Signage, markings and flashing beacons added to busy Skokie Valley Trail crossing

A busy crosswalk near the border of Skokie and Lincolnwood is now safer.

The Village of Skokie has installed new signs, pavement markings and button-activated flashing beacons where the Skokie Valley Trail crosses Lincoln Avenue. 

The improvements “enhance pedestrian and cyclist safety at this high-traffic crossing by increasing visibility and driver awareness,” and the three solar-powered light beacons aim to “reduce the risk of crashes” for all trail users, a village webpage states. 

Village staff, Skokie Mayor Ann Tennes, Lincolnwood Mayor Jesal Patel and approximately 20 members of the Skokie Swifters Run Walk Club gathered at the crossing on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to celebrate the addition of the new safety measures.

“This is just another example of Skokie’s commitment to being a bicycle, pedestrian-friendly community and sustainability,” Tennes said during the event. “We want to encourage people to use alternate forms of transportation.”

Sabrina Ahmke, the founder of the local run club, said that the group passes the crossing every Tuesday night and they’ve seen some “near misses.”

“So the fact that they put this in to make runners and walkers and cyclists, anybody who uses it, that much more visible is, I think, a really important thing for us,” she said.

The local Skokie Valley Trail is a multi-use path lined with greenery that starts near the Dempster Chicago Transit Authority train stop in Skokie and stretches four miles south into Chicago. Lincoln Avenue, a major four-lane thoroughfare, also runs from Skokie into Chicago.

After gaining permission from the Illinois Department of Transportation, the village bid out the project and trustees voted in July 2025 to pay the Chicago-based Misfits Construction company $54,000 to improve the crossing with signs, refreshed markings and a new concrete median. 

Ahmke said that about 30-40 members of the Skokie Swifters club — which reportedly has about 200 members in total and just celebrated its fifth anniversary — gather at Sketchbook Brewery in Skokie every Tuesday. The group’s route includes crossing Lincoln Avenue, she said. 

Erin Kao, a member of the club, said she’s happy the village added the flashing lights, because she loves running along the path. 

“I run here every Tuesday and it’s always one of those things where you’re, like, not sure if they’re going to stop or not,” Kao said of the cars driving on the busy avenue. “And you wait and then you’re unsure, so it’s really really helpful.”

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