By WMBD-TV
NORMAL – On Tuesday, the Town of Normal held the first public input meeting for the Vernon Avenue Complete Streets Project. The project will be along Vernon Avenue between Beaufort Street and Towanda Avenue.
Dozens of residents gathered in Council Chambers to hear a presentation from Cindy Loos, Project Manager for engineering consulting firm Hanson Professional Services. The presentation informed residents of the goal of the project and provided improvement options. The goal of the project is to lower vehicle speeds in the area, increase driver awareness and provide safe travel for all pedestrians and bicyclists.
“It’s really about thinking of all the users of the roadway. Right now it’s very motorists dominate with some sidewalks for pedestrians,” said Loos. “There’s a lot of users with the two trail crossings and there’s transit. So thinking about how do you re-envision the street with more accommodations so it’ll be safer for all users.”
Some suggestions included changing four lane areas to two or three lanes with parking and/or bicycling options. Loos said the improvements can vary depending on the location of Vernon Avenue.
“It doesn’t have to be a one-size fits all. Each section could be what makes sense in that section. Maybe where there is a major trail crossing they’ll say ‘we want a refuge island in the middle.’ So then you’d want a three-lane section to do that,” she said. “Somewhere else may say ‘we really want parking. There’s not as many driveways here so we want a two-lane section with parking.’”
The Town and Hanson asks that all input be sent in by July 7 so a follow up meeting with final recommendations can be scheduled for August.
