One of Chicago's City Council members, Matt Martin, proposed a Complete Streets ordinance that would require an upgrade to any walk, bike, or transit path whenever streets are repaved.
After traffic fatalities last month, including a 2-year-old being struck by an SUV, and a 75-year-old being killed by a distracted driver, Martin responded with, “My office will continue working to ensure that future improvements to pedestrian, bike, and public transportation infrastructure —not just throughout our Ward but throughout all of Chicago—are holistic, systemic, and better designed to ensure safe streets for all.”
At last month’s City Council meeting, Martin took action on this front, introducing a new Complete Streets ordinance. The goal of the legislation is to ensure that every time the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) repaves a street, rather than simply restriping it the same car-centric way as before, it prioritizes the needs of people walking, biking, and riding transit. The ordinance would require CDOT to include safe streets upgrades, collaborating with the CTA on all of these projects.
“Chicago needs to rapidly and comprehensively improve our bike and pedestrian safety infrastructure citywide, as well as prioritize transit ridership in a big way, Martin said in a statement. “This ordinance calls on CDOT to take advantage of its Arterial Resurfacing projects with the regular addition of ambitious infrastructure including protected bike lanes, pedestrian refuge islands, bus bulbs, and raised crosswalks. It will ensure that CDOT prioritizes alternatives to cars.”
If Martin’s proposal is approved by the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety the legislation would need to be approved by the full City Council.
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Source: CDOT
