The six-way intersection of Grace, Bernard, and Elston in the Irving Park community is a tricky junction. Located just west of the Abbey Pub, it’s a relatively wide roadway where the two residential streets meet up with a busy northwest-southeast thoroughfare.
Observing her afternoon shift last week, I was impressed by Ana’s grit as she marched into the street with her handheld stop sign, taking no guff from drivers who failed to halt. But I saw several motorists ignore her orders and even shout at her as they sped by, which shows that, despite infrastructure improvements and the best efforts of city workers like Ana, we need to do more to ensure that the rights and safety of pedestrians are respected, especially at tricky junctures like this one.
—Ana the crossing guard
A little before three, parents began crossing west to pick up their kids from Murphy Elementary. Anabel Quito, pushing a tiny BMX bike for her son, who attends pre-K there, walked with her young daughter, who was also on two wheels. Quito’s husband and other parents, along with the school’s principal, successfully lobbied 35th Ward alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa to use ward money for the pedestrian island. “It was much harder to cross before they put it in,” she said.
The CPD occasionally conducts crosswalk stings, ticketing drivers who fail to yield. Perhaps stationing an officer at tough intersections like Ana’s to issue citations on a weekly basis would be good way to educate drivers that they have to stop and not risk running over kids and other commuters.
