Wicker Park Street Among Most Dangerous for Bikers

A new study by the City of Chicago is taking a hard look at bike crashes in the city, and it turns out one stretch of road in Wicker Park is responsible for a large number of accidents.

Released on Tuesday, the Chicago Bicycle Crash Analysis looked at crash data from 2005-2010 in hopes of finding ways to improve the city’s bicycle grid. It showed bike crashes are on the rise, from almost 7 percent of all traffic collisions in 2005 to nearly 10 percent in 2010.

“Bicycle crashes in Chicago remain a serious concern,” the city said in a statement. “In the six-year period between 2005 and 2010, there were nearly 9,000 injury crashes involving bicyclists, with 32 bicyclist fatalities.”

Of Chicago’s 77 communities, Logan Square—which includes Wicker Park and Bucktown—was one of six accounting for a third of the city’s injury crashes. Others were areas including Lake View and Lake View.

Coming in just behind a mile-long stretch on Michigan Avenue, bikers on Milwaukee Avenue between Division Street and North Avenue had the most crashes per mile. That’s combined with Milwaukee Avenue in general, a street that saw almost 850 accidents during the sample period.

And although data on dooring only was available from 2010-2011, Milwaukee Avenue had the third highest rate of incidents.

“The period of study gives us a clear picture of what we need to achieve the goals of Chicago’s Bike 2015 Plan and the Streets for Cycling Plan 2020,” the city continued in the statement. “…Perhaps the most important point to be made is that with proper street design and behavior change amongst road users, the overwhelming majority of bicycle crashes are preventable.”

The end of the study looked at potential solutions to the various crashing issues, with protected bike lanes and public awareness marketing campaigns as options. Just outside of Wicker Park closer to the Loop, the city just installed less than a mile of protected bike lanes on Milwaukee to curb the number of crashes.

In addition, City Council already approved a plan to double the fines, from $500 to $1,000 for motorists who cause a dooring crash with a cyclist. Fines for leaving a vehicle door open in traffic also doubled from $150 to $300. 

And earlier this year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel launched an awareness campaign for taxi passengers, reminding them to look before opening passenger doors for their safety, and the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. He announced that stickers will be placed on the rear passenger windows of all 7,000 Chicago taxicabs that say "Look! Before Opening Your Door."

Read the full 64 page study here.