MCKINLEY PARK — Ald. George Cardenas (12th) is asking for feedback about the controversial speed camera that was placed along Archer Avenue earlier this month.
The four-question survey is available by visiting this website, where residents are asked whether they support the camera in its current location and if it should moved or scrapped entirely.
Casey Cora tried to interview some pedestrians for their reaction to the camera, but couldn't find any:
It's open to residents of the 12th Ward only.
"We want to know what the community wants," Cardenas spokeswoman Anabel Abarca said.
The camera, which has been slapping speeding motorists with warning tickets since Sept. 4, has been the source of outrage for motorists using the busy Southwest Side corridor.
The speed cameras are placed near parks, ostensibly to make the areas safer for kids. But many are calling the camera's placement in the 3200 block of South Archer Avenue — blocks from a rarely-used city park — nothing more than a cash-grab.
Cardenas, who voted for the speed camera ordinance back in April 2012, called the camera "nothing more than a money maker," questioned the city's choice to install one there and wants to have it moved.
But the city said the area surrounding Mulberry Park ranked fairly high in a study of speeding and crash rates near school and park zones — 135th out of 1,500 such zones.
From 2009-2012, there were 214 crashes in the area. In 68 of those crashes, speed was a factor, 47 involved kids, and six caused serious injury or death, according to the city data.
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