Pulaski, Slow tf down!

South Pulaski Road has a major safety issue: cars and semis flying off the nearby Stevenson Expressway, and barreling out of control through our neighborhoods.

In 2024, after the tragic deaths of two of our neighbors, Jiekun Xu and Charlie Mills, in car crashes, we began a safety campaign, Pulaski Slow TF Down, to draw legislative attention to this crisis.

Walking with Neighbors, Gathering Data

Weekly community walks along Pulaski with neighbors, as well as our partners at CDOT and the Active Transportation Alliance, allowed us to collect feedback from residents. An online survey was also circulated, garnering over 400 responses in a month's time.

Presenting Results, Engaging Community

The results of that survey were compiled into a live presentation, hosted at Curie High School, which sits at one of the busiest sections of Pulaski, at the Archer intersection. Infographics were distributed at this presentation and across our social media platforms to continue this conversation and keep attention on the issue throughout the summer.

CrashData4

Describe your image

CrashData1

Describe your image

CrashData4

Describe your image

1/5

Getting (Temporary) Results

Because of this action, we saw some temporary improvements made to slow traffic and increase safety at major intersections from 43rd to 63rd Streets. However, temporary improvements do not definitively solve a problem like this. We continue to organize our community in the interest of safer streets for everyone.

Organizing for Permanent Changes

When the school year began in the fall of 2024, we began visiting high school classrooms to engage students in a letter writing campaign to IDOT and elected officials, to press for more than temporary infrastructure. See below for our recommendations.

Recommending Solutions

There are immediate and longer-term solutions that we recommend implementing to make Pulaski safer for everyone - motorists, pedestrians, cyclists.

For example, the installation of a concrete planter box median could not only improve our air quality, but also potentially calm high-speed traffic.

Describe your image

1/4