Accidents, Citations at New Ogden Crosswalk a Concern

A 53-year-old bicyclist suffered mild injuries in an accident at the Ogden Avenue crosswalk from Woodland Avenue to Bemis Woods on Sunday evening, the Doings Western Springs reports, the second accident to occur at the crossing since May. (The first was a rear-end collision while a pedestrian was using the crossing, before the new flashing lights were live.)

told the newspaper there have been 11 citations and warnings so far in 2012 at the crosswalk for vehicles not yielding to pedestrians. The report also notes that the Village is using a Hinsdale-based filmmaker to produce a safety training video about the crosswalk that will appear on YouTube.

After months of wrangling with IDOT, Cook County and the Forest Preserve District, the finished version of the renovated crosswalk was . A had over half of respondents saying that the renovated crosswalk was "likely to cause more trouble or danger than it fixes."

The system includes “rectangular rapid-flashing beacons,” or RRFBs, small slit-like high-intensity LEDs that flash back and forth to get attention. A cyclist or pedestrian intending to cross Ogden in either direction presses a button to activate the lights, for which motorists are required by law to stop.

“I would caution all of the public to continue to be very vigilant despite the fact that there are flashing lights out there bringing more attention to the crossing itself,” Village Engineer Jeffrey Ziegler told Patch in June. “You still need to be very cautious, similar to what you would be if there wasn’t the signal out there.”

A resident living at the corner of Ogden and Woodland told the Doings in early July that she had seen "about five accidents since the sign went up" and "two kids come within 18 inches of getting hit... 10-year-olds leaving Bemis Woods with their parents."

Doings columnist Vicki Gonia also gave a mostly positive impression of the crosswalk in an early-July piece.