Crews have completed a three-month upgrade to bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings on Augusta Boulevard in West Town and Ukrainian Village.

Bike lanes no longer border traffic lanes between Western and Milwaukee avenues. Bike lanes were moved between parking spaces and the curb to improve safety.

Speed limits were lowered from 30 mph to 20 mph, and pedestrian crossings were shortened to increase safety. Construction began in May.

Outgoing Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi and Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), chair of the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, are expected to speak about the completion of the project Wednesday afternoon at Wells Community Academy High School.

A dozen members of the bicyclist safety advocacy group Bike Lake Uprising have responded mostly positively to the improvements on Augusta, group founder Christina Whitehouse said.

One of Augusta Boulevard’s most serious problems was bike lane obstructions and double parking outside schools and carwashes, Whitehouse said.

“We’re hoping this redesign will help alleviate a lot of that,” she said.

Residents who spoke at a 2022 community meeting on the Augusta Boulevard project said they were concerned about high vehicle speeds, double parking outside schools, dangerous pedestrian crossings and “concerns about bicycle interactions with cars.”

In the meeting, city officials said the stretch of Augusta between Western and Milwaukee had seen hundreds of crashes between 2016 and 2020: 441 total crashes, 92 with injuries and two fatal crashes. Most of the bicycle crashes were at Augusta and Damen Avenue and near Augusta and Milwaukee.

The city has seen decreases in crashes after implementing similar upgrades as part of the Chicago Complete Streets program, an outgrowth of a city policy from 2006 that aimed to improve safety of streets for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.

The Chicago Department of Transportation cited a 56% decrease in crashes on Milwaukee Avenue south of California Avenue where the city had installed curb barriers and similar safety improvements.

The question now, Whitehouse asked, is how the city will improve bike safety west of Western Avenue.

The city has planned or started work on improved bike lanes on Belmont Avenue, Clark Street, Central Park Avenue, Lake Street and Milwaukee Avenue. Biagi, who leaves her post this Friday, has said the city installed 100 miles of bike lanes in the past four years.

“These design modifications are not necessarily winning awards, but things were very bad before,” Whitehouse said. “But, honestly, everyone’s expectations of bike lane infrastructure is so low you could give us anything and we’d be ecstatic.”