Steven Vance – Page 16

70% of pedestrian deaths happened at night nationally. What about in Chicago?

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CDOT, NHTSA, and Western Michigan University are involved in the installation of these optical illusion zig-zag markings, part of an experiment to see if they improve night time visibility. You can read more about them on Steven Can Plan. Since installation, I’ve asked CDOT multiple times for the results of the experiment and each time the report hasn’t been finished.

A reader forwarded me an announcement email about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Traffic Safety Facts 2010 Data (.pdf) in which one of the “facts at a glance” included this one: “Close to 70 percent [of fatal pedestrian crashes] took place at night”. He asked, “What percent of ped fatalities in Chicago happen at night? 70% seems disproportionately high.”

I looked it up. “Night” in this analysis means situations where the Illinois Department of Transportation crash data is coded as “Darkness” or “Darkness, lighted road”. I’ve divided the data in a table below to show the difference between those two designations. Continue reading 70% of pedestrian deaths happened at night nationally. What about in Chicago?

CTA announces name for Jeffery Boulevard BRT route

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Photo of the new bus livery (paint scheme) courtesy of Chicago Transit Authority.

It’s the Jeffery Jump.

The Chicago Transit Authority describes the name for the Jeffery Boulevard bus rapid transit service in a press release issued this morning. Jeffery Jump replaces the 14-Jeffery Express route. The press release is quoted in part:

The Jump service is branded to communicate the way this service allows commuters to “jump” ahead of traffic and get a “jump start” on their morning and evening commutes Jeffery Jump buses uses will be visually distinguishable from other CTA buses—wrapped in bright blue with the Jump logo.

The previously announced service will operate from 103rd Street on the south side to Metra’s Ogilvie and Union Stations downtown, saving an estimated five to seven minutes off of morning and evening commutes. The new service is scheduled to begin in November 2012. Road work to prepare Jeffery Boulevard for Jump service has already begun.

Two stations, located at 71st and Jeffery and 100th and Paxton, will have unique sidewalk and crosswalk designs and a large canopy for protection from the weather. Curb bump-outs will limit the need for buses to merge in and out of traffic in order for customers to board.

Bus rapid transit partners in Chicago have simultaneously launched a new website, BRT Chicago. There are three routes in the works: Jeffery Jump, Central Loop BRT, and Western-Ashland Corridor BRT.

Open Streets on Milwaukee Avenue steals spotlight from State Street

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Brent Norsman, owner of Copenhagen Cyclery, relaxes in front of the store before riding with his daughter on the street.

Call Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park and Bucktown the right blend of commercial and residential density to support a livelier, possibly better attended instance of Open Streets. Not to mention it was 1.5 miles long with only one crossing for cars and buses.

The longer distance allowed the programming (which there seemed to be an equal or lesser amount than on State Street) to be more spread out, providing more room to ride a bicycle with your crew. And unlike the event on State Street, it seemed that most people were intentionally choosing to be here, rather than finding themselves at Open Streets when shopping on State Street.

Continue reading Open Streets on Milwaukee Avenue steals spotlight from State Street

Fatality Tracker: Loyola student dies after falling onto tracks and touching third rail

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Photo of the Loyola Red Line station by Brandon Bartoszek.

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 19 (9 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 4 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 7

A 21-year-old student named John Versnel at Loyola University died last night after exiting a train at the Chicago Transit Authority’s Loyola Red Line station, “bumping” into a pillar, falling into the tracks, and touching the third rail. This happened minutes before he was pronounced dead at an Evanston hospital at 1:29 AM.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Versnel was not hit by a train, CTA spokesman Brian Steele said. Versnel was a Loyola University senior, according to a statement from the school. The school has informed students of the counseling services available to them, as well.

According to Tracy Swartz there have been ten deaths on the CTA this year, meaning the Fatality Tracker has missed some tragic incidents.

* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time and includes only people who died in the Chicago city limits. View previous Fatality Tracker posts.

Grid Chicago ranked 4th in “The NEW News” list of Specialty News sites

Count Grid Chicago as an award-winning site. The Community Media Workshop yesterday released the results of its study called The NEW News 2012: Ranking Chicago’s Online News Scene, funded by The Chicago Community Trust and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The ranking of Specialty News sites follows:

Continue reading Grid Chicago ranked 4th in “The NEW News” list of Specialty News sites

Highlights from the Chicago Pedestrian Plan

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A Metra train crosses Canal Street, while a person waits to cross the tracks. Photo taken by ryanbytes.

Our article on Monday discussed some highlights and shortcomings in the Pedestrian Plan, released last week. This post spotlights more of the smart objectives and features in the plan. It additionally features ideas that have been on the books for a while, with little progress made. It helps to have the Chicago Pedestrian Plan open while you read this post; the plan isn’t available as a website.

The previous post listed improving expressway entrances (mainly near train stations, p.73-75), six-way intersections (p.69-71), and developing standards for the pedestrian experience within parking lots (p.76). Each tool or strategy below summarizes the aim of each in “What it says” but isn’t a complete representation of the milestones or action items for that tool or strategy.

Mobility education, 53 Continue reading Highlights from the Chicago Pedestrian Plan