Safe crossings at whatever cost

This neighborhood needs traffic management help at two local intersections, Ada and Washington Streets and Taylor and Wood Streets.

We commend Steve Ray Kemper, who is trying to get a stop sign installed at Ada and Washington, and we recommend that he work with the West Loop Community Organization, which has not been involved with or even aware of Kemper’s effort. Ald. Walter Burnett would be the official responsible for bringing a stop sign to that location, and we hope he will be proactive in doing so. Adding stop signs is a low-cost method of traffic control and safety, and there is no reason stop signs should not be placed at that intersection immediately.

More complicated is the situation at Taylor and Wood, where the stop signs already in place do little good. We were  appalled to learn that, after the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) recommended a stoplight there six years ago, former Ald. Madeline Haithcock nixed it, saying $250,000 was "too expensive." Ridiculous. That figure is a drop in the bucket compared to most City expenditures.

The intersection particularly needs a stoplight because University of Illinois at Chicago medical facilities, including UIC's hospital, are right there, and Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired is close by. Therefore, hundreds of sick or injured people pass through that intersection every day with their minds on their maladies instead of on traffic, and sight-impaired individuals are numerous there as well, making the intersection even more dangerous.

We disagree with current Alderman Robert Fioretti, who does not believe motorists are coming to rolling stops or not stopping at that intersection at all—we have seen them do so. We also disagree with his assertion that CDOT needs to conduct another study: we had one in 2002, so let us go with its recommendation for a stoplight.

Fortunately, Fioretti already has achieved a good record in making intersections safer, and he considers safer intersections a priority. He has had more than 20 stop signs installed, fixed stoplight timing, and added a new stoplight at 13th Street and Michigan Avenue in the 2nd Ward. If anyone can get a stoplight at Taylor and Wood, he is the one. He will have to use his lawyering skills, as it is unclear whether the City, State, or Illinois Medical District has title to the intersection, and he will need to use diplomacy in getting these entities to cooperate.

We sincerely hope that cooperation will be forthcoming. A few thousand dollars really is a small price to pay to save lives, and split among three levels of government, the cost will be minimal to each.