Since when are people in Chicago blue and two-dimensional? (Photo courtesy of the city of Chicago.)
Everyone knows walking is good. It’s good for your body, it’s good for your mind, and it’s good for your soul. In fact, walking really only has two problems: One, you’re a lazy ass, and two, cars. Cars can be a bit of an enemy to walkers. They can do annoying stuff like honk, their drivers can yell at you, and then of course there’s the thing where they run into you and cause you to be broken or dead. The city of Chicago is aware of all of this, and it is taking action with pedestrian-friendly laws. The city plans to sharply reduce pedestrian injuries and eliminate fatalities within 10 years.
Chicago has its fair share of urban traffic, but officials think this 10-year goal — zero pedestrian fatalities and a 75 percent reduction in serious injuries — is realistic, thanks to more than 250 planned improvements. These include better crosswalks, new pedestrian islands, and stricter traffic law enforcement.
Maybe we’re going out on a limb here, but we think that a city that cares about walking is a city that cares about people. We think actually passing by other people and seeing them, looking into their faces for a second and not just at their cars, makes a city feel more like a community. And as much as we’re concerned about the planet’s rising population, we can’t really hate on a plan to keep people from being killed.
Of course, there’s still the lazy ass problem. We don’t think the city of Chicago can help you there.
