineers and policy makers must “commit to prioritizing people over cars and ensuring they are safe as they walk or bike through their communities.”

He specifically called on state legislators to back HB 43, which would require drivers to yield and stop if necessary if a pedestrian is walking through a crosswalk on a road.

Following Martha Gonzalez’s death at 18th and Halsted, the city is adding signage reminding cars to yield to walkers. Vincent Sanchez, chief of staff for Ald. Danny Solis (25th), said the signals at the intersection would be changed to give walkers a head start to cross before drivers got the green light.

Future changes could include right and left turn signals and even widening sidewalks to slow down traffic flows.

Gonzalez’s friends and family have set up an anonymous tip line to collect reports from potential witnesses. That number is 312-203-4968. The police department’s major accident investigation unit is 312-745-4521.

This article has been changed to correct the date on which Martha Gonzalez was struck and killed.

Contact: [email protected]


2 Comments - Add Your Comment



By Micah Maidenberg from Chicago Journal
Posted: 11/16/2009 4:53 PM

Steve - thanks for catching that. We corrected the dates in the story and caption.


By Steven Vance from Bridgeport
Posted: 11/16/2009 4:33 PM

Please correct the date on which Martha Gonzalez was killed by the hit and run driver. It happened on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009. Thank you for posting this article and the neat photos.