Bike fatalities chicago

The new bikes provide an electrical assist to riders that shuts off once a speed of 15 mph is reached. The collision took place at the intersection of two-lane streets with non-protected bike lanes.

With this seventh on-street bike fatality this year, Chicago has already seen more cycling deaths than the average of about 5. An eighth person, Mark Goodman, 56, died in August of this year after suffering brain injuries in a crash with another cyclist on the Lakefront Trail near Belmont Avenue. Donate Contact About Us Newsletter. Facebook Twitter Google Plus Email print. The intersection of Warren and Damen, looking south. Image: Google Street View With this seventh on-street bike fatality this year, Chicago has already seen more cycling deaths than the average of about 5.

Here are the other on-street Chicago bike fatalities. On February 29 a hit-and-run driver fatally struck a year-old male cyclist on the block of West Lake Street in East Garfield Park. On June 18 Louis Jacobson, 67, was biking on the block on North Western Avenue in West Ridge when he struck a pothole and suffered a fatal head injury. On June 28 an allegedly intoxicated hit-and-run driver struck and killed year-old Issac Martinez on his bike on the block of South Lawndale Avenue in Ashburn.

Last Sunday a motorist struck and killed Jason Hardt, 48, on this stretch and fled the scene, raising the question of whether the protected lanes might have made a difference in the crash. According to police, on Sunday, September 12, at about a. The protected bike lanes on Independence were installed in late , in an effort to not only shield bike riders from drivers, but also to reduce speeding on the wide boulevard and shorten pedestrian crossing distances by narrowing the travel lanes.

They also objected to the removal of some parking spaces to preserve sight lines. Residents complained to thenth Ward Alderman Michael Chandler. The department used paint to convert the protected lanes to buffered lanes, which offer no physical protection for people on bikes. Then-deputy CDOT commissioner Scott Kubly argued at the time that the problems with the Independence bike lane could be blamed on poor communication and insufficient public outreach, and he said the department learned from the experience.

That very well may have made the difference between life or death for Jason Hardt. Most of the rise in total Chicago traffic deaths was due to more motorist fatalities.

The number of motor vehicle drivers and passengers killed in crashes increased from 52 in , to 92 last year, a staggering 77 percent increase. During the pandemic, more people have turned to cycling as a form of socially-distanced transportation and recreation. Chicago has also saw a spike in cycling deaths in , with nine total on-street fatalities, more than any other year in the past decade , and a percent increase from The only silver lining to the new figures is that pedestrian deaths were down slightly, from 40 last year, to 39 in , just under the five-year average of One possible explanation for why there was no increase in walking deaths while other modes spiked may be a decrease in foot traffic due to fewer people commuting to work, especially in the Loop.

Back in October the Mayor Lori Lightfoot administration used the rising traffic fatality rate during the pandemic as an argument for lowering the threshold for speed camera tickets from 10 mph over the limit to 6 mph.

But since the change passed the City Council, hopefully it will have a positive impact on reducing speeding and serious crashes this year , without inflicting undue fiscal pain on low-income and working-class Chicagoans.

A tenth person, Mark Goodman, 56, died after suffering brain injuries in a crash with another cyclist on the Lakefront Trail near Belmont Avenue.

Donate Contact About Us Newsletter.