Crossing the Street

One blogger wrote, “If you’ve ever ventured out into one of Chicago’s famous six-corner intersections, you know the streets don’t always feel safe.”

Blair Kamin called Belmont, Lincoln and Ashland “one of the ugliest and most anti-pedestrian intersections in all of Chicago”

Someone taking exception with plans for the Lincoln Park Hospital site wrote, “Six corner streets are very dangerous under the best of conditions”

A photographer wrote, “To many visitors of Chicago unacquainted with the workings of a six-way intersection, these spots can be a confusing and dangerous experience, particularly if driving a car or simply trying to walk across the street.”*


I have lived near the Milwaukee, North and Damen intersection since the mid 80’s, and I never noticed how dangerous it was. I have walked across the intersection at least once a day for the last 25 years, and I have never felt any more imperilled than when crossing any other intersection.
Have I been lucky?

I started looking into it and a few years ago CDOT commissioned a study about pedestrian safety and here are the results.
The study was prepared for the city of Chicago by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, June 2007.
Worst intersections for pedestrians:
Number of pedestrian collisions: Location
 13: M L King & 79th
 11: ASHLAND & 79TH
 10: CALIFORNIA & NORTH
 9: CICERO & MADISON
 8: Pulaski & Irving Park
 8: KEDZIE & NORTH
 8: HALSTED & 95TH
 8: MICHIGAN & MONROE
 7: CLARK & WASHINGTON
 7: DEARBORN & RANDOLPH
 6: CENTRAL & BELMONT
 6: PULASKI & LAKE
 6: PULASKI & ROOSEVELT
 6: CALIFORNIA & 63RD
 6: WESTERN & ADDISON
 6: WESTERN & 63RD
 6: WESTERN & 71ST
 6: Paulina & 79th
 6: ASHLAND & 69TH
 6: Wacker & Madison
 6: CLARK & DIVISION
 6: DEARBORN & WASHINGTON
 6: WABASH & JACKSON
 6: STATE & 79TH
 5: AUSTIN & BELMONT
 5: AUSTIN & CHICAGO
 5: LARAMIE & CHICAGO
 5: PULASKI & 26TH
 5: KIMBALL & BELMONT
 5: Kimball & 16th
 5: CALIFORNIA & 55TH
 5: CALIFORNIA & 71ST
 5: WESTERN & DEVON
 5: WESTERN & NORTH
 5: SOUTHPORT & ADDISON
 5: SHEFFIELD & WEBSTER
 5: Halsted & Clark
 5: HALSTED & 69TH
 5: WELLS & MONROE
 5: CLARK & MADISON
 5: DEARBORN & MADISON
 5: Dearborn & Jackson
 5: STATE & MONROE
 5: STATE & ADAMS
 5: MICHIGAN & CHICAGO
 5: MICHIGAN & DELAWARE
 5: COTTAGE GROVE & 81ST
 5: JEFFERY & 79TH

You will notice that not a single one of these dangerous intersections is a six corner intersection.

Only one came close, Halsted & Clark. It is a five corner intersection. If you have been there, you know that it is not really an intersection at all, but an unholy maelstrom of surface parking and curb cuts.
Even then, it was at the bottom of the list.

Clearly, they aren’t any more dangerous than a four corner intersection.
So why are they getting such a bad rap?

Because we have confused the concept of not being “pedestrian friendly” with being dangerous.
We have to cross more streets than we would on a four corner. To perform the simple task of traveling on the same street in the same direction, we have to cross twice as many streets and traffic in twice as many directions.

We have to travel farther and check the traffic twice as often and percieve this as dangerous.
In reality it is much more dangerous crossing at a corner with a gas station or a parking lot on it.

Paul K. Dickman

The full study can be read at:
http://www.walkinginfo.org/training/collateral/resources/ChicagoPedestrian_final.pdf


*I owe this guy an apology for taking his statement out of context.
“To many visitors of Chicago unacquainted with the workings of a six-way intersection, these spots can be a confusing and dangerous experience, particularly if driving a car or simply trying to walk across the street.”
The rest of the paragraph is this:
“But to us locals, six-ways are where we want to be.”
It is part of the introduction to an enjoyable photo essay on six corner intersections and can be found here:
http://www.gabrielbiller.com/sixways/index.html