Dear Alderman Waguespack,

On January 23, a hit-and-run took place on West Armitage and North Hoyne Avenues. The incident occurred just one day after a Wauconda man was charged for a hit-and-run at the same intersection that left a woman critically injured last May. Numerous other collisions have occurred at Armitage and Hoyne. On August 12, residents and bar patrons reported a separate hit-and-run at that location.  From 2018 until now, the Chicago Police Department recorded forty crashes at the intersection, 25% of which resulted in injuries. Those of us who live there have witnessed numerous accidents, including several over the past year.

The intersection of Armitage and Hoyne encompasses residential buildings, a bar and a Daycare Center. The vast majority of crashes took place during clear weather conditions. Those accidents with identifiable causes occurred due to the failure for a driver to yield the right-of-way.

One local resident emailed your office about the rate of incidents at Armitage and Hoyne prior to the recent hit-and-run. A representative issued a response including the following:

“There used to be in street state law pedestrian signs, but they were knocked down so quickly/frequently that Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) determined it wasn't viable to keep replacing them.”

We are concerned that the response to continued incidents was to remove pedestrian signs rather than implement increased traffic flow measures. We also question the claim that curb extensions have “been an effective strategy for calming traffic speeds and increasing the visibility of pedestrians,” as stated in the same email response. We believe that a traffic light or stop sign would reduce the rate of collisions at Armitage and Hoyne, per existing evidence.

We, the undersigned residents, business owners, employees and school parents of the 2100 block of West Armitage Avenue, hereby petition CDOT to install a traffic signal on West Armitage Avenue at its intersection with North Hoyne Avenue. We make this demand out of concern for the safety of our community, including residents and visitors.