'Past The Time To Act': Recent Crashes Reveal Danger Of Cycling In Skokie, Advocates Say

SKOKIE, IL — Recent deaths and injuries suffered by local cyclists have sent shockwaves through the Skokie biking community, prompting a stark warning from the Skokie Bike Network, a group of riders and community advocates who say they know all too well the risks of cycling in a town built for cars.

"We are understandably shocked by the recent deaths and injuries. But we should not be surprised," the group said in a statement.

The crashes highlight a critical need for local officials to reevaluate their transportation priorities, especially the focus on facilitating fast-moving car traffic at the expense of pedestrian and cyclist safety, according to the network.

"These crashes are not inevitable nor are they the natural risk we trade-off for the benefit of motorized transportation," it said. "They are the result of our priorities and decisions as a community. We know the risks of the design of our streets, and we can make different decisions."

The community group laid out seven immediate steps that it said could make the community a safer, more sustainable, more economically viable and better place to live.

"The list of possible proactive initiatives that the Village can take are almost inexhaustible," according to the network's statement.

It suggests cutting speed limits on 40 mph arterial roads, reducing residential speed limits from 30 mph to 20 mph, committing to true implementation of the "recurring embarrassment" that is the village's 2016 Complete Streets ordinance, adopting National Association of City Transportation Officials standards, acting on the recommendations of the League of American Bicyclists report card, and creating a new bicycle and pedestrian facilities plan and new task force to review and audit progress.

While the circumstances of recent incidents have differed, they all expose the dangerous design of the village's streets, according to the network.

They include a crash that killed a 74-year-old Skokie man near North Branch Trail in Morton Grove on July 9, a 27-year-old employee at a Skokie grocery store who was knocked into a coma after being hit by a car exiting a parking lot onto Gross Point Road on July 24, and a CTA employee who was knocked off his bike by one car before being fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver.

"Those of us who routinely walk and bike in Skokie are familiar with the hazards that are baked into our community. There is a dearth of bike and pedestrian facilities, and we have designated bike routes on inherently dangerous streets such as Gross Point Road," the group said. "Other bike routes lack traffic controls across of four-lane, high-speed, high-volume arterials. There are also numerous intersections along designated bike routes with pneumatic controls for lights that are not activated by bicycles."

Because of the fundamentally hazardous street design, many Skokie residents end up driving rather than choosing a non-motorized form of transportation, according to the network.

"Many of us in the Skokie Bike Network are experienced and capable cyclists and we know how dangerous it is," it said. "We also know that many of our neighbors sense the hazard and therefore never get on their bikes at all. They then choose to drive rather than walk or bike because the environment is too inhospitable to do otherwise."

Representatives of the community group acknowledged there has been some progress toward improved local cycling infrastructure.

"However, the unfortunate reality is that the hazards of Skokie’s transportation and land use paradigm have been known for years. This past month we have witnessed the terrible consequences of the legacy of these planning, design, and engineering practices," the statement said. "We are well past the time to act on what we already know and failing to do so is effectively a decision to kill."

On the state level, legislation sponsored by a pair of Northwest Side lawmakers and signed into law on Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker amends the Bikeways Act, which requires the Illinois Department of Transportation to come up with a statewide program and collaborate with towns and other public bodies to develop bike paths and lanes.

The Senate Bill 3202, which passed the Senate 59-0 in April and the House by a vote of 92-13 in May, says "a municipality or a county may prepare a bicycle transportation plan."

Under the new law, which takes effect next year, plans must include existing and proposed bikeways, present and future ridership estimates, a map of existing and proposed land use, detailed descriptions of bicycle facilities and an accounting of past spending and future needs for bicycle commuter safety projects, among other things.

Skokie's bikeway system plan includes several roads designed as "active bike routes" though they have limited, if any, bicycle infrastructure.

The amended Bikeways Act now also includes definitions of four different classes of bikeways

“If we are serious about encouraging our young people, and those of all ages, to take up cycling for its positive health and environmental effects, we need to commit to making biking safer, and this law will do just that," said lead sponsor Sen. Natalie Toro, who began advocating for bike safety changes after a 16-year-old cyclist was fatally struck in the Portage Park neighborhood in October 2023.

IDOT data the number of fatal crashes involving cyclists increased from 12 in 2019 to 41 in 2023 — and last year's underreported at least three deaths, according to Ride Illinois.

While no cyclists have been killed in Chicago so far this year, there have been at least five deaths in the suburbs — Melrose Park, Villa Park, in addition to Morton Grove and Skokie.