In September the city announced it will be releasing a three-year Vision Zero action plan, inspired by the international movement with the goal of eliminating serious traffic injuries and fatalities through better infrastructure, education, and enforcement. Chicago’s plan, currently slated for release later this winter, will involve a dozen city departments, with the goal of reaching zero crash deaths by 2026.
In contrast, according to a map of fatal crash sites provided by CDOT, traffic fatalities were spread fairly evenly throughout the city this year. (There were, however, no pedestrian fatalities south of 89th Street, and four out of the six cycling fatalities took place on the north side at locations that see relatively high bike traffic, such as Milwaukee and Damen Avenues.)
It’s true that peer U.S. cities like New York and Los Angeles have successfully lowered their homicide numbers in recent years. But Chicago, even more so than other major cities, struggles with a legacy of intense residential segregation that concentrated poverty, social justice inequities, and the resulting violence in certain communities while making it easier for those in more better-off neighborhoods to ignore these problems.
