In mid-June, the city finally released the Vision Zero Action Plan, which lays out its strategy to eliminate serious and fatal traffic crashes. It arrived about six months later than originally planned—and years after peer cities launched similar programs. But it could not have come a moment too soon; more than 2,000 people per year are killed or seriously injured in collisions in Chicago, with an average of one fatality every three days. The plan, which was crafted by the Chicago Department of Transportation with input from a dozen city departments and agencies, has the stated goal of achieving zero serious and fatal crashes annually by 2026.
The document also calls for phasing in the installation of truck side guards, which help prevent pedestrians and bike riders from falling underneath the vehicles, and convex mirrors on city fleet vehicles and other commercial trucks. That’s especially welcome because last year half of the six Chicago bicycle fatalities involved right-turning flatbed truck drivers striking young adult cyclists, who were then crushed under the wheels. On June 28, Emanuel introduced the Large Vehicles Safety Equipment Ordinance, which will require city contractor vehicles to install the safety equipment starting in July 2018. The city fleet will begin adding the gear as well.
When I raised the issue at last month’s Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting, CDOT’s Vision Zero manager Rosanne Ferruggia argued that while ticketing isn’t being used as a metric for success, that doesn’t mean the police don’t have a key role to play. “We’re not saying that we’re not going to enforce traffic laws,” she said. “What we’re saying is that we’re not going to start ticketing people without talking to you first.”
