CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson today joined Ald. William Hall (6th), the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), school leaders, and community partners at Benjamin E. Mays Elementary Academy to celebrate new traffic safety improvements delivered around schools across Chicago, making it safer for students and families to get to and from school. These investments build on citywide progress in traffic safety, with traffic fatalities in Chicago declining 35 percent from their 2021 peak, compared with a 15% decline nationwide.

In Englewood, CDOT's School Zone Program delivered a coordinated package of traffic safety improvements benefiting six schools and nearly 2,000 students, designed to reduce dangerous speeding, improve pedestrian visibility, and create safer crossings for students and families.

"Every child deserves to be able to get to school safely, whether they are walking, biking, taking transit, or being dropped off by a family member," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "Traffic safety is community safety, and by investing in safer streets around our schools, we are protecting families, strengthening neighborhoods, and making Chicago a safer city for everyone."

CDOT's School Zone Program takes a comprehensive approach to traffic safety around school campuses, developing coordinated improvements based on crash history, street conditions, school operations, and community feedback. Projects can include raised crosswalks and intersections, pedestrian refuge islands, curb extensions, speed humps, upgraded markings and signage, and other traffic-calming measures.

"These improvements respond to what families, educators and community leaders have been asking for: safer streets around the places where our young people learn and grow," said Ald. William Hall. "The work around Mays Elementary and the broader Stewart Avenue corridor will make a real difference for students and families in the area."

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In Englewood, the improvements benefit Barbara A. Sizemore Academy, Benjamin E. Mays Elementary, Englewood STEM High School, Johnson College Prep, Parker Community Academy and Urban Prep Academy. They include:

• Speed humps and lane reconfiguration at the Mays campus to improve safety during student pick-up and drop-off, in response to concerns raised by school administrators.
• A protected bike lane on S Stewart Ave., along with curb extensions and speed humps to calm traffic.
• Pedestrian refuge islands and curb extensions along W 69th St. near Englewood STEM High School and Parker Community Academy.
• Lower speed limits on neighborhood streets surrounding the schools.

"Safer streets are an important part of building a stronger Englewood, where young people and their families can get to and from school safely and comfortably," said Tametrius Files, Public Safety Manager at Teamwork Englewood. "We're proud to help bring community priorities into projects that make our streets and public spaces safer and more welcoming."

"Schools are one of the most important places to focus our traffic safety work, because safer streets can make a meaningful difference for students and families every day," said CDOT Commissioner William Cheaks. "Our School Zone Program takes a data-driven approach to identify safety needs and design improvements tailored to the streets around each school. It's one part of our broader traffic safety strategy as we continue delivering safer crossings, traffic calming and other street improvements across Chicago."

The Englewood improvements are part of a broader set of School Zone projects completed across Chicago this year. Other School Zone projects completed in 2026 include improvements serving:

• Hibbard Elementary and Edison Regional Gifted Academy in Albany Park, including a raised intersection at Kimball and Ainslie and curb extensions at four additional intersections.
• Hefferan Elementary in West Garfield Park, including curb extensions at five intersections, a new all-way stop at Kostner and Wilcox, and left-turn traffic calming at Kostner and Jackson.
• Hubbard High School and St. Nicholas of Tolentine in West Lawn, including raised crosswalks and curb extensions at two intersections.
• Senn High School in Edgewater, including a raised intersection at Glenwood and Thorndale, additional crossing improvements at Thorndale and Greenview, and curb extensions along Glenwood.

"It is critical that our students and their families feel comfortable and safe as they commute to school, whether that is by foot, bike, car or bus," said CPS Superintendent/CEO Dr. Macquline King. "The Chicago Department of Transportation's collaboration with Chicago Public Schools to develop infrastructure upgrades near school zones benefits children and families across Chicago and particularly our CPS school communities. We thank these dedicated City partners for designing city streets that help keep our staff, students and families safe."

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The School Zone Program is one part of the Johnson administration's broader investment in safer streets around schools, parks, transit, commercial corridors and other neighborhood destinations. Through its citywide traffic safety programs, CDOT is upgrading hundreds of intersections this year with improvements such as curb extensions, pedestrian refuge islands, raised crosswalks and left-turn traffic calming.

These investments have led to meaningful progress in reducing severe traffic crashes and creating safer streets for all road users. CDOT's newly released Annual Traffic Crashes Report details this progress, including the lowest number of people killed or seriously injured in traffic crashes in more than a decade. It also highlights traffic safety initiatives across Chicago, including the School Zone Program.

Learn more about Chicago's traffic safety programs and projects at Chicago.gov/CompleteStreets.

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