Transportation – including safety, affordability, quality and options – is a priority issue for neighborhoods across Chicago. More bike lanes, dedicated lanes for public transit, speed precautions, and more access to public transportation are among the issues we hear most about from our far Northwest side residents. Because of this, I wanted to share a few updates on how these issues are being addressed at both State and City level:
- Alderwoman Cruz is leading an ordinance to lower the speed limit from 30 miler per hour to 20 miles per hour on the stretch of Long Ave between Irving Park Ave and Belmont Ave. This ordinance will be up for a vote in the City Council’s Pedestrian Safety Committee this September. To see the letter I wrote to the Chairperson of the Pedestrian Safety Committee, Ald. Daniel La Spata, in support of this ordinance, click here. To show your support and sign on to the letter yourself, click here.
- Our office is in ongoing conversations with local pedestrian and cyclist safety groups and other elected officials to make sure our concerns with the Redefine the Drive initiative for Lake Shore Drive are heard. To read more about the Redefine the Drive initiative and stakeholder inputs, read this article from Block Club Chicago. To see the letter to the Illinois Department of Transportation and Gov. Pritzker that I signed onto with other Northside electeds, click here.
- Long Ave Improvements in Portage Park are currently underway. This urgently needed project will bring added safety measures for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers on Long Ave between Irving Park and Addison, including bike lanes, speed bumps, and a road repave. To read the Block Club Chicago article on the project here, click here. Many of you know of the heartbreaking tragedies experienced on Long Avenue due to driver speed and a lack of infrastructure.
- City Council extended the end date of a pilot program that uses cameras to ticket cars illegally parked in bike lanes and bus stops in portions of Chicago’s central business district. The City’s Department of Transportation (CDOT) expects the program will launch before the end of this year.
- The grant application period for Illinois Transportation Enhancement Project (ITEP) grants is currently underway. ITEP is funded in part by a provision in the 2019 Rebuild Illinois capital plan that sets aside $100 million each two-year grant cycle to fund walking and biking infrastructure projects throughout the state. The Active Transportation Alliance has written this blog post about the program with information about a series of webinars they’re putting on to help communities understand the program and apply for funds. All of the webinars outlining this opportunity are available online and the next one is a Q&A with IDOT staff on 9/11 (the registration link is also available here). I am enthusiastically sending this information on to the two local municipalities I represent – Chicago and Harwood Heights.
I was proud to act as the Chief House Sponsor of SB3202 which was signed into law in early August. This new law prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists in future infrastructure plans.
