The Chainlink

Stop-sign sting at Kinzie and Kingsbury this am

Cops writing tickets for rolling the stop signs just east of the river, in the protected lane. You're gonna want to stop :-/. One of the cops told me he was going to "knock me off my bike if I didn't stop". As always, a bunch of sweethearts.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on August 24, 2012 at 9:37am

Agreed. That intersection is probably the most pedestrian-heavy of all the stop signs on Kinzie. It's also the intersection that a "Bikes, stop for peds" sign was added after numerous complaints of cyclists blowing though it.

Duppie said:

Not sure when you rode by. When I rode by they were at Kinzie and Kingsbury. There are lots of pedestrians crossing there. As a car free resident who probably walks as much rides, I'd say it is a good thing that they (occasionally) ticket.

If you say that there is no pedestrian traffic at all, I think you deserve a ticket even more, since clearly you were not paying attention: 2 cops, 4(?) bicycling ambassadors. That is six people in the intersection, not counting any pedestrians.



anthony nicholson said:

I'm not debating we're supposed to stop; but it was at one of those stop signs on Kinzie going east where there is just the wall of the Merchandise Mart to your right (no pedestrian or vehicular cross traffic at all)[...]

Permalink Reply by anthony nicholson on August 24, 2012 at 9:42am

Looking at the map, I meant the next intersection down (past where the trucks turn into the underground garage), not the one @ Kingsbury. I went by pretty early and there weren't any cops up at Kingsbury, nor any pedestrians. There was a cycling ambassador person up on the sidewalk (like they do sometimes when they wave as you go by) but I didn't think anything of it b/c they're often out around there. Maybe they were just getting set up.

But I didn't come over here to start some meta-discussion about cyclists stopping at stop signs; just wanted to give people a heads-up about what was going on this AM down there.

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on August 24, 2012 at 9:49am

Are you referring to the stop sign underneath Upper Orleans St, or the one at Kinzie and Franklin?

anthony nicholson said:

Looking at the map, I meant the next intersection down (past where the trucks turn into the underground garage), not the one @ Kingsbury. I went by pretty early and there weren't any cops up at Kingsbury, nor any pedestrians. There was a cycling ambassador person up on the sidewalk (like they do sometimes when they wave as you go by) but I didn't think anything of it b/c they're often out around there. Maybe they were just getting set up.

But I didn't come over here to start some meta-discussion about cyclists stopping at stop signs; just wanted to give people a heads-up about what was going on this AM down there.

Permalink Reply by Liz on August 24, 2012 at 10:03am

Um I wouldn't call someone posted down road of a stop sign sting "setting you up".  If anything that should've been a warning.  The comment was a bit much, but I don't care what's next to you.  If you blow a stop sign in front of a cop, whether on car or bike, regardless of what's next to it, you deserve a ticket. 

anthony nicholson said:

Looking at the map, I meant the next intersection down (past where the trucks turn into the underground garage), not the one @ Kingsbury. I went by pretty early and there weren't any cops up at Kingsbury, nor any pedestrians. There was a cycling ambassador person up on the sidewalk (like they do sometimes when they wave as you go by) but I didn't think anything of it b/c they're often out around there. Maybe they were just getting set up.

But I didn't come over here to start some meta-discussion about cyclists stopping at stop signs; just wanted to give people a heads-up about what was going on this AM down there.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 24, 2012 at 10:04am

A few weeks ago, I heard from another cyclist who got that "knock me off my bike" threat and the cop was serious.  He did knock the guy down, then he wrote him a ticket for not stopping.  

If any of you get that threat in that area, take it seriously.  And if you're assaulted and inclined to file a complaint, get the guy's badge number.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 24, 2012 at 10:11am

I get what you're saying.  It would make sense to have a stop sign sting at Kinzie and Clinton.  However, the east and west sides of the river are 2 different police districts - different commanders, different officers, different assignments and priorities.

The Kinzie and Kingsbury intersection does get a lot of pedestrian traffic, although it varies considerably depending on time of day.  Some of the other Kinzie intersections (such as Wells) also get heavy ped traffic.  Some of you may be annoyed at having to stop, but Kinzie is a location where "share the road" really needs to work for all types of users.

Leah Jone said:

I also think it's a weird choice the day after a deadly single-car crash at Kinzie and Clinton. I would spend some quality time there watching the whole intersection instead of threatening cyclists further down the path.

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on August 24, 2012 at 10:15am

If this happens, please email me at charlie.short@activetrans.org. We won't work with police officers who threaten folks. There are a few districts we can't work with because every time officers came out their behavior was out of line. Ambassadors report to us after every event and if there is a problem, we report it to the commander.


Anne Alt said:

A few weeks ago, I heard from another cyclist who got that "knock me off my bike" threat and the cop was serious.  He did knock the guy down.  If any of you get that threat in that area, take it seriously.  And if you're assaulted and inclined to file a complaint, get the guy's badge number.

Permalink Reply by Michael A on August 24, 2012 at 10:44am

Th police are not knocking people down for not stopping at the stop sign, they are making offenders follow police orders to pull over and stop so they can write a ticket.. if you blow through a stop sign do not be an idiot and try to run from the police... DUH

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on August 24, 2012 at 11:17am

The "Stop" sign at that intersection is actually a "Stop for pedestrians" sign, really more of a yield to pedestrians sign. It doesn't surprise me that the City receives more complaints regarding this intersection than any other. It's pretty frequently disregarded by cyclists. 

Permalink Reply by Joe Schmoe on August 24, 2012 at 11:17am

^And the only way to get me to do that is to use abusive language, and assault me. Gotcha. 

Permalink Reply by Rachel Roszmann on August 24, 2012 at 11:31am

If only they'd put this much effort into ticketing people who drive while talking on the phone or drivers who don't stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. Seems like those are the ones who could do serious damage. I'm just sayin'...

Permalink Reply by Dragonborn on August 24, 2012 at 11:41am

What if a cyclist doesn't have identification on them at the time of being ticketed? How could a police officer give a ticket then? A citizen could simply exercise their Fourth Amendment (no unreasonable searches, merely blowing a stop sign is not probable cause for a search) and Fifth Amendment (remain silent, give no information) rights. Cyclists and pedestrians are not required by law to carry identification. Would a cop just arrest the cyclist then? An arrest would be a waste of time and resources, in my opinion.

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