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Chicago cyclists of color receive a disproportionate number of police tickets, according to Chicago Tribune reports. (WTTW News)
Chicago cyclists of color receive a disproportionate number of police tickets, according to Chicago Tribune reports. But a new study reveals that it’s not just about riding a bike in black or Latin, but also about where those cyclists are. Cycling advocates are hopeful that a new city initiative can help tackle the problem, but say it’s not just about infrastructure.
This initiative, announced by the Chicago Department of Transportation in late September, is what the city calls the largest extension of cycle paths ever in Chicago. The installation and upgrade effort, lasting two years and 160 km, will focus in particular on the western and southern neighborhoods that did not have the type of cycling infrastructure enjoyed by others. parts of town.
“I am excited about the expansion, but it needs to be done very carefully,” said Kate lowe, lecturer in town planning and urban policy at UIC.
Lowe says some residents associate bike lanes with gentrification and displacement, so community engagement is key – and she wants planners to think beyond the painted lanes.
“One thing a lot of cycling advocates would like to see more of is protected bike lanes, and this is also relevant to this intersection of police and cycling infrastructure,” Lowe said.
This intersection was the subject of a new study Written by Jesus Barajas from UC Davis. He found the same as previous surveys. “No more tickets in the black and brown quarters. There were six tickets per 1,000 in predominantly black neighborhoods and 0.7 per 1,000 in predominantly white neighborhoods, ”Barajas said.
But the study went further by examining the infrastructure in the areas where the tickets were issued. He revealed that bike lanes were disproportionately lacking in predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods.
“When people are driving on busy streets, they may not feel safe from traffic, so they will go to the sidewalk, and that is where you will get a ticket,” Barajas said. “When there was cycling infrastructure on these arteries, the ticket rate went down – in some cases up to 75%. “
The study also found no relationship between the number of tickets issued and the number of bicycle accidents, especially serious accidents.
“What we suspected – and I imagine any lawyer or person of color in the city of Chicago would confirm this with their own experience – (was) that this was really a pretext for other types of activity. for the police. It was not related to security, it was related to other reasons, ”Barajas said.
The study was part of the association Equityof the Mobility Justice project in Chicago. Lowe, who is part of the Equiticity research team, says the findings point to excessive surveillance in communities of color.
“There will be discriminatory policing that needs to change, even with bike lanes, but bike lanes can partially mitigate the impacts,” Lowe said.
And as the bike lanes expand, Equiticity calls on Chicago not to rely heavily on law enforcement as part of its “Vision Zero”Strategy to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on the roads. Barajas says this is a nationwide conversation: “How can we still reach this place where there are no fatalities on the roads without automatically relying on the forces of the order. “
The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Note: This story will be updated with a video.
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