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Written by Peter Zneimer

Chicago has had only 0ne bicyclist fatality in 2024 as of September 16, 2024. Though any bike death is a tragedy, that number is a vast improvement from previous years.  According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, Chicago reported seven bicyclist deaths in 2023, 10 deaths in 2022, and 11 in 2021.  The question that Chicago city officials and bike safety advocates is contemplating is whether the decrease is a fluke or whether the decrease can be attributed to actions taken by the city to improve bike safety.

The bike injury lawyers of Zneimer and Zneimer P.C. note that the city of Chicago has been committed to broad program to improve bike safety in the city. Chicago, in recent years, has instituted 50 miles of bike safety upgrades and 27 miles protected bike lanes that have been completed by the Chicago Department of Transportation.  Though improvements have been made, Chicago has a ways to reach its vision zero goals of zero traffic deaths since there have been 22 pedestrian deaths and 41 traffic deaths in Chicago through July of 2024 according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.

Anyone who regularly rides their bicycle along Chicago’s Lakefront Trail will have noticed the proliferation of people riding electric bikes in the last few years.  The bike injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. note there appears to be a dearth of research regarding the safety of electric bikes in relation to regular pedal bikes.  As the popularity of electric bikes continue to grow and as more electric bikes  are being ridden on our roads and bike paths, there has been growing awareness that perhaps electric bikes need to be treated differently than regular bicycles.

In a recent study conducted by U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission it was reported that there were 53,200 e-bike crash injuries recorded.  More telling is that the study showed that electric bike injuries increased from 3,500 in 2017 to 24,400 in 2022 which shows how rapidly electric bike injuries are increasing.  Governmental entities are currently grappling with how to treat electric bikes.  Should they be treated like pedal bicycles or should they be treated more like motorcycles. Safety experts point out that electric bike users face a greater risk of serious injury or death for the obvious reason that electric bikes are heavier and faster than regular bikes.  WaBiffl MD, trauma medical director at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and trauma surgeon at Scripps Clinic is quoted on Scripps Health website regarding electric bikes: “They go much faster, and this may create risk for hitting pedestrians who can’t get out of the way in time, or with motor vehicles, whose drivers do not anticipate a bike moving so fast,” He continues: “There’s also more momentum and the stopping distance will be much greater.”

As a frequent bicycle bike rider on Chicago’s Lakefront Trail, Chicago bike accident lawyer, Peter Zneimer, of Zneimer & Zneimer PC has noticed a big change within the last two years with the increase of electric bike usage.  The Lakefront trail has always been dangerous. The path is often congested in the summer months with bicyclist of all types from people who regularly ride on the path to tourists who have rented bikes and are on the path for the first time. Add to the mix pedestrians, including children and people unfamiliar with the park walking and crossing the path without paying attention, unaware of the dangers. There are also roller bladders, runners, families with baby strollers, skateboarders and everyone else enjoying Grant Park in the summer. The trail was plenty dangerous already with bicyclists riding too fast given the many potential dangers, causing serious injuries to both pedestrians and other bicyclists.  Now the situation is exponentially  more dangerous.  It is not unusual today to be pedaling a bicycle at a good clip on the bike path and be passed by someone on an electric bike that more resembles a motorcycle than a bike a bicycle going 20 to 35 miles per hour.  At the present time, there appears to be no restrictions as to what class of electric bikes are permitted on the Lakefront Trail.  There are no Chicago ordinances nor any signage on the path itself restricting speeds  or restricting the types of electric bikes allowed.  The city of Chicago seems to be relying on people to use their common sense to go slow in crowded areas when so many children, pedestrians and tourists are present. Unfortunately, common sense seems to be in short supply on the bike path.  Peter Zneimer has on many occasions witnessed people on electric bikes weaving at high speed through crowds of pedestrians and other bicyclists. Sadly, Peter Zneimer, has also witnessed serious injuries and even death on the bike path due to bike riders going too fast for conditions. Inevitably, with the higher speed and heavier electric bikes there will be even more severe injuries and deaths on the Lakeshore Bike Trail.  The wise course would be to restrict electric bike speed and classes on the bike path proactively and not wait until the injuries and deaths pile up before taking action.

In recent years, Chicago has prioritized making the city safer for bicyclists. The lawyers of the personal injury  law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. note that Chicago has added miles and miles of bike lanes across the city.  Some of these lanes are simply painted lines designating bike lanes.  In the best cases, the bike lanes are separated from motor vesicle traffic by some type of barrier.

In one study conducted by Clever, a real estate website rated cities based on how “bikeable” the city is, measuring factors like the number of bike trails, bike rentals shops and how many people were involved in fatal car crashes as a percentage of bike users.  This study rated Chicago 20th out of the 50 cities rated, finding that Chicago scored favorably as to the number of bike commuters and the number of fatal crashes along with other fact.

In a more robust study conducted by the People For Bikes organization, Chicago scored much worse.  This study focused primarily on whether the city had safe passage routes connecting the city in an interconnected network.  In this study, out of 1616 cities ranked, Chicago ranked 1386.  This study gave cities a “Network Score” based on the extent of a cities bike route network.  Chicago scored poorly on every component. On bike access to parts of the city where people live, Chicago scored a 3 on a scale of 100.  On accesses to jobs and school, the score was 6 on a scale of 100.  On access to basic services like grocery stores, Chicago scored 4 on a scale of 100.

Chicago Andre Vasquez has proposed streamlining the process to have cars and trucks towed that are blocking a bike lane.  Alderman Vasquez commented that: “cars just don’t care.  They’re parking there, waiting there. double-parking there.  Even when we had the Department of Finance ticket them, they weren’t moving.  By giving the Department of Finance the ability to tow them, it would incentivize people not to do it so they don’t get their towed.”

Additionally, the proposed ordinance would require signs to be posted that a bike lane will be closed 24 hours in advance whenever a permit is issued to do work that would close a bike lane.

The Alderman’s proposal was in response to a tragic accident that occurred on June 9, 2022 where a mother on a bicycle with a toddler named Lily seated in a carrier was riding down Leland Avenue bike lane.  Lily’s mother came upon a ComEd truck that was parked in the bike lane doing work.  Lily’s mother attempted to steer around the truck parked in the bike lane and was forced to maneuver by a semi-truck.  The semi-truck began to move causing Lily’s mother to lose her balance which caused Lily to be thrown to the roadway under the wheels of the semi.  Alderman Vasquez stated that he firmly believes that Lily would still be alive if his proposed ordinance were in affect at the time this incident occurred.