We asked readers to tell us the most dangerous intersection in Chicago. By far, East 79th Street-South Stony Island Avenue-South Chicago Avenue was mentioned the most. Here’s what readers told us, lightly edited for clarity:
“Anybody who says anything other than 79th-Stony Island-South Chicago has just never been to every corner of this city. Absolutely diabolical intersection.”
— Matt Michel
“Pretty much any intersection that involves Wacker Drive.”
— J. Carlson
“I’m a CTA operator, I’ve been through a lot of them. The one that bothered me the most was South Western Avenue and West 55th Street. You have the Western boulevard emptying back into the avenue, and it takes forever to get through it because the Western and 54th signal isn’t properly timed for the avenue.”
— Cole Gidley
“Any and all six-corner fiascoes.”
— Janet Ann Davis
“North Nagle and Avondale and Northwest Highway by the Metra train track crossing — several accidents and deaths over the years from the busy intersection crossing the tracks and people exiting and entering the Kennedy Expressway a half a block away.”
— Kevin Giegoldt
“79th and Stony Island. Too many huge streets with angled streets included under viaducts. Avoid at all costs.”
— Jan Tee Cra
“The worst intersection I regularly encounter as a pedestrian is Ashland Avenue and Monroe Street. Car drivers on Ashland block the crosswalk, and they’re looking at their phones.”
— James R. Anderson
“They’re all bad compared to intersections in Europe.”
— Collin Pearsall
“North-Damen-Milwaukee. Any three-street intersection is madness, but this one takes the cake, especially since you have to play the ‘Which way is this person going?’ game.”
— Francisco Cartagena
“The end of the northbound Kennedy Expressway’s Belmont exit ramp where it intersects with Kedzie. The traffic lights and lanes are totally confusing, even for someone who’s taken it regularly for more than 20 years.”
— Ira Pilchen
“Absolutely any street and Irving Park Road. I’m mostly a pedestrian and transit user, and getting cars to lawfully stop for you is impossible.”
—Cait Hakala
“Milwaukee, Halsted and Chicago or any other three-way with Milwaukee. Why in the name of all that is good and holy doesn’t every busy intersection have turn lights? Talk about a long overdue infrastructure update!”
— Michaelene Kelly