Please stop for pedestrians!

For the love of God, when you're riding your bike, stop for pedestrians when they have the right of way. You know when some d***wad in a car almost runs you down when you have the right of way? When you do do something like blow a stop sign or crosswalk when a human is trying to cross, you are That Guy.

I used to be pretty good about stopping for people, but eventually realized 'pretty good' wasn't good enough, so I made an effort to be more attentive. In particular I was inspired by a guy I saw a few years ago on Clark St. in Andersonville who not only stopped to let a couple cross the street, but blocked the lane to do so. So I started doing that whenever I could. I've been That Guy occasionally - in particular, there was a time this summer when I was crossing the river on Belmont in my car and began to go around a car that stopped for what seemed to be no apaprent reason - he had actually stopped to let a family cross the street. Geez, was I an asshole then. Fortunately, I wasn't going very fast and the car in front of my honked his horn, and I realized what was happening and stopped. I was That Asshole then.

This morning I was riding down Milwaukee in Logan Square on my way to work and saw a woman trying to cross near the theater. So I signaled a stop, moved into the left-center of the SB lane, and stopped. The next car behind me promptly blew the crosswalk on my right. The next car going NB did the same, as I moved to the center line and put my arm out and shouted at him for added effect (really, this frustrates me a lot sometimes). The next car behind me started to pass on the right and stopped at the last minute, perhaps seeing this. Sometimes I have gotten off my bike and stood with my bike sideways in the middle of the road to help people cross the street.

It shouldn't be this hard to cross the f!@#$ing street, here or anywhere. I am aware (see above) of how easy it can be to slip into a me-first habit of behavior, especially when in a car. But I'm usually a cyclist on the streets here, and we're all cyclists here, and every day I see cyclists fail to yield to people. Not people sitting in cars, but vulnerable people unprotected by anything who are just trying to walk somewhere without getting killed by other people who act as if they are trying to kill them.

So please, don't be a body part, and just let people cross the street.

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Permalink Reply by JeffB on November 18, 2015 at 6:18am

I agree. While I applaud the intention here, if you're not directing traffic from all directions (which you can't on your bike), you're almost as likely to cause a collision. Its kind of like all those times I've nearly been hit by a turning car who was waved through by someone stopped in a traffic line ahead of me as I was passing on the right.

But yes, stop for pedestrians.

Permalink Reply by David P. on November 20, 2015 at 6:13am

I know I can't stop a whole street, and I don't try. But when I can easily block my whole lane, I do. Sometimes, e.g. on the wider cross streets like Diversey in Logan, I can't do this safely so I don't. It's not too hard on, say, Clark or Milwaukee, though.

Permalink Reply by ad on November 17, 2015 at 7:29am

Chicago is unfortunately horrible with regards to pedestrian right-of-way.  I get that big cities can be bad in general (I was in SF this spring, and drivers and cyclists were often just as bad), but it's not universal. Madison, Wisconsin has a culture where people will stop to let pedestrians cross, as does Portland, Oregon.  Not sure how they built the increased civility to peds, but it's a noticeable difference.    

Outside of seriously ramping up enforcement at marked intersections, not sure what the fix is here.     

Permalink Reply by Jeremy on November 17, 2015 at 9:26am

Serious enforcement is what it will take to change the culture.  Not occasional stings, but consistent enforcement.  IF CPD and CDOT were interested in enforcing the law, they would seek out suggestions for locations that are problems.

Four lane roads (Ashland, La Salle, Clark between Armitage and La Salle) are the worst.  Drivers are going too fast and the danger of the "blind pass" is greater.

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on November 17, 2015 at 4:09pm

This last summer Jeremy, we (CDOT, my team in particular) coordinated with CPD on 117 crosswalk stings and about 2800 citations were handed out. Several locations were visited twice and ALL of them were intersections where serious or fatal injuries took place. Next year, CPD is slated to do between 150-200 of these stings, so there will be a lot of repeated, serious enforcement.

Additionally, the traffic division will see an increase in staff next year. With such a heavy focus (and rightly so) on gun violence, the police have been stretched thin. In other cities it's been shown that a focus on traffic enforcement, particularly when it relates to pedestrians, has a positive affect on other crime.

Lastly, we do seek feedback through alderman on specific locations. While our enforcement is data driven, there are often streets that people simply won't cross because the conditions are so harrowing (and consequently there is no data to back up the claim that said intersection is dangerous.) If you (or anyone else) has suggestions for specific intersections (like that stretch of Clark you mentioned) we will add it to the list of recommended locations.

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on November 18, 2015 at 2:47am

That's a big stretch, but since we'll be able to repeat locations, we can try to address some of the problem spots. Peterson is one of the worst offenders for speeding and red light running.

Permalink Reply by Jordan M S on November 18, 2015 at 2:02am
How is it possible that only 2800 citations were issued?
Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on November 18, 2015 at 2:45am

The missions are only about 2 hours long. Some have gathered as many as 50-60 citations (like in front of Lane Tech) but most get about an average of 20-25 per event.

Permalink Reply by Jordan M S on November 18, 2015 at 2:58am
Thanks for posting, Charlie. Like you said, there are many crosswalks that are never even attempted by pedestrians (which, I feel, probably means they should be removed if they can't be at least a little enforced). How about this one: north ave at bosworth. It never got much use but now they have blocked off the sidewalk on south side of north ave for construction with a humorous "cross at crosswalk" notice - it should have a skull and crossbones with it.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 18, 2015 at 4:17am

Glad to hear that there are more enforcement efforts planned for next year. One of the frustrating things about the strategy behind choosing locations is that many locations that don't generate big crash statistics need help.  

Too many people in Beverly and Morgan Park drive to locations within easy walking distance because they don't feel safe crossing the street (especially with kids), so they often become part of the problem. 95th & Hoyne (Saturday business hours) and 111th & Bell (school hours in particular) are 2 such examples.  Some 4-way stop locations near Metra stations are bad: 96th & Longwood and 96th & Damen (especially morning and evening rush hour).

High density areas in and near the Loop could also use enforcement.

Permalink Reply by Jeremy on November 18, 2015 at 5:13am

Thank you for the response.  The other dangerous crosswalks I was thinking of are La Salle south of North Avenue and Ashland south of Irving Park.

Stings are fine for generating revenue, but are they sufficient for changing behavior?  If there is a 2 hour sting event on Monday, that is a tip-off that there will be no enforcement for the next several weeks.  A speeding/texting/red-light-running driver will behave that way every day on the same route at the same time during rush hour.

Regarding police being stretched thin, if a 2 hour sting results in 20 tickets, an officer working 6 hours writing tickets would write more than 10,000 in a year.  $50 tickets would pay the salary and benefits of 5 total officers.

If police used motorcycle/helmet mounted cameras, the footage could be uploaded to a database accessible by the traffic court, preventing police from appearing in court for minor traffic stops and limiting the success of contesting tickets.  Such a program would also provide jobs to city residents for reviewing and compiling the video footage.

All of that is not the responsibility of you specifically nor CDOT generally, but my point is that if the city were serious about reducing pedestrian deaths, there are ways to go about it.

Permalink Reply by Jeremy on November 18, 2015 at 5:26am

Sorry for dumping complaints on you simply because you are nice enough to join this discussion thread, but the Contact Us email form on CDOT website does not have a field for receiving photographs.  Such a function would help residents provide better evidence of situations that need attention in the city.

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