The Office Of The 48th Ward Reported That The City Is Moving Forward With Installation of an Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) at Sheridan & Balmoral

This is expected sometime mid to late summer 2026.

APS communicates information about pedestrian signal timing through audible tones, speech messages, and vibrating surfaces. These devices assist our neighbors with disabilities, as well as anyone who may find visual signals difficult to interpret due to lighting, weather, or other environmental conditions. They use audible tones, speech messages, and vibrations to indicate safe crossing times.

According to the Alderwoman’s office, this signal was requested by constituents and was voted on by 48th ward neighbors as part of the Participatory Budgeting process. It is reportedly a $180,000 investment. However, take this with a grain of salt. This is a long overdue promised improvement, and the reality is Chicago is in the process of upgrading its infrastructure to include Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) at crosswalks to assist blind and low-vision pedestrians, following a court order requiring 71% of signalized intersections to be equipped within 10 years. As of early 2025, only 85 out of over 2,700 signalized intersections had these. So, the installation is court mandated. We will likely see more such installations roll out within the next several years, whether through “participatory budgeting” or just CDOT planned infrastructure improvements.

(For more about the court ordered mandate, Click Here.)

You can read more about the pedestrian safety improvements the City is making to Sheridan Road on the 48th Ward blog: Pedestrian Safety Improvements on Sheridan Road.