The Vault

1984: City Demands Improvements On Lake Shore Dr.

Poor Safety Barriers Contributed To Crash That Killed 7

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Concerns about danger on Lake Shore Drive have dominated the headlines in recent months, stemming from potholes on the northern end of the roadway.

Mayor Richard M. Daley demanded that the state provide funds to resurface the roadway and eliminate the potentially dangerous potholes, and the state has delivered with plans for a $4.5 million facelift.

Twenty-four years ago, Lake Shore Drive faced a problem that also demanded attention from the state, but with consequences that turned out to be far more severe.

At the time, the tall planters and trees that now stand in the barriers along Lake Shore Drive did not exist. In some areas, there was a low wall or narrow median strip with an aluminum railing in some areas, but not all. In others, there was only a pair of solid yellow lines.

On Labor Day 1984, this had profound and tragic consequences. Seven people, including four children, were killed in an accident with a car which crossed the center divider near North Avenue. On Sept. 13, three people were seriously injured in a similar crash near Fullerton Parkway.

The Illinois Department of Transportation was already planning to erect full-sized barriers in 1984, but following the tragic accidents, the city called on them to speed up the process.

"It would reduce the crossover accidents, which are the most serious of the accidents," said John LaPlante, then Acting Assistant Commissioner of the former Chicago Department of Public Works. "It wouldn't do anything to change the same-direction accidents. The number of accidents are probably about the same. We don't have a large number of crossover accidents, but those that do occur are usually quite serious, because they involve head-on collisions."

At the time, there was only a 12-inch high fin between North Avenue and Fullerton Parkway. The city wanted it replaced with a concrete tapered barrier 3 to 4 feet high for that stretch. Such barriers had been installed on other parts of the Drive and had cut down on accidents.

The city also wanted new barriers between Fullerton Parkway and Belmont Avenue, and on the South Side south of 53rd Street, where only a yellow line separated curving yellow lines.

Ultimately, of course, the city got its wish, and the utilitarian concrete and aluminum was replaced with planters and trees. But more importantly, head-on collisions have rarely been heard of on Lake Shore Drive in recent years.

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