US ALL TO SLOW DOWN.

ALDERMAN DANIEL, A SPOT IS SPONSORING AN ORDINANCE TO REDUCE CHICAGO CITYWIDE SPEED LIMIT FROM 30 MILES PER HOUR TO 25 ADVOCATES SAY IT COULD SIGNIFICANTLY CURB THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC INJURIES AND FATALITIES.

BUT CRITICS ARE RAISING CONCERNS OVER ENFORCEMENT, PRACTICALITY AND ECONOMIC DRAWBACKS AND QUESTION WHETHER THE MEASURE IS REALLY AN ATTEMPT TO RAISE REVENUE FOR THE CITY THROUGH INCREASED TRAFFIC FINES.

JOINING US NOW WITH MORE, OUR AUDREY WINNICK SENIOR DIRECTOR OF THE METROPOLITAN PLANNING COUNCIL AND W ROBERT SCHULTZ, THE 3RD IN CAMPAIGN ORGANIZER AT THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE WE ALSO REACHED OUT TO SOME OPPONENTS OF THIS PLAN.

THEY WERE, HOWEVER, UNABLE TO JOIN US THIS EVENING.

WE ARE APPRECIATIVE THAT YOU BOTH ARE.

HOWEVER, AUDREY, WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN WITH YOU.

THE PROPOSAL WOULD SLOW DOWN 5 MILES AN HOUR.

WHY WOULD SUCH A SMALL CHANGE MAKE A BIG IMPACT?

IT'S REALLY QUITE AMAZING.

I MEAN, DRIVING 5 MILES AN HOUR.

LAST MEANS YOU HAVE SHORTER STOPPING DISTANCE.

DRIVERS RIGHT NOW THEY NEED ABOUT 120 FEET TO STOP AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

AND THEY ONLY NEED ABOUT 85 FEET.

SO IT REALLY MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF PHYSICS IN TERMS OF I'VE SEEING STRANDS PEOPLE CROSSING THE STREET, THE VIEW YOU HAVE IS ARE REALLY WIDE AND A LOT WHEN YOU SLOW DOWN AND THE CHANCE OF A PERSON DYING IS ABOUT 50%.

LAST CAR KITS HITS A PEDESTRIAN.

SO THERE ARE SO MANY BETTER BECAUSE THE CAR'S GOING SO MUCH SLOWER, THE FORCE THAT YOU HIT SOMEBODY WEST TO YEAH.

THE PHYSICS OF IT NOW THERE ARE, HOWEVER, OTHER THINGS THAT COULD BE DONE, PRESUMABLY TO ENHANCE PUBLIC SAFETY OTHER THAN CHANGING THE SPEED LIMIT AND THINKING ABOUT ROAD SIZE, ADDING BIKE LANES, THOSE THOSE ISLANDS WHERE IT STARTED BUT RAISED CROSSWALK AREN'T.

THERE ARE OTHER MEASURES THE CITY COULD TAKE.

AND THEY THE CITY IS DOING AND I THINK THE POINT HERE IS THAT WE NEED TO DO BECAUSE IT OBVIOUSLY OF A LOT OF MILES OF ROAD IN THIS CITY AND SIDEWALK.

AND IT TAKES TIME.

SO THE CITY IS DOING THAT.

BUT WE ALSO NEED TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CHANGING THEIR SPEEDS.

AND SO IF THEY CHANGE SPEED LIMIT, THEY NEED TO CHANGE ALL THE SIGNS.

AND SO JUST HAVING THE SIGNAGE ALONE WOULD A MASSIVE EDUCATION CAMPAIGN.

AND SO THAT WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO PEOPLE'S TO BEHAVIOR.

WE WOULD HELP.

AND WE'VE SEEN OTHER CITIES ARE SAYING BASICALLY PEOPLE WOULD NOTICE THE SIGNS CHANGING, SAY, GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

YEAH, EXACTLY.

NOT ONE ABOUT YOU, ROBERT.

YOU'RE ON BOARD WITH THIS PLAN.

HOW COME?

YES, ABSOLUTELY.

ONE OF THE REASONS SAYS BY SAYING GO DEFAULT, SPEED LIMIT THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR SPEED LIMIT IS RIGHT NOW.

WE HAVE SCHOOL ZONES AND OTHER ZONES WHERE YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE IN THAT ZONE AND YOU HAVE SLOW DOWN.

AND SO YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL YOU GET IT TAKEN, RIGHT, RIGHT.

ABSOLUTELY.

SO IT WITH THE LOWER SPEED LIMIT.

THERE'S NO MORE GUESSING AND IT MAKES IT SAFE FOR PEOPLE BOTH INSIDE THE CAR AND OUTSIDE THE CAR AND THEN HIT A COUPLE TIMES.

YOU CAN HIT A COUPLE OF TIMES AND IN FACT, I HAD A FAMILY MEMBER THAT OVER THE WEEKEND AND FUN.

EVEN IMPACT CAN CAUSE IN CASE OF MY NEPHEW, UNLIKE CONCUSSION.

WHEN I GOT HIT, I VERY BRUISED.

THAT STAYED WITH ME FOR SEVERAL AND IT WAS LIKE A SUV WITH THE HOOD LIKE RIGHT HERE.

AND I'M A TALL PERSON.

AND, YOU KNOW, CARS ARE GETTING EVERY YEAR AND PEOPLE ARE GETTING MORE RECKLESS WITH THEIR DRIVING BEHAVIOR GOT TO GET TOO MUCH INTO THE DETAILS OF WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.

BUT IS IT SOMETHING WHERE YOU THINK 5 MILES AN HOUR WOULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE?

WAS THAT A CAR GOING AT A SLOW SPEED?

ALL THEY DID WAS TURN AROUND THE CORNER, BUT THEY WEREN'T OBSERVANT THAT I WAS IN THE CROSSWALK AND I HAD THE WAY TO CROSS THE STREET THEY HIT TO SLOW SPEED.

BUT EVEN AT A SLOW SPEED WITH A MASSIVE SUV THAT CAUSED A SEVERE BRUISE IN.

SO THAT IS PART OF THIS, RIGHT, AUDREY, THAT OUR CARS ARE CHANGING TRAFFIC BEHAVIOR IS CHANGING ABOUT ON THE PART OF DRIVERS WHO ARE, I DON'T KNOW.

ARE THEY BUSY LOOKING AT THEIR PHONES?

IS THAT MAYBE SOMETHING IT AGAIN NEEDS TO BE EXPLORED?

WELL, DESTRUCTION IS CERTAINLY PART OF THE PROBLEM.

BUT WE'VE SEEN CRASHES AND FATALITIES INCREASED A LOT OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.

THE 10 YEARS OR SO.

AND IT'S A COMBINATION OF PEOPLE BEING MORE RECKLESS AND SPEEDING.

WE'VE SEEN BEHAVIOR GET A LOT WORSE DURING COVID AND IT STAYED WORSE.

THERE'S A LOT ROAD WE SEE THAT 40% OF ALL THE FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES IN OUR REGION ARE REALLY 2 SPEEDING AND AGGRESSIVE DRIVING.

SO WE REALLY ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN CUT DOWN ON PEOPLE SPEED IN AND HELP THEM DRIVE IN A VERY PARTISAN MANNER OF WHAT'S AROUND THEM.

ROBERT, YOU SUPPORT THIS, BUT YOU DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS AS IT RELATES TO EQUITY.

THIS IS SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT IT SORT OF ENFORCEMENT AND YOU'RE CONCERNED THAT BE TARGETED.

YES, ON A WHOLE TABLE.

I'VE BEEN WORKING ISSUES RELATED TO PRETEXTUAL TRAFFIC STOPS AND RACIAL PROFILING.

AND THEN ALSO WE'RE WORKING ON THE ISSUE OF EQUITABLE FINES, A FINE FOR LOW INCOME PERSON IS ECONOMICALLY BURDENSOME.

WHERE IS FOR SOMEONE WITH MORE MEANS OF FINE.

IT'S LIKE A LITTLE FLY ON ON THE RIGHT.

SO AS WE BEGIN TO REEXAMINE HOW WE HAVE OUR STREETS WITH WHAT THE SPEED LIMITS ARE, WHAT ARE THE FINES, HOW WE RECONSTRUCT OR STREETS?

I USED TO LIVE NEAR CICERO AND IT'S EXPRESSWAY THE WAY PEOPLE DRIVE ON IT BECAUSE THE LANES ARE WIDE.

SO WE HAVE TO TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO THIS SOMEWHAT INFORCEMENT FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS LOOK LIKE, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

NOT A MONETARY PENALTY.

IF SOMEBODY WERE GO PAST A LOWER SPEED LIMIT.

I THINK THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO EXPLORE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND OUR ALDERMAN.

BUT CERTAINLY WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT FINDS TELL PEOPLE TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR.

BUT WE DON'T WANT FINES TO BE ECONOMIC BURDENS SUCH THAT THEY'RE DRIVEN INTO DEBT.

ISN'T SOMETHING OUT.

JUST THEY PASSED A RESOLUTION INTRODUCED A RESOLUTION AT THE SAME TIME AS THIS ORDINANCE, WHICH WOULD SET UP AN INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP THAT WOULD HAVE ABOUT A YEAR BEFORE ORDINANCE WOULD GO INTO EFFECT TO FIGURE OUT THE STUFF OUT BECAUSE IT WASN'T EVEN POSSIBLE.

OTHER OPTIONS.

BUT YOU YEAH.

I MEAN, IF YOU PASS IT ALONG AND YOU DON'T ENFORCE IT, WHAT'S THE POINT, RIGHT?

SO YOU DO NEED TO ENFORCE BUT YOU CAN DO YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DO PHASED IN WARNINGS YOU CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PRICING OF THE DAY THE TICKET IS.

YOUR CONGRATULATED PRICE?

EXACTLY.

YOU COULD HAVE GRADUATED PRICING BASED ON INCOME THERE.

THERE ARE STRATEGIES YOU CAN TAKE TO TRY TO MAKE IT.

YOU WANT TO MAKE THE THE IMPACT REASONABLE.

BUT ALSO HAVE IT HAVE AN IMPACT.

SO PEOPLE NOTICE IT AND THEY WANT TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR.

AND WITH THIS ENDORSEMENT, THE MOSTLY UP TO SPEED CAMERAS BECAUSE POLICE OR OTHERWISE ARE OVERBURDENED AS IT IS OR WELL SPEAKING A PART OF CERTAIN WE HAVE TO BE CAMERAS HERE.

IT WOULD BE PROBABLY A COMBINATION.

YOU KNOW THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE DETERMINED ONCE THEY GET LOWER THAT SPEED LIMIT.

WE TALK ABOUT UNLOCKING THE POSSIBILITY OF REDESIGNING THE STREETS TO SUPPORTS LOWER SPEED LIMIT.

BUT UNTIL YOU LOWER YOU DON'T GET THAT UNLOCKING THE FACT.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO FOLKS WHO THAT THERE IS?

OF COURSE, THE CONCERN THAT THIS IS A MONEY GRAB, BUT MAYBE ALSO PEOPLE WHO JUST SAY I'M ALREADY GOING CRAZY BEING STUCK IN TRAFFIC.

IF YOU LOWER THE SPEED, IT'S GOING TO TAKE ME EVEN MORE.

THIS IS JUST GOING UP BY ROAD RAGE.

WELL, IT'S I MEAN, PEOPLE THINK THAT.

BUT YOU'RE IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH, YOU KNOW, CHICAGO IS, YOU'RE GOING FROM SPEED LET THIS TRAFFIC LIGHT TRAFFIC LATE AND STOP SIGN TO STOP SIGN.

SO, YOU KNOW, REALLY JUST GUNNING IN BETWEEN TRAFFIC LIGHTS IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, PREVENT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE REALLY NOT GOING TO SAVE HER OR ANY MORE TIME BECAUSE GOING TO BE STUCK AT THOSE LIGHTS.

YEAH, NOT REALLY.

I MEAN, 5 MILES AN HOUR IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS, IT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE YOUR TRAVEL TIME.

MUCH IT.

I THINK WE'VE GOT ABOUT 10 SECONDS.

LAST WORD GOES TO YOU, ROBERT CHA GOING TO BE THE FIRST WE WANT TO KIND BE SAFE FOR EVERYONE, WHETHER YOU'RE