SPRINGFIELD — After repeatedly hearing from concerned community members and traffic safety advocates about vehicle crashes and fatalities along DuSable Lake Shore Drive, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz is leading a plan to address safety concerns on one of Chicago’s busiest traffic corridors.

“In just five years, DuSable Lake Shore Drive has seen over 16,000 crashes with 59 deaths and over 4,000 injuries,” Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) said. “Traditional speed cameras that just ticket people don’t address the root problem. We need safety solutions that accomplish more by truly changing drivers’ behavior.”

Feigenholtz’s initiative, Senate Bill 1507, would task the University of Illinois Chicago’s Urban Transportation Center with studying crash data, risky driving behavior and whether traffic enforcement technologies could prevent hazardous driving on DLSD. Data on the use of randomized speed cameras in Germany and the Netherlands shows that the strategy is highly effective and has a long-term impact on encouraging and incentivizing safer driving and behavior changes.

“DuSable Lake Shore Drive spans nearly five miles across the 6^th Senate District,” said Feigenholtz. “The last time significant safety improvements were made on DLSD was over 30 years ago — it’s time for some movement.”

Senate Bill 1507 passed the Senate Thursday.