Hundreds Join Ride To Honor Cyclist Riley O’Neil — And Demand Safer Streets: ‘People Are Dying’

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BRIDGEPORT — The soft chiming of bike bells filled the air in Bridgeport on Monday evening as hundreds of cyclists rode along South Halsted Street to honor the life of city worker and cycling advocate Riley O’Neil, who was killed last week while riding his bike in the neighborhood.

Supporters of O’Neil swarmed Palmisano Park, 2700 S. Halsted St., to pay their respects to the slain transportation planner who was instrumental in the city’s increased bike parking efforts this decade.

Attendees then took to Bridgeport streets on their bicycles before arriving at the intersection of West 32nd and South Halsted streets to stage a “die-in” protest by lying in the road and blocking oncoming traffic.

Members of the vigil and memorial ride block traffic to advocate for cyclist protections as part of a “die-in” near the spot where bike advocate Riley O’Neil was killed on June 8, 2026, in Bridgeport. Credit: Arthur Maiorella for Block Club Chicago

Around 4:40 p.m. Friday, O’Neil, 35, was biking in the 3200 block of South Halsted Street when a driver in a white sedan opened a car door in O’Neil’s path and hit him. O’Neil lost control and spun out into the street, where he was struck by an oncoming semi-truck, according to police and a Tribune report.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died of his injuries, police said.

“I’ve spent the last few days trying to make sense of this loss,” Assistant Transportation Commissioner David Powe said. “I keep coming back to the same thought. Chicago’s a better place because Riley was here, and his fingerprints are all over the city.”

As a planner for the Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets program, O’Neil fought to install bike rack fixtures on sidewalks across Chicago to increase bicycle parking. Powe and others are calling for bike racks across the city to be renamed “Riley Racks” in O’Neil’s memory.

Cyclists participate in a memorial ride from Palmisano Park to the spot where cyclist Riley O’Neil was killed on June 8, 2026, in Bridgeport. Credit: Arthur Maiorella for Block Club Chicago

Riley O’Neil, an employee of the Chicago Department of Transportation, was killed by a driver while biking in Bridgeport on June 5, 2026. Credit: Chicago Department of Transportation

“Riley was the kind of person who made every room better when he walked into it,” Powe said. “He was kind, he was thoughtful, he was funny, he cared deeply about the people around him. He always laughed at my stupid jokes, too.

“And he cared deeply about his hometown of Chicago.”

O’Neil earned a master’s degree in sustainable urban development from DePaul University in 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile. He previously worked as a planner for Quigg Engineering and was a post-graduate fellow at DePaul before he joining the Department of Transportation in 2024.

Early in his career, O’Neil worked at Southport Lanes and Billiards in Lakeview as a server and barback to pay the bills. Several of his former co-workers biked to Palmisano Park to share memories of their friend after news of O’Neil’s death began to spread through their social circle.

“He was a wonderful person to be around, just really friendly and helpful,” said former co-worker Leah Rockweit. “He would always be like, ‘Where’s your helmet? What’s up?’ I’d say I only lived two blocks away, but he’d tell me ‘It doesn’t matter, you got to wear your helmet.’ And I did start wearing my helmet every time I’d get on a bike.”

Cyclists participate in a memorial ride from Palmisano Park to the spot where cyclist Riley O’Neil was killed on June 8, 2026, in Bridgeport. Credit: Arthur Maiorella for Block Club Chicago

Amanda Bruening, who also worked as an English teacher while moonlighting at Southport Lanes, said she used to proofread and edit many of O’Neil’s college papers before he’d turn them in.

“They were all A or B papers,” Bruening laughed. “He was a good student. I’d just tweak his papers for punctuation and grammar. He had a lot of great ideas about bike safety and what the future of the city would look like.”

Transit advocates are demanding increased bicycle safety measures be implemented on the South Side, where four of the city’s five bike-related deaths have occurred in 2026, according to city traffic data.

“Over the last 10 years, biking as a mode of transfer has nearly doubled on the South Side,” said Eil Oro Cheyoo of Gage Park Cyclists, a bicycle advocacy group. “We need the infrastructure to match that growth. We demand the city acknowledge the need to protect all users of our roads.”

Bridgeport resident Andrew Mack argued that O’Neil’s death should be a wake-up call for Chicago leadership to reimagine street design.

“It is past time when we rethink our relationship with the automobile,” said Mack. “People like Riley gave us another foothold as we grapple to ensure that our streets are for people first … but there is still so much more work to be done.”

On Monday, another cyclist was “doored” on the same block of Halsted Street but wasn’t injured, Mack said. Halsted is a busy thoroughfare that does not have a protected bike lane and is used heavily by cyclists trying to get north and south in the city.

40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez stands with a “Riley Forever” memorial sticker on his helmet at the vigil for slain cyclist Riley O’Neil on June 8, 2026, in Bridgeport. Credit: Arthur Maiorella for Block Club Chicago

In a Facebook post, Bridgeport Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) stressed the importance of increased bike and pedestrian safety measures in the area to curb traffic fatalities, listing several of her ongoing efforts to collaborate with city agencies and rework Southwest Side street safety.

“People of all ages in the 11th Ward travel by bike — whether for everyday transportation or recreationally,” she wrote. “Making sure the streets are safe for all is a priority for our team. That’s why I have made improvements to bike lanes since I have been in office, including working with CDOT to install protected bike lanes on 35th Street from Halsted to LaSalle, and protected lanes on 18th Street from Canal to Clark.”

But for some bicycle safety advocates present at Monday’s vigil and protest, Lee’s words rang hollow. Chris Buie-Gentry, who was working the event as a bike marshal for Bike Grid Now, argued that Lee had been touting change in the face of residents for years without much action.

“Whenever we bring up these campaign promises, she keeps telling us that the community has concerns [about bike lanes] and people have parking issues,” Buie-Gentry said. “But so what? People are dying.”

He pointed to a section of West 29th Street between Palmisano Park’s fitness course and McGuane Park’s playground.

“We’ve talked about this specific [crossing,]” Buie-Gentry said. “Do you know how long we’ve fought to have a raised crosswalk between these parks? It’s been nearly five years since she’s said she would install a crosswalk. Do you see a raised crosswalk? Nope.”

Buie-Gentry said he and dozens of other advocates plan to stage a protest Monday in front of Lee’s ward office to demand change in the wake of O’Neil’s death.

Lee’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Cyclists participate in a memorial ride from Palmisano Park to the spot where cyclist Riley O’Neil was killed on June 8, 2026, in Bridgeport. Credit: Arthur Maiorella for Block Club Chicago

Scenes from the vigil for slain cyclist Riley O’Neil on June 8, 2026, in Bridgeport. Credit: Arthur Maiorella for Block Club Chicago