Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan Update

About the Plan Update

In October 2020, the Town Council accepted the 2009 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The updated plan will serve as Normal's blueprint for investing in improvements that enhance safety, connectivity, and accessibility for people walking, biking, and using mobility assistance devices and aids like wheelchairs and walkers.

Why update the plan?

A lot has changed since the Town’s original plan was adopted in 2009! The Town has implemented many aspects of the plan, including the following:

• Extending the Constitution Trail
• Adding many important sidewalk connections
• Installing bike lanes and shared lane markings
• Coordinating annual Walk to School opportunities
• Operating a Bike Rodeo to teach children safe bike riding skills

Over the past 10 years, design standards and other recommendations pertaining to pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure have changed, as have the community’s priorities for future growth and development in Normal. These design standards and updated community priorities, coupled with new funding sources, make it the perfect time to update the plan.

Public Engagement

The process to update the plan started in September 2019 with an inventory of the Town’s progress on the 2009 plan and its connection to other Town plans adopted in more recent years. Town staff presented the final draft of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Update to the Town Council on October 5, 2020.

Throughout the plan update process, public engagement was critical. The Town gathered feedback through the following means:

* A November 2019 open house where information was shared with community residents. Staff asked for attendees' vision for a more walkable and bikeable community. Over 40 people attended and shared their ideas for desired types of improvements. Topics shared included barriers to walking and biking, priorities and values, and specific projects to create a safer, more connected system for active transportation. To learn more about the open house, you can view a brief presentation and the display boards.

* More than 431 people provided input to the plan through an online survey administered from October through December 2019.

* Meetings between Town staff and key stakeholder groups, including those representing runners, people with disabilities, bicyclists, and Illinois State University faculty, staff, and students.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Please feel free to contact Ryan Otto, Town Engineer or Mercy Davison, Town Planner with any questions or comments.

Ryan Otto Mercy Davison
(309) 454-9574 (309) 454-9590
rotto@normal.org mdavison@normal.org