From the Urbana Bike Project

People,

There will be a public IDOT meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, September 21 between 4 and 6pm at the Champaign County Highway Department, 1605 East Main Street, Urbana.

This would be a good occasion for as many of us as possible to express our desire for road improvements to address the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians with less emphasis on moving larger volumes of motor traffic.

I hope to see many of you there. I will have a stack of the FHWA roundabout brochure to share with those interested in learning how to reduce traffic crash fatalities by 90% over signalized intersections, calm traffic, encourage bicycling and walkingd, and make our road network more energy efficient. With North American approaching 10,000 roundabout-years, there has not been a single reported cyclists or walker fatality at a roundabout.

-- Gary

P.S. There is no formal presentation. You can show up anytime between 4 and 6pm.

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Illinois Transportation Secretary Announces Public Meetings
in Preparation of Future Road Program
Early Input Needed for Planning and Development of Upcoming Multi-Year Transportation Program
DIXON - Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig today announced that the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will seek early input into the development of its upcoming Multi-Year Road Program for Highway Improvements for Fiscal Years 2012-2017 by hosting 20 informational and feedback sessions in communities throughout the state.

The public meeting for the Champaign area will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Champaign County Highway Department, 1605 East Main Street, Urbana to give residents and businesses in the area a chance to better understand and weigh in on project priorities over the next five to seven years.

“With a robust construction season in full swing, we want to get an early start on our plans for our upcoming road program,” said Secretary Hannig. “It is important to us that we hear from the public about the projects that are important to their communities.”

The proposed Multi-Year Program (MYP) is based on conservative estimates of local, federal and state funding, including funding from Governor Quinn’s Illinois Jobs Now! capital program, enacted in 2009. The Multi-Year Program for the current FY 2011-2016 totals about $12.84 billion and focuses on maintenance of the current road system.

The public meeting will be conducted on an informal basis and no formal presentation is planned. IDOT staff will be present to answer any questions related to the state highway program, planning and project development process.

The public will have an opportunity to comment on the development of the proposed MYP, existing programming procedures and other information. The meeting also will provide information to prospective contractors about programs in place to assist small business enterprises, including businesses owned and operated by minorities and women, and other programs undertaken by IDOT.

Comment sheets will be provided for those in attendance who wish to provide a written statement.