Court Proposes Plan for Chicago to Install 1,700+ Accessible Pedestrian Signals Over the Next 10 Years

March 18, 2025—Chicago, IL—Blind and low vision pedestrians in Chicago are one step closer to being able to navigate the City’s streets safely and independently, as a federal court has issued a proposed remedial plan order in the years-long litigation to make Chicago’s signalized intersections accessible.

Highlights of the Court’s Proposed Remedial Plan Order

Under the Court’s proposed order, Chicago has 10 years to equip at least 71% of its signalized intersections with Accessible Pedestrian Signals (“APS”)—devices that convey visual crossing information (i.e., WALK or DON’T WALK) in audible and vibrotactile formats accessible to blind, low vision, and Deafblind pedestrians. Chicago will then have another 5 years to install APS at 100% of its signalized intersections. After installing APS at 71% of its signalized intersections, the City can petition the Court for an extension of time to complete its installations or to eliminate the requirement to do all 100% altogether if it can prove that it is already providing blind pedestrians with “meaningful access” to its pedestrian signals program.

The Court’s proposed order also establishes benchmarks for the minimum number of APS to be installed annually, a deadline to install APS at all dangerous intersections, and a process for community members to request APS at specific intersections.

The Court also calls for the City to establish an APS Citizen Advisory Committee comprised of members from Chicago’s blind community and organizations that serve the community, engage with a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist to provide expertise on APS installation and maintenance, and appoint a single person within the Chicago Department of Transportation responsible for implementing the remedial order. The Court will also appoint an Independent Monitor to oversee Chicago’s compliance with the remedial order.

Under the Court’s proposed order, the City must establish and implement an effective APS compliance program to ensure the City installs APS in adherence to the MUTCD’s technical requirements, identify maintenance and programming issues, solicit and analyze complaints and repair requests, and promptly repair and correct maintenance and compliance issues.

Read about these requirements, and more, in the Court’s Proposed Remedial Plan Order.

What Happens Next

The Court’s proposed order is not final. By April 9, 2025, the Parties must file a joint statement telling the Court if they think changes should be made and, if so, whether all Parties agree about the changes. The Parties must also propose an Independent Monitor.

The Court will hold a hearing on April 29, 2025 at 10:15 a.m. CT to finalize the remedial plan at the following location:

Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse
Courtroom 1425
219 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604

More About the Case

In September 2019, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Proskauer Rose LLP filed this class action lawsuit on behalf of the American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago and three individual plaintiffs with vision-related disabilities challenging Chicago’s discriminatory practices that disregarded blind and low vision safety needs during pedestrian planning. The federal Department of Justice joined the suit shortly after it was filed following its own investigation into Chicago’s APS-related policies and practices. Plaintiffs do not seek money damages. Their only focus is to ensure that the City’s signalized intersections become accessible for blind and low vision pedestrians. Read the Complaint

In March 2022, the Court certified a class of all blind and low vision pedestrians who use Chicago’s signalized pedestrian intersections. Read the Court’s Order re Class Certification.

In March 2023, the Court ruled that Chicago’s systemic, decades-long failure to incorporate APS at intersections constituted discrimination toward blind and low vision pedestrians under federal disability rights laws. Read the order granting summary judgment.

Learn more about the case: American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago vs. City of Chicago