Traffic safety and city infrastructure impact how frequent and severe crashes can be. Chicago just elected a new mayor whose campaign promises can help bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers in Chicago stay safe, healthy and happy.
Those of us who live, work and raise families in Chicago witnessed a very close runoff election between Brandon Johnson (pictured above) and Paul Vallas for Mayor. Regardless of your political leanings, the position of Mayor has massive influence over safety on our streets.
Johnson's Campaign Promises
The Law Office of Tom Reuland is hopeful that Mayor Elect Johnson will follow through on some of his main campaign promises about transportation. These include:
Extending safe cycling infrastructure throughout Chicago
Adding traffic calming features to our streets
Making all neighborhoods walkable for pedestrians
Improving the CTA with more accurate schedule information and sustainable funding
These policies, when implemented, can save lives. For example, protected bicycle lanes with curbs and bollards that clearly designate a bike path substantially reduce the risks to cyclists in Chicago. The City should maintain good walkways, crosswalks and traffic calming features in neighborhoods not just to improve pedestrian safety, but also to help welcome people to neighborhoods and local businesses along well-maintained business corridors. Making public transportation more accessible and affordable will reduce the dangers that come with congestion and crowded roadways. In short, these policy proposals can go a long way in improving Chicago.
Transportation Advocacy Groups
Brandon Johnson received the endorsement of various transportation advocacy groups. For example, Commuters Take Action endorsed Brandon Johnson, as did the Better Streets Chicago Action Fund. The Action Fund endorsed Johnson after reviewing survey responses from various candidates. In the survey, Johnson was asked, "What do you believe are the greatest transportation challenges facing the City of Chicago right now?" His answer was telling:
"CTA safety and reliability, traffic violence and bike safety are the greatest challenges facing our city right now. Regarding the CTA, I want to see the agency as a customer-focused accommodation with service frequency and reliability as the highest priorities. … Regarding traffic violence, we need overall traffic calming features like curb extensions, bump outs, and raised crosswalks and intersections to make pedestrians safer as well. …Finally, it’s way past time that we start fully investing in biking infrastructure, and viewing it as a public accommodation just as we do parks, transit and public schools."
Street Safety Impacts Everyone
The Law Office of Tom Reuland helps people injured in bicycle crashes, pedestrian accidents, vehicle crashes and other types of cases. We have first-hand knowledge of the ripple effect that personal injuries have on people, their families, their work, their friends, and their neighbors. To quote our future Mayor Brandon Johnson, "Street safety isn’t just an environmental issue, but a matter of public safety, economic justice and quality of life." We fully agree. We also wish him the best in his leadership role of our great city.