Little Village – Grid Chicago

Fatality Tracker: Teen killed by hit-and-run driver in Little Village last weekend

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 28 (13 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 6 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 9
Skateboard: 1 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)

David Perez, 18, was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver 3:45 AM Saturday, December 8, in Little village, the Tribune reports. A northbound vehicle struck Perez while he was in a crosswalk at 31st and Pulaski and then fled the scene, according to police.

Perez, who lived on the 2700 block of South Komensky Avenue, was pronounced dead at 4:41 AM at Mount Sinai Hospital. At the time of the Tribune report, police had no description of the vehicle.

* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time. View previous Fatality Tracker posts; see a data table listing all who’ve died. The Illinois Safety Data Mart is currently reporting 30 pedestrian fatalities.

Fall bike lane construction update

[flickr]photo:8182396466[/flickr]

A Marking Specialists work truck in the Marshall Boulevard bike lane it just helped create (they work on weekends, too!).

Chicago Department of Transportation staff and its contractor Marking Specialists have been busy this summer and fall, striping miles of conventional, buffered, and separated bike lanes in Chicago. This post documents all of the new bike lanes we haven’t yet featured prominently, some of which are likely still under construction as the photos were taken between 1 and 4 weeks ago.

Sacramento Boulevard, 24th Boulevard, Marshall Boulevard

Still to come on this project through Little Village, Lawndale, North Lawndale: Douglas, Independence, and Hamlin Boulevards. It connects with a short, separated bike lane on Jackson Boulevard between Independence Boulevard and Central Park Avenue. The Central Park Avenue bike lane then connects north to separated bike lanes on Lake Street and Franklin Boulevard. Collectively these bike lanes are called “West Side Boulevards”. I like how this new separated bike lane “goes places”: through and to residential neighborhoods, past schools and parks.

People parked their cars in the bike lane, which we’ve found to be typical for under-construction separated bike lanes. The pavement quality issues that Franklin Boulevard suffers from are present on this project as well, in multiple locations (there’s a small bush growing in the bike lane a few feet before your reach a large pothole). I look forward to seeing the ultimate design created at the intersections and high-speed curves in Douglas Park and the pavement issues corrected. This project is likely still under construction.

[flickr]photo:8182355507[/flickr]

A separated bike lane on Marshall Boulevard, looking south at a Pink Line viaduct. It’s parking-protected in some locations. In this photo, new parking spaces are created where none previously existed. Continue reading Fall bike lane construction update

Fatality Tracker: 4th pedestrian fatality in 8 days occurs in Little Village

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 14 (6 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 4 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 6

The Chicago Tribune reports on the fourth pedestrian fatality in just eight days, this one occurring in Little Village at 26th Street and Avers Avenue:

Maria Banuelos [79] was hit by a car that turned left onto 26th Street from Avers Avenue about 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to police reports.

Banuelos was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, a Cook County medical examiner’s spokeswoman said.

The driver was cited with striking a pedestrian in the roadway.

Approximate scene of the crash (looking northwest, from the driver’s point of view, turning left onto 26th Street from Avers Avenue). View Larger Map

* 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.