Email Subscription City of Champaign Plans for More Bicycle Improvements in 2010
The City of Champaign continues to implement plans to make the City more “bicycle friendly”. On Monday, February 1, 2010, the City of Champaign will host an Open House to showcase the State and Randolph Bike Lane Project from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Robeson Pavilion in Champaign Main Library, 200 West Green St. The public is invited to attend the Open House to view exhibits to learn about the proposed project. City staff will be on-hand to answer questions and receive comments on the proposed design and parking changes. The project will add 3.8 more miles to the City’s on-street bicycle network.
Per the City’s Bicycle Vision Plan, the City proposes to install on-street bike lanes and “sharrows” along State and Randolph Streets from Hessel Boulevard to Bradley Avenue in Summer 2010. “The project will allow bicyclists to more safely travel along these two corridors by providing them with designated lanes on the street” says Assistant Planning Director Rob Kowalski. The State and Randolph project will create a north-south connection between many areas such as the North Champaign neighborhoods near Bradley Avenue, Downtown near University Avenue and Campustown near Green Street. Some of the destinations in these areas include Hazel Park, Stratton Elementary, West Side Park, Virginia Theatre, Champaign Library, Edison Middle School, and Hessel Park.
The majority of the project will include designated bicycle lanes. However, in a section along State St. where the roadway width narrows, sharrows will be used. Shared lane pavement markings “sharrows” are painted on the roadway lane indicating that motorists and bicyclists equally share the road. Communities have found “sharrows” effective in reducing undesirable bicyclist behavior like riding the wrong way. Cities, both large and small, have successfully used “sharrows” as an alternate bicycle pavement marking for years.
In order to accommodate the bike lanes, changes to on-street parking on State St. are proposed on a couple of blocks.
State Street
• To implement the bike lanes, the on-street parking will need to be removed in the following blocks:
- State Street – on the west side from University Avenue to Springfield Avenue
- State Street – on the west side from Charles Road to Hessel Boulevard
• Parking on the east side of State Street will remain unchanged.
Randolph Street
• Parking on Randolph Street will remain unchanged.
For additional information on the State and Randolph Bike Lane Project and Champaign’s bicycle planning efforts please contact Mishauno Woggon, City Planner at 403-8800 or Mishauno.Woggon@ci.champaign.il.us.
SHARROW EXAMPLE GRAPHIC
BIKE LANE EXAMPLE GRAPHIC
