Chicago residents concerned after several high-speed crashes along Pulaski Road
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Speeding and dangerous crashes have been a big problem along a stretch of Pulaski Road on Chicago's Southwest Side for years.
Now, some neighbors are pushing for a solution.
"You see a lot of lights being blown, people driving on the median," said Adrian Zamudio, who owns Angelo's Stuffed Pizza. "We see accidents every day here."
The high pace, and at times deadly, activity along Pulaski Road is nothing new to Zamudio. Since opening his pizzeria more than 30 years ago, he said the concerns over safety have only heightened and the speeding has gotten "crazier and crazier."
"Something has to get done so the traffic flow gets a little better," Zamudio said. "I know people jump off the expressway and just keep going."
The roadway has become infamous for speed in recent years, where cars crashing into buildings happen on a regular basis, like one truck that smashed into a dealership near 49th Street last May.
A month before that, two people were struck at 63rd Street by a car traveling at a high speed.
Earlier this year, a Chicago Public Schools staffer was struck and killed in a hit-and-run at 64th Street.
The traffic concerns along Pulaski aren't just concentrated on a couple of blocks, but the entire corridor on the Southwest Side, which stretches from 40th Street down to 71st Street. That covers three neighborhoods and three wards. Residents in those communities are trying to solve the problem.
"From the moment people get on and off the ramp from the Stevenson to get to the expressway, they're basically speeding all the way to 71st," said Alex Perez, of the Active Transportation Alliance.
Perez was part of a team that conducted an online survey that received more than 450 responses asking community members to identify safety concerns along Pulaski.
"A big reason for why speeding is happening is because of the number of lanes on Pulaski and how wide it is," Perez said. "There's about three to four lanes."
All those lanes, according to those who responded, encourage drivers to speed in an effort to catch the light. The organization also conducted a walk audit which gathered information from 50 participants on their experience of a stroll along the roadway.
"It's not the safest road or the quietest road to be on," said Perez.
Chicago police data analyzed by CBS News Chicago appeared to back up the survey's findings where, so far this year, there have been 665 crashes along that stretch of Pulaski that resulted in 136 injuries and three fatalities.
A community meeting set for Tuesday night at Curie High School aims to address the concerns of community members, and some safety recommendations are expected to be presented. An actual timeline for the changes to be implemented remained unclear.