On Thursday, June 13th, the Chicago Mobility Collaborative (CMC) held its second meeting of the year at Douglass Park in North Lawndale. During the meeting, CDOT provided updates on several of their projects including work on Independence Boulevard, the Ogden Avenue Streetscape project, and new bike lanes coming to Brighton Park, Gage Park, and McKinley Park! 

Before we dive into our speed limit discussion, here is some other news from the meeting that might be of interest to folks:

• The Illinois Department Of Transportation (IDOT) is collecting information from Illinois residents on traffic safety. Click here to take their quick survey.

• Chicago Union Station is seeking input from AMTRAK and Metra users. Your feedback will help shape the future of bicycle storage facilities, ensuring the needs of the cycling community are met. A public meeting will take place virtually at 6:00pm on Thursday, June 27th. Register for the meeting here!

• Visit ImproveOgdenAve.org to learn more about the North Lawndale: Ogden Avenue, Pulaski to Roosevelt Corridor Improvements Project, view the project timeline, and learn how to get involved. 

Chairman La Spata and committee staff were present to lead a Community Table discussing the benefits and challenges of lowering the citywide speed limit. The discussion was split into three subcategories: fines and fees, education initiatives, and community engagement. 

During the fines and fees portion of the discussion, concerns on the inequitable ticketing of low-income residents and communities of color were raised. Additionally, participants expressed a desire for more transparency on how revenue generated from tickets is used. For example, what if revenue generated from speed cameras went towards improving the infrastructure where the infraction took place? Other ideas brought forward by participants included income based ticketing as well as a low base fee with an additional charge for each mile per hour (MPH) exceeding the speed limit e.g. a flat fee of $25 and $1 for each MPH over the limit. In this scenario, if a driver received a ticket for going 50 MPH in a 25 MPH zone, the ticket would be $50 ($25 + $25).

While discussing potential educational campaigns, participants emphasized the importance of getting inside the minds of drivers in order to achieve behavioral change. One suggestion was to highlight how the safety benefits of a lower speed limit isn’t just for pedestrians and cyclists, but extends to drivers too! For example, the SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research says that the faster a car is going, the higher the risk for a crash and serious injury. Suggestions for visual imagery and door knocking/canvassing were also brought up. 

Lastly, we discussed the best ways to engage community members. Who should we reach out to? What’s the best way to reach them? Again, participants provided thoughtful and creative answers. The Secretary of State and AAA were two great suggestions given their reach and experience with drivers. Another suggestion was getting in touch with folks who might not be as interested in transportation policy, but would be impacted, such as rideshare and food delivery drivers. 

If these ideas have sparked any thoughts or suggestions for you, we want to hear from you! As always, we can be reached at committeeonpedestrianandtrafficsafety@cityofchicago.org.