Gary council hears update on city's Safety Action Plan

Chicago Tribune

05-03-2025

At the Gary Common Council's Tuesday meeting, City Engineer William Allen helped give an update on Gary's Safety Action Plan.
'This is a very important presentation for a very important project or goal for the city, which is to improve safety,' Allen said.
The city has developed its Safety Action Plan with help from Jake Vissers, senior transportation planner with TYLin, a global engineering and advisory firm that plans and designs infrastructure solutions, according to its website.
The plan was created through the Safe Street and Roads for All program, Allen said Tuesday night. The grant program was created through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and will appropriate $5 billion to American communities from 2022 to 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's website.
Gary could receive $10 million throughout the next two years to improve safety, Allen said. According to the Safety Action Plan website, the plan started to be developed in summer 2024 and will be completed this spring.
Vissers also spoke at Tuesday's council meeting and gave an overview of the plan. TYLin has worked with the city's redevelopment commission and Board of Public Works for nine months on the project.
'The project we're doing, the Safety Action Plan, is kind of the first step in this entire program,' Vissers said. 'In order to be eligible for any street way improvements, bike way improvements, general safety improvements, you need to have a Safety Action Plan finalized.'
The city's largest road safety-related issues include reckless driving, high speeds, dangerous crash types and pedestrian and bike crashes, according to data presented by Vissers.
Through the Safety Action Plan, the city and TYLin looked at traffic safety data and found that from 2018 to 2022, Gary had nearly 2,800 average annual crashes, with about 15 deaths annually. In that time, the city had 12 pedestrian and 2 cyclist deaths.
Pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths were seen more in the downtown and Broadway corridors, Vissers said. Nearly half of severe pedestrian crashes are hit and runs.
'Over those five years, despite making up a little over 2% of all crashes in the city, (pedestrians and cyclists) accounted for more than 7% of the serious injuries and fatalities,' he added.
Severe crashes were typically due to failure to yield, failure to reduce speed, improper or unsafe lane usage, disobeying traffic signs and signals, and roadway departure, according to Vissers' presentation.
The city aims to strengthen and modernize traffic enforcement and accountability programs. Vissers also recommends Gary implements a comprehensive traffic calming and speed management program, and that the city also works to make streets friendlier for walking, biking and taking transit.
Vissers recommends safety intervention and infrastructure investments along Gary's major roads, including Broadway, Ridge Road and Grant Street.
One recommendation included resizing the road near 25th Avenue and Grant Street to allow for bus lanes and left turn lanes. Vissers also recommends wider sidewalks and a shorter pedestrian crossing at the intersection.
'This intersection really could fit into anything shown on the high injury network,' Vissers said. 'This is the gist of the type of projects we're developing in our concepts.'
Councilman Dwight Williams, D-6th, expressed concerns with Gary's bus lanes and people racing buses to drive in the lanes. He also wants the city to make turn and bus lanes
'To me, the citizens of Gary are treating the streets as a race track,' Williams said. 'I know we're doing our best, we're labeling the streets and turn lanes. But, if you're not paying attention or if you're not a focused driver, you're going to cause an accident.'
Councilwoman Marian Ivey, D-4th, asked how reducing road lanes would reduce accidents. Allen said that if the road width is smaller, people will be less likely to speed through the intersection.
Council acting President Lori Latham, D-1st, asked Allen for better stop signs throughout the city.
'I've looked into the stop signs that blink red,' Latham said. 'I get complaints about a number of stop signs in the first district.'
Latham also asked how Gary's fatality and accident data compare to state or national numbers. Vissers said he can give specific numbers later in the project but that Gary's numbers are close to data from Indiana and Chicago.
Latham also asked how community members can contribute to the Safety Action Plan, and Vissers said they can give feedback online.
In July 2024, the city of Gary requested resident feedback in a street safety survey, according to the city's website. Resident feedback was used to help create the Safety Action Plan, Vissers said.
The city and TYLin will work to apply for implementation grants next and will have an update on the process later.