Illinois Supreme Court: Chicago not liable for cyclists hitting potholes on roads not ‘intended’ for bikes

CHICAGO - The Illinois Supreme Court this month found the city of Chicago not liable for injuries sustained by a bicyclist who hit a pothole in 2019 because the roadway was not "intended" for cyclists.

Clark Alave filed a complaint against the city that year after allegedly striking a 5-inch-deep pothole near Western and Leland avenues in Lincoln Square. Alave fractured his teeth and suffered facial cuts, scars and injuries to his hip and shoulder.

He accused the city of negligence, alleging that it failed to maintain the roadway. The suit was dismissed by the Cook County Circuit Court in July 2021, and an appellate court later reversed that decision and upheld the suit.

But in an opinion released Dec. 14, the state Supreme Court found that bicyclists are only "permitted" users of the road, and not "intended" users unless there is specific signage or bike lanes are present.

And since there was no such signage at the location where Alave hit the pothole, the city isn’t liable, the opinion said.

The Chicago Municipal Code permits bicyclists to ride on streets in the city, but "this does not mean that the city intended bicyclists to use every roadway in the city that motorists are intended to use," the opinion states.

In affirming the circuit court’s ruling, the Supreme Court concluded that "bicycling was not both a permitted and intended use of the subject roadway at the accident site."

The cycling advocacy group Ride Illinois filed amicus briefs in support of the plaintiff.

Dave Simmons, executive director of Ride Illinois, said in an interview with Capitol News Illinois that he was "frustrated" with the court ruling.

"There should be some responsibility, and the fact that bicycles are permitted — and not intended users — of the road just thwarts our efforts to make biking, in turn walking, something that more people can use to get around or enjoy," Simmons said.