Who/What: Mobilizing for a Safer Milwaukee Avenue: The Active Transportation Alliance and apparel/equipment company Arc’Teryz hosts a community meeting to discuss the much-traveled Milwaukee Avenue. Over the last several months, the city has hosted public meetings to solicit input from residents on impending improvements. The meetings have generated discussions about safety for cyclists, many of whom commute on Milwaukee Avenue daily.
Bonus: Free beer from Revolutionary Brewery and refreshments provided by Boxed Water.
When: Thursday, June 29, 6-8pm.
Where: Arc’Teryz Chicago, 1630 North Damen Avenue.
Why: As we’ve written before, Milwaukee Avenue is one of the most notorious roads in Chicago. Car and pedestrian accidents are frequent and sometimes fatal. Between 2010-2014, the city reported 1,097 crashes at the intersection of Milwaukee/Damen/North Ave, the majority of injuries suffered by cyclists or pedestrians—and that’s just one intersection. The City of Chicago has labeled Milwaukee Avenue a “spoke route,” meaning it’s a prime target for the city’s prospective network of protected bike lanes, but details are lacking as to what it might mean.
The Alliance points out that between 2010-2015 the Chicago Department of Transportation reported 74 dooring crashes, accounting for 6 percent of the citywide total. And more still, based on a blog post published on June 20: “More than 5,000 people cross the Milwaukee/North/Damen intersection on foot during a.m. and p.m. peak hours – yet crosswalk markings are faded or missing altogether.”
Last week, the Active Transportation Alliance launched an online petition to raise awareness about forthcoming developments to the Milwaukee/Damen/North Avenue intersection, scheduled to begin at the end of the summer. The Alliance says it launched the petition to encourage city officials to “think big,” perhaps stemming from the fact that the scheduled improvements to Milwaukee Ave. includes no plans for dedicated bike lanes. DNAinfo reports that the petition has already garnered more than 900 signatures.
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