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Safe Traffic,Transportation, sidewalks concerns This page is part of the Transit Web of hydepark.org and is brought to you by Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference and its Transit Task Force. Join the Conference and support our work. Contact the transit chairman. |
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When are stop signs unsafe and ineffective?
The U.S. Department of Transportation website says, all too often! As stop signs proliferate, drivers stop seeing them or even grow contemptuous and impatient of them, especially when at any given pass there may be no cross traffic or pedestrians in sight. Worse, drivers often speed up to make up for the lost time--especially if the reason for the signs is mainly to "calm" (slow) traffic.
Stop signs also give a false sense of security, especially to pedestrians and bike riders. Tip: don't assume a car is going to slow down or stop until you see it do so. But children and pets don't think of that.
The ambiguities: Are they going to stop? will they let me go first, or start up again?
Stop signs also have other costs--congestion, pollution, noise, fuel consumption.
Mike Hoke (who frequently emails us on traffic, parks and community quality of life issues) has been looking at various proposals made for stops along South Shore Drive from 53rd to 56th. Originally a supporter of stops at every significant interface to stop the speeding, especially of those exiting Lake Shore Drive and cutting through the neighborhood, has recognize merits in arguments against most or these (specific as well as the general articles above) and thinks some form of speed bumps or other physical calmers may work better, limiting real stops to 1 or 2.
Visit the Disabilities Task Force page. One of their next projects is to survey bad sidewalks and cross walks. Already, Ald. Hairston has gained a commitment for major improvements, including a count-down signal for the Lake Park-55th intersection and improvements at other Lake Park intersections (now undergoing signal replacement).
A question. Would opening of 57th between Stony Island and Lake Park improve or retard safety? Ald. Hairston said at a town meeting she is disinclined to agree to the change, since many are concerned about traffic and safety issues.
Yael Hoffman called in August 22 letter to Herald for improvements to slow Woodlawn Avenue north of 55th: crosswalks at 54th place; chokers or speed humps?
Sidewalks at and in Jackson Park have solicited numerous letters and complaints, particularly that along the south side of 56th St. and near Cornell down to 59th (which has a treacherous crossover that a walk leads to. In the April 4 2007 Herald, Hairston said she is working to get the 56th walk repaired this construction year and that there is a lengthy process and limited funds. The walks, with ADA patches at crossings, were done in summer 2007.
In her letter, "An accident waiting to happen,"[...the writer] accused me--unfairly--of dismissing a legitimate constituent concern. That is a matter I take very seriously, so let me take a moment to set the record straight. First, I have never had a "meeting" with either Ms. Jackson or her group. Las summer, Ms. Jackson and a fellow resident met with a member of my staff. They shared their concerns with him and he brought them back to the office.
I did speak with Ms. Jackson last week, but I never told her that her issue was not a priority. I directed my staff to contact the city's Department of Transportation to look into expediting repairs to the sidewalk on Monday, March 26. Given that the Herald's deadline for letters is the Friday before publication (in this case, March 23), it is clear to me that Ms. Jackson was not interested in waiting for a response from my office before submitting her letter. In addition, construction season has not begun in the City of Chicago, and will not begin until later this spring. With that said, I am working to get the repairs done this construction year.
Capital repairs come out of the $1.3 million dollar aldermanic menu. I am called on to spend those dollars to repave sidewalks, streets, alleys and curbs and install streetlights, traffic signals and speed humps. There are a lot of damaged sidewalks, bumpy streets and dim streetlights in the ward-- many carryovers from my predecessors. The menu is a very small pot of money and is spoken for as much as two years in advance. As the Herald recently reported, I try to spend every penny of my menue dollars to maintain and improve infrastructure in the ward. Although the requested improvements do not happen overnight, they do happen and my office responds to these requests in the order in which they are submitted. That is the only way to be fair.
I take constituent request very seriously and my staff works very hard to be responsive to residents' needs. However, we all must understand that there is a process that requests have to go through. Just as I work to be fair to all of to the more than 69,000 residents living in the ward, residents also have to give us a fair opportunity to address their concerns. Ms. Jackson has not done that.