The Most Dangerous Pedestrian Intersections In Chicago

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Car Accidents

Pedestrian accidents are usually relatively well covered by the news, as they can be some of the most deadly motor vehicle incidents that occur. In major cities in which more people get around on foot (as opposed to the suburbs, for example), the rate of pedestrian accidents is higher.

Regardless, the rate of pedestrian accidents in Chicago has consistently declined in recent years. According to the City of Chicago Pedestrian Crash Analysis, the past decade has seen a dramatic downward trend in the number of people injured or killed in pedestrian–motor vehicle accidents. In 2009, for example, the 3,130 pedestrian crashes “represented a nine-year low, dropping eight percent since 2005 and more than 22 percent since 2001,” according to the Pedestrian Crash Analysis.

Chicago was just outside of the top ten of American cities when it came to number of pedestrian accidents for data kept between 2005 and 2009. The city, in fact, had the lowest pedestrian fatality rate in large cities with a population density more than 5,000 people per square mile. Chicago ranked 11th on the list, just behind New York. Phoenix, Arizona had the highest rate of pedestrian accidents, with just more than three fatalities per 100,000 residents.

It should come as no surprise that the vast majority of pedestrian accidents occurred on arterial and collector roadways, as these are the most traversed. Just less than 80 percent of all fatal and serious crashes happened close to an intersection. This autumn, according to DNAinfo Chicago, the Active Transportation Alliance issued a report naming the 10 most dangerous intersections in the city. While the number of pedestrian accidents has decreased in the past decade, in 2013 alone, according to DNAinfo,  there were 29 pedestrian deaths within the city limits.

The most dangerous intersections are, according to DNAinfo:

• North Milwaukee Avenue/West North Avenue/North Damen Avenue in Wicker Park;
• North Cicero Avenue and West Chicago Avenue in Austin;
• North Halsted Street/North Lincoln Avenue/West Fullerton Avenue in Lincoln Park;
• South Cottage Grove Avenue and East 79th Street in Grand Crossing/Chatham;
• North Dearborn Street and West Ontario Street Downtown;
• South Ashland Avenue and West 63rd Street in West Englewood;
• North Cicero Avenue and West Madison Street in Austin;
• North Ashland Avenue and West Cortland Street in Lincoln Park;
• South Martin Luther King Drive and East 63rd Street in Woodlawn; and
• North Elston Avenue/North Western Avenue/West Diversey Avenue in Logan Square.

If you have been injured in a pedestrian accident, you could be eligible for compensation. Do not go through it alone. Contact a Chicago motor vehicle accident attorney today.