This morning in the Kinzie "protected" bike lane...

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on August 23, 2012 at 7:58am

Jeez.  I agree that a death like this is a sad and terrible occurrence but honestly I'm more leaning towards being glad that no one on a bike was hurt when this happened.  Even in a "protected" area, keep an eye out.

Permalink Reply by Night Owl on August 23, 2012 at 8:04am

Agreed, but I'm also wiping my brow that it wasn't a biker blowing the stop sign there that caused it.  It doesn't seem like that was the case, but, let's be honest, would it be surprising for that intersection?  In my mind, that eastbound lane is one of the worst places for bicyclists behaving badly.  It's also likely the reason that the city is supposedly going to be installing a full signalization there sometime in the fall.  

Jeremy said:

Jeez.  I agree that a death like this is a sad and terrible occurrence but honestly I'm more leaning towards  being glad that no one on a bike was hurt when this happened.  Even in a "protected" area, keep an eye out.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on August 23, 2012 at 8:07am

That guy was flying to have done that much damage.

Permalink Reply by blair on August 23, 2012 at 8:42am

Agreed.  Every time I come to a full stop and wave on the pedestrians with the right of way, a few other cyclists always blow through anyway.  Annoying and unsafe.

Permalink Reply by Night Owl on August 23, 2012 at 8:59am

I'm actually torn if signalization would work for stopping cyclists at Kinzie/Canal.  Realistically, the signalization is being installed for the eastbound issues, since the westbound is hemmed in with very few cars going in to the garage there.  That said, in my mind I have compared it to two other intersections:  northbound Milwaukee/Augusta and southbound Milwaukee/Noble which, for bicyclists, all functionally act the same way depending on the direction you approach it.  At Milwaukee/Augusta the light functions well and cyclists generally stop, mostly because the traffic coming off the off-ramp is heavy; at Milwuakee/Noble, no one stops simply because only one or two cars pass through the intersection during a cycle.  

So, for Kinzie/Canal to be successful at stopping cyclists, I think you'd have to "simulate" heavy traffic by allowing cars to back up on Canal.  Maybe 45-second light cycles and a lead light for westbound cars turning left on to Canal?  Of course, if you make it too long cyclists will get itchy, so it'll have to be timed to allow people at Milwaukee/Des Plaines to easily hit a green light.  Now, I'm not sure if they'll do that - but that is how I'd approach it.  Something does need to be done though, it's a pretty bad intersection.

Cameron Puetz said:

I've honestly felt that full signalization is overdue at that intersection. With pedestrians hidden by the pillars and cyclists hidden by the parked cars, the sight lines are so terrible that a signal really is necessary.

Permalink Reply by Don on August 23, 2012 at 9:57am

Yes and I've had fellow cyclists get pissed at me for riding cautiously down Kinzie, especially near intersections.  Dealing with the dangers posed by cars and pedestrians is bad enough but it really ticks me off that other cyclists sometimes cause me more stress than those two groups combined.  I'm all for traffic lights and major enforcement along Kinzie.

122782_ said:

Agreed.  Every time I come to a full stop and wave on the pedestrians with the right of way, a few other cyclists always blow through anyway.  Annoying and unsafe.

Permalink Reply by Liz on August 23, 2012 at 10:23am

My guess from the damage and looking at the highway tests on that model, is around 35-40 mph.  
That car has a very poor crash test rating.  Chance of injury in a front collision of speed is 40%.  


notoriousDUG said:

That guy was flying to have done that much damage.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on August 23, 2012 at 11:46am

Very sad.

Adam Kitzmann said:

 I must have just missed this on my way in. Sad. I feel for his family. Whether it's a cyclist or a motorist, a death is a death and this is tragic news. 

Permalink Reply by Bicycle Poet on August 23, 2012 at 12:01pm

Hey, check out the Amtrak train in the background.  How cool; you don't catch those as often as you do Metra.

Am I being insensitive by remarking about the rarity of this photo snapping a rare Amtrak train on that railroad line in light of the driver's death?  Would we feel sorry for a man who died while playing with a gun?  Reckless driving at speeds above the legal limit is akin to playing with a gun.  No, he didn't deserve it, but this was no accident, either.  This was a preventable death, from my point of view.

Permalink Reply by Cheryl on August 23, 2012 at 5:22pm

I feel the same - I'm as worried about another cyclist rear-ending me when I stop for a pedestrian as I am about the cars.

Don said:

Yes and I've had fellow cyclists get pissed at me for riding cautiously down Kinzie, especially near intersections.  Dealing with the dangers posed by cars and pedestrians is bad enough but it really ticks me off that other cyclists sometimes cause me more stress than those two groups combined.  I'm all for traffic lights and major enforcement along Kinzie.


Permalink Reply by spencewine on August 23, 2012 at 5:31pm

According to witnesses, the vehicle drove straight into the bridge support at about 9:15 a.m.

From a very narrow point of view that I have...based on the photo and news report, this seems to like a case of texting while driving. I can't imaging how someone would drive into a steel pillar at 40mph at an intersection otherwise...unless they were suffering from another medical emergency. I missed this by probably less than 5 minutes.

Permalink Reply by Jason W on August 24, 2012 at 6:27am

Personally, I think it's sad when an innocent person is killed by some idiot driving like a maniac. This case does not meet that criteria. This is a case of some idiot earning his darwin award.

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