Contrary to phony Twitter accounts, no, DuSable Lake Shore Drive will not be closing to private traffic
CHICAGO (CBS) -- On Thursday, the Chicago Department of Transportation held a meeting at Temple Sholom to present renderings and hear feedback on plans to redevelop North DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
The meeting focused only on the section of the Drive between Addison Street and Belmont Avenue. Among the proposals shown on the website for the project are a separated bike and pedestrian overpass at Addison Street; an expanded 50-foot-wide shared-use underpass at Hawthorne Place; and new traffic lights on Inner Lake Shore Drive at Aldine Avenue and Hawthorne Place.
One idea that was not on the table at the meeting, and has not been seriously on the table at any point ever, is closing DuSable Lake Shore Drive to private vehicles. But thanks to tweets from a phony account, you might have been led to believe otherwise Friday morning.
An account claiming to represent CDOT showed a photo of a mostly empty Outer Drive north of the Oak Street Curve with the following message:
"We heard you tonight, Lakeview!
"We're excited to announce that beginning 5/1/23, North DuSable Lake Shore Drive will be closed to private vehicles between Grand and Hollywood.
"Only buses, delivery vehicles, and emergency vehicles will be allowed.
"This is a huge step forward."
It did not end there. Another account claiming to represent the Illinois Department of Transportation quoted the phony CDOT account, with the added tweet: "We're proud to announce the closure of North Lake Shore Drive to private vehicle traffic. After hearing civilian concerns tonight, we have determined with CDOT that this is the best path forward. Road closure begins on 5/1/23. Get out and enjoy the lakefront!"
Another tweet claimed to come from Mayor Lori Lightfoot:
"My administration is proud to announce the single largest decarbonization effort in the history of Chicago.
"This will eliminate more than 50 million metric tons of CO2 within the next year. Additionally, this will reduce traffic deaths by more than 200."
But a closer look reveals the account claiming to be CDOT carries the handle @WeAreCDOT, the one claiming to be IDOT is "IDOTIllinois," and the one claiming to be Mayor Lightfoot is "@chicagossmayor" (note the extra S). The real accounts are @ChicagoDOT, @IDOT_Illinois with an underscore, and @chicagosmayor, respectively.
A spokesperson with the city said earlier Friday that they were aware of the accounts and have been in communication with Twitter. As of Friday afternoon, all three phony accounts had been suspended.
