Berwyn Bicycle Accident Attorneys

The Bicycle Injury Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. take note of Berwyn’s efforts to promote cycling as a means of transportation by improving safety and accessibility throughout the city. Located in Cook County, the City of Berwyn, including Berwyn Township is referred to by many as ‘The City of Homes.’ Comprised of an area of less than four square miles, and with a population of more than 56,000, Berwyn is known for having one of the highest population densities in all of Illinois. However, as a consequence of Berwyn’s high population density and the heavy traffic which accompanies it, the city’s bike accident incidence rate continues to be a concerning problem for residents and visitors alike.

Like many of its neighboring suburbs, changes are well underway in Berwyn to enhance the physical infrastructure, programs and policies that will provide safe, affordable, and convenient alternative means of transportation. As stated in Berwyn’s Active Transportation Plan.

“Livability means being able to take your kids to school, go to work, see a doctor, drop by the grocery or Post office, go out to dinner and a movie, play with your kids at the park—all without having to get in your car.”

Berwyn’s has one of the most extensive, all-encompassing, and well-thought-out plans in all of the Chicago Metropolitan area. While the city has a long way to go in reaching its goals, its efforts are certainly commendable. Some noteworthy plan components include:

• Complete Networking. Providing infrastructure that enables safe travel within the city, as well as facilitating travel to areas outside the city, in consideration of planning efforts in surrounding cities. As stated in the plan, “[t]he bicycle and pedestrian network in Berwyn begins at every resident’s front door and ends at the places they visit, laugh, learn, play and work.”
• Community Encouragement. Create awareness and promote walking and biking through community feature events; business spot-light events; social activities; cycling/walking groups; and distribution of network and route maps. Obtain designation as a bike-friendly city through the League of American Bicyclists.
• Ordinance Improvement & Enforcement. Establishing and/or amending existing bicycle ordinances, to address issues such as right-of-way, bike-lane parking, and bike-to-vehicle parking ratios, as well as incorporating ‘meaningful’ penalties for violators, providing police training, and utilizing targeted enforcement methods based upon bicycle crash data.
• Signage. Incorporating: (1) Wayward/Directional signage that identify roads, routes and destinations in bike-friendly areas; (2) Safety signage, such as ‘must stop for pedestrians’ signs at unsignalized crosswalks; and (3) Gateway Signage, including enhanced landscaping, at entrances to communities and key districts. Safety Initiatives & Education. Media Campaigns (including use of local outlets and internet-based resources); Ambassador Programs; Identification and implementation of distribution strategies for informative publications, leaflets, and brochures. For example, see Bicycling in Berwyn.
• Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS). In conjunction with the SRTS, a federally funded program that “helps communities identify social and physical barriers to walking and bicycling to school, the city of Berwyn partnered with the Active Transportation Alliance, to create a ‘School Travel Plan.’ Centered around the Five E’s of SRTS—education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering, and evaluation—the plan’s goals are aimed at decreasing vehicle traffic around schools, through implementing safety improvements that will increase the rate of children that bike or walk to school.

More information regarding completed and future projects in Berwyn, can be accessed through the city’s official website.

If you or someone close to you has been injured in a bicycle accident or you are survivor of a cyclist who has died in a road accident, contact the Berwyn Bicycle Accident Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. by visiting our web site or call us at 773-516-4100 to make an appointment for a FREE consult to discuss your legal options.