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Left Turn Lane at the Intersection of N. Pulaski Rd. and W. Devon Ave.
Location: Intersection of N. Pulaski Rd. and W. Devon Ave.
Left turns at this intersection are difficult and dangerous due to speeding cars and limited visibility. Long lines of cars trying to turn left can wait through 3-4 cycles before making it through the intersection. This causes congestion for everyone. Creating a dedicated turn lane will help reduce the congestion and make it easier for cars to turn left
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All proposals have been assessed by the PB Committee for possible inclusion on the Cycle 3 ballot. This project was not selected for the ballot by the Safety and Environment Committee. To learn more about ballot creation, PB Committee, and the 39th Ward Participatory Budgeting process, please click on the "The Steps" tab above.
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Conversation with Robert Kastigar
Left-turn arrows should be eliminated at every intersection.
When the left-turn arrow is active the pedestrian crossing is stopped in all four directions, providing a cars-over-pedestrian advantage.
When it's raining, pedestrians must wait in the rain when drivers sitting inside closed cars can turn faster.
When it's snowing, pedestrians must wait in the snow and cold so drivers sitting in warm cars can turn faster.
When it's hot, pedestrians must wait in the sun so drivers in air-conditioned cars can turn faster.
Very few intersections really need a left-turn arrow, especially when it used to give cars priority over pedestrians.
Go past the intersection of N. Pulaski Rd. and W. Devon Ave. and provide three right turns. This will handle the traffic without penalizing the pedestrians.
Protected left turn phasing (i.e., green arrows) are a measure to improve safety for drivers in addition to improving traffic flow; this type of phasing can significantly reduce severe collisions, saving lives. Additionally, this type of phasing improves safety for pedestrians by providing a dedicated phase for drivers to complete left turns to avoid requiring them to maneuver against oncoming traffic (i.e., "permissive" phasing with no green arrow), which will also conflict with crossing pedestrian traffic--even when you have the "walk" signal, you have vehicles crossing the crosswalk while completing left turns. From a safety perspective, protected left turn phasing provides major benefits to pedestrians despite the slight delay that it may incur. Greater improvements to pedestrian flow and access can be achieved through treatments such as leading pedestrian intervals, bumpouts, traffic calming, and measures to improve yielding at uncontrolled crosswalks.
This would require some reconfiguration of existing lanes on the south and north sides of the intersection. South of the intersection, Pulaski appears to be intended as a two-lane roadway, expanding to four lanes only at the approach to the intersection. Instead of this expansion, the left lane could be converted to a dedicated left turn only lane. This should be paired with the installation of a 5-section signal head to support protected left turn phasing if warranted since the safety concern is related to conflicting traffic. South of the intersection, two lanes of traffic must quickly merge into one, creating another significant conflict. By similarly converting the left lane on the southbound approach to a left turn only lane, this conflict can be avoided while also providing storage for left turns. This would also allow space for the left turn lanes to be positively offset to further improve visibility and safety for left turns from Pulaski.
A left turn lane would help with traffic flow along northbound Pulaski and southbound Crawford. A road diet here would also slow vehicle speeds upon entry to Chicago from Lincolnwood.
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