Buffalo Grove Bicycle Accident Attorneys

Located in Illinois, in the counties of Cook and Lake, Buffalo Grove is a northern suburb of Chicago with quiet neighborhoods and open green spaces. Home to nearly 50 parks, Buffalo Grove was listed as number 65 on Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live” list in 2009. With its highly integrated and ever improving bike planning, the City offers a unique experience for bicyclists of all types. Home to the well-known Buffalo Creek Trail, and the Des Plaines River Trail, to name a few, Buffalo Grove has over 100 miles of paved bicycle trails, and over 200 miles of multi-use trails. In addition, Buffalo Groves offers over 50 miles of planned biking routes to its commuting bicyclists, and intends to implement many more miles in the years to come.

In its May 2013 bike plan agenda presentation, Buffalo Grove encouraged its residents to participate in public brainstorming, with the consideration of bicycling as both recreation and transportation. The desired outcome of this planning, as stated by planning participants is to “make the choice to bike around Buffalo Grove more inviting while better serving those who bike by necessity.” Some of the topics, concerning the scope of work to be implemented in future bike plans, addressed during the presentation were:

• Select roads, other trails and routes for an expanding bicycle network
  • Continuous network to destinations throughout town (& connect to adjacent towns)
  • Ideally: lower traffic, extra width, direct, not many stops, good crossings of busy roads
• Recommend treatments for each route
  • On-road (signage, striping) or off-road trails?
  • Other “spot improvements”
• Bike Parking recommendations
  • Shopping, businesses, and other destinations
  • Zoning and development ordinances
• Non-infrastructure efforts and outreach
  • Bring available resources to Buffalo Grove:
  • Education of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians
  • Encouragement/marketing
  • Enforcement
• Strategize a realistic implementation plan
  • Coordinate with development, repaving
  • State and federal grants
  • Other City capital projects
  • Eventually: “Bicycle-Friendly Community” award

The distinction between Buffalo Grove, and other Chicago suburbs is the City’s aforethought in its bike planning, which relies heavily on the inclusion of considerations derived from public brainstorming, such as the aforementioned. The significance of such planning is its contemplation of both why and where residents of Buffalo Grove bike, yet from the perspective of those who will be impacted most from such planning—Village residents. Through its realization that, while many bicyclists travel on bike paths for recreational purposes, many will also share the roadway with motorists as they travel for commuting purposes, Buffalo Grove has a clear aim in exceeding the standard proscribed by Illinois’ bike safety motto, ‘Hey Lets be Safe and Share the Road.’ The Bicycle Accident Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. support the City’s efforts in implementing safety and preventative measures, but also remind riders to maintain defensive riding practices. Cautious, safe, and responsible bicycling, as well as motorists’ continuing awareness of the presence of bicyclists is particularly important during the bike planning, implementation, and construction processes, which are not expected to reach full integration for some time to come.

Bicycling accidents can have a devastating financial and emotional impact on not only the injured, but also their loved ones. If you or a loved one were injured as a result of a bike accident, it is imperative that you know your legal options. Contact the Buffalo Grove Bicycling Accident Attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. today for a FREE personal injury consultation at 773-516-4100, or online at our website.