Mayor Brandon Johnson, CDOT Celebrate 100 Miles of New Bikeways with Completion of Milwaukee Avenue Improvements

CHICAGO - Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) today celebrated the completion of a major safety improvement project on Milwaukee Avenue, marking over 100 miles of new bikeways installed under Mayor Johnson's administration. The project comes as Chicago continues to see meaningful progress on traffic safety, with Chicago experiencing about a 30 percent decline in traffic fatalities since 2021.

"Building safer streets for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers is a vital facet of our work building healthy, whole, and safe communities across our city," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "Today we celebrate a historic milestone-over 100 miles of new bikeways installed in just the first two years of our administration. These projects are making a real difference in our mission to prevent traffic fatalities and build safer, more livable communities. I look forward to continuing to work with CDOT and leaders like Alderman La Spata as we build out safer transportation network across Chicago."

"Chicago has made significant progress in recent years, surpassing 100 miles of new bikeways under Mayor Johnson's leadership and seeing traffic fatalities continue to decline," said CDOT Acting Commissioner Craig Turner. "Our work on Milwaukee Avenue is just one example of how we're redesigning streets to reflect the different ways people move around Chicago. We look forward to building on this momentum to make Chicago's streets even safer and more connected in the years ahead."

CDOT recently completed a major resurfacing project on Milwaukee Avenue between Kinzie Street and Chicago Avenue, which transformed one of Chicago's busiest bike routes with improved concrete protected bike lanes, redesigned intersections, bus boarding islands, and pedestrian safety infrastructure to make the corridor safer for all road users.

"It has been wonderful to watch the success of the Chicago Cycling Strategy and I'm so excited to celebrate these first 100 miles of bike lanes under Mayor Johnson," said Alderman Daniel La Spata, Chairman of the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety. "I can't help but think of Sam Bell, a 1st Ward cyclist who lost his life on this stretch several years ago. I believe he would be proud of the work that we celebrate today, to know that his death was not in vain."

"Hitting this milestone is a real achievement! But it's also a call to action. We've been working continuously to make improvements for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers throughout the city so that all Chicagoans can move around safely," said Alderwoman Ruth Cruz, Vice Chair of the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety. "Each of us has a part to play in making that happen - and these advancements make it easier for all of us to live active, healthy lifestyles."

Under Mayor Johnson's leadership, more than 100 miles of new bikeways have been built, and Chicago will surpass 500 miles citywide this year. Guided by the Chicago Cycling Strategy, 82 percent of these new projects are low-stress bikeways - protected bike lanes or neighborhood greenways designed to provide comfortable routes for people of all ages and abilities. Chicago is on track in 2025 to deliver the highest percentage of low-stress bikeway installations to date, with a record 15 miles of protected bike lanes and 22 miles of neighborhood greenways.

"In the past few years, Chicago streets have benefited from a surge in the number of protected bike lanes CDOT has been installing. Milwaukee Avenue, known as the busiest cycling street in the city, is finally becoming a protected bike lane corridor as sections of the street get upgraded with concrete protection. We celebrate the completion of the Milwaukee Avenue project between Chicago Avenue and Kinzie Street," said Alex Perez, Advocacy Manager at Active Transportation Alliance. "It's important to note that the infrastructure changes made on Milwaukee Avenue is about creating a safer environment for all road users - people walking, biking, and driving. The rise in crashes involving people walking and biking across Chicago has triggered more awareness of the need for safer infrastructure on our streets. By focusing on building streets that are safer for all road users we would create a culture of slower, safer driving that could help prevent these tragedies."

These investments are fueling a ridership boom, reflected in record ridership on Divvy, Chicago's city-owned bike and scooter sharing system. As part of a successful public-private partnership, the City and Lyft, the operator of Divvy, are expanding access and affordability with new stations, densified docks downtown, reduced annual membership cost for new and lapsed members, and other rider-focused improvements. The results have been a record-breaking year for Divvy, with over 5 million bike and scooter trips so far this year, including consecutive months of record ridership in July and August.

"August's record 995,000 Divvy rides shows what happens when great infrastructure meets accessible micromobility," said Sean Madison, Divvy General Manager. "Milwaukee Avenue's protected lanes make people feel safe enough to choose bikes and scooters, and our expanded network of stations, devices, and charging infrastructure ensures Lyft is there to serve and connect Chicagoans when they need it. This is how cities transform, one ride at a time."

Since the 2021 peak, traffic fatalities in Chicago have decreased by 30 percent, even as traffic volumes have rebounded following the COVID-19 pandemic and more Chicagoans are choosing to travel using active modes. Chicago is outperforming national trends, where traffic fatalities in the U.S. are estimated to be down about just 8 percent from 2021.

Chicago is seeing this downward trend continue in 2025. Preliminary data show 64 traffic fatalities through the end of August, including 22 pedestrian fatalities - both the lowest year-to-date totals in over a decade.

This progress reflects the Johnson administration's commitment to sustained investment in safety. With the support of capital bond funding from Mayor Johnson's Build Better Together initiative, CDOT is incorporating Complete Streets design elements across all projects, increasingly adding features such as curb extensions, raised crosswalks, bike lanes, and pedestrian refuge islands to improve visibility, calm traffic, and reduce dangerous speeding.

To stay up to date on projects, explore Chicago's bike network, and learn about traffic safety programs, visit Chicago.gov/CompleteStreets.