(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — As police question a person of interest in Wednesday's hit-and-run collision that killed a bicyclist in Old Irving Park, safety advocates question why the city of Chicago hasn’t fulfilled promises to build protected bike lanes.
Active Transportation Alliance spokesperson Kyle Whitehead said there is city, state and federal money available to build out dedicated bike lanes that include protective concrete barriers. The biggest obstacle remains opposition to losing parking spaces.
“This recent crash on Milwaukee is a tragic example of a crash on what is one of the city’s most — if not THE most — important biking route,” Whitehead said.
Bicyclist Nick Parlingayan was struck by a driver in a black 2022 Nissan Versa around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 3800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue — across the street from where another bike rider, Carla Aiello, was killed three years ago.
Paramedics found Parlingayan unconscious on the street and took him to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The vehicle that struck him drove off, police said.
Whitehead, the safety advocate, said most existing bike lanes in the city lack any sort of protective barrier between cyclists and motorists.
Two other bicyclists have been struck and killed by drivers in Chicago this year. In April, Paresh Chhatrala died days after he was hit by a driver while biking in the West Loop. In February, a driver fatally struck Gerardo Marciales on DuSable Lake Shore Drive near Buckingham Fountain.
Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire
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