A Traffic Safety Commitment for Chicago's West Side

Transportation planning will take on a much more safety-oriented focus according to the West Side Vision Zero Traffic Safety Plan announced last week.

1 minute read

September 16, 2019, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Street Construction

Not good enough. | Steve Hamann / Shutterstock

The city of Chicago has a new West Side Vision Zero Traffic Safety Plan, reports John Greenfield, who calls the new plan a milestone for the city's crash prevention policies.

Here's how Greenfield describes the plan's substance:

The Vision Zero West Side Plan includes 15 strategies to improve traffic and pedestrian safety in East and West Garfield Park, North Lawndale and Austin. The recommendations include safety improvements around transit stations; efforts to promote walking and biking to school and make it safer; the installation of pedestrian islands and other walking infrastructure and curb extensions in other locations in the communities, and a street remix for the pedestrian-hostile “Five Corners” intersection of Ogden, Pulaski and Cermak.

The article includes a lot of statements from officials to summarize the goals and expected results of the new plan, as well as a discussion by Greenfield of where the new plan fits into the context of the city's larger Vision Zero efforts since the city released its initial Vision Zero Chicago Action Plan in 2017. 

Thursday, September 12, 2019 in Streetsblog Chicago

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

6 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

Close-up on BLM sign on Continental Divide Trail in Rawlins, Wyoming.

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule

The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

April 20 - Public Domain

Calvary Street bridge over freeway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path

Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.

April 20 - Smart Cities Dive