Let's build a safer Grand Avenue

In 2023, the Chicago Department of Transportation's (CDOT) Complete Streets team began community outreach for a proposal that eventually became the Grand Avenue Safety Improvements project. They had identified the area between Chicago Avenue and Ogden Avenue as a high-injury corridor, with high vehicle speeds and frequent crashes. They proposed to do a complete redesign of the street, improving safety for pedestrians, drivers, cyclists, and transit riders, including:

  • Concrete-protected bike lanes
  • Wider sidewalks for improved accessibility and a more pleasant walking experience
  • Raised crosswalks, pedestrian refuge islands, and reduced crossing distances to make it easier to cross the street
  • Bus boarding islands to cut down on merging time for buses and improve transit speed

CDOT is installing the upgrades in two phases. Phase 1 included all of Grand Avenue between Chicago and Damen, and was completed in Summer of 2024. Since then, the changes have proven to do exactly what they were intended to do: keep people safe. Bike ridership is up, and injuries are down across the board - even for drivers.

Now, in 2026, CDOT is getting ready to implement Phase 2, from Damen to Ogden. These changes have been anticipated by members of the community who are eager to see Grand Avenue become safer and more inviting.

Why do you support a safer Grand Avenue?

The design of our streets affects everyone. Maybe you bike to work. Maybe you walk to the park with your kids. However you use Grand Avenue, we want to hear from you! Fill out our form below to share your story.

Tell us your story!

I am very supportive of completing the Grand Avenue street safety project. I am a local librarian, resident of Humboldt Park and I use the protected bike lanes that were installed in the first phase of the project to get to work and back home safely every day. I am a year round bike commuter, and like many Chicagoans, we don't own a car in my household. I've been riding my bike on Grand since before the bike lanes were added and it was a scary experience due to the cars zipping by so fast it felt like it was a highway. I am delighted with the current bike lanes and would love to see the project continue as was the plan. I'm also glad that improvements have been done that make Grand safer and more accessible for pedestrians and those who catch the CTA bus. Streets should be for all, not just car drivers.

- Migdalia Jimenez

I live in an apartment I own in Humboldt Park in Ward 36 & work downtown near the Sears Tower. My wife is a participant in a locally owned small business right off Grand & Paulina. We are settled & extremely invested in the success of this side of Chicago.

I ride my bike year round to work 4x a week, with the start of my commute beginning on Grand. As soon as the Grand bike lane ends going east at Damen you either have to take side roads without bike lanes, or a worse option - go straight & stay on Grand. Bike lanes need to connect to each other to make them accessible. Biking (and driving) on Grand is one of the most dangerous things. There are no lanes. The only speed limit enforcement is from potholes. There is no way my wife, a newer bike rider, would ever ride to work along even a portion of this road.

Please make this crucial vein of the city safe & accessible. Don't let it be privatized by parking spots.

- Henry Buster

I'm a bike commuter and I live in West Town and volunteer at an urban farm in Humboldt Park. I primarily use Grand Ave to get to and from the farm, and the trip from Noble to Damen can be extremely harrowing, especially when it's dark. After hitting Damen, it's a biker's paradise! Also, my partner and I frequently walk (at least once or twice a week) as a pedestrian to many businesses on Grand, including Uncle Mike's, Publican Bakery, Breakfast House, and Goodwill, and as much as I love these places, it would be so much easier to walk there without feeling squeezed onto narrow, crumbling side walks which we often have to share with bikes and scooters, and it would be great to be able to cross the street without feeling lke it's crossing a major high speed road.

- Rhys

My oldest son (10) plays in a basketball league at the gym at Damen just south of Grand, we live north and west of there in Humboldt Park. Since these bike lanes were installed we can safely get to those practices every week riding in our cargo bike. We laugh, listen to music, get there quiclly and safely. And, we're able to do so without paying for gas, or adding to the traffic in the area.

- Matt

I live in the 26th Ward, and I can't count the number of times I felt unsafe when walking or riding my bike down Grand Ave. Smith Park has a ton of children and activities going on, and cars were zooming by 30 miles over the speed limit. I witnessed several car crashes on Grand, and I was once hit by a car running through a stop sign at Grand and Aberdeen. Since the bike lanes have been implemented, I feel infinitely safer! As far as concern about businesses suffering in the area, I haven't seen any declines in parking or foot traffic. The new Goodwill and the vintage housewares shops all seem to have steady clientele. The slowing down of car traffic on Grand is a win for businesses AND the residents in the area. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't seem to have any regard for facts.

- Casey Shoup

I have been a homeowner in West Town for over 20 years and this neighborhood is a beautiful, vibrant community for every season of life. Grand Avenue deserves to reflect that.

The evidence from cities across the country is consistent. When streets are redesigned with protected bike lanes, improved sidewalks, and better lighting, foot traffic increases, local businesses see stronger sales, and people who have never felt safe enough to bike alongside car traffic finally start showing up.

A protected Grand Avenue will also be something bigger than a local amenity, it will become a real corridor connecting people to jobs, schools, transit, and neighboring communities without needing a car. I am proud to support the Complete Streets program and cannot wait for the long family walks and safe bike rides down Grand.

- Robin

I am excited for safer and easier bike routes to great small businesses like Uncle Mikes, Publican, Output Lounge, and the Center of Order and Experimentation. The Grand bus doesnt run very often so I prefer biking to get to this part of town but its currently dangerous.

- Anonymous

I often ride along Grand between Humboldt Park and the West Loop, to take my daughter to and from school. The new bike lanes are wonderful: they protect us from aggressive drivers and make our school run much safer. They disappear east of Damen however, so we ride on Hubbard instead. This is not ideal: crossing Ashland is very dicey, as there is no stop sign or traffic light at Hubbard. Hubbard also gets a lot of car traffic at rush hour. Extending the protected bike lanes along Grand east of Damen would give us a protected route all the way to school!

- Omar Khan