The Urbana City Council Committee of the Whole voted July 21 to endorse the Champaign‑Urbana Lincoln Avenue Corridor Study and forward that endorsement to the full City Council for consideration.

Planners and engineers from the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission and consultant Lochmueller Group reviewed a concept plan for Lincoln Avenue from Florida Avenue to Green Street. The study team recommended a package of changes: a road diet converting selected four‑lane segments to three lanes (two through lanes and a center turn lane), continuous on‑street bike lanes, consolidated mid‑block crosswalks with pedestrian‑activated rectangular rapid flashing beacons, and targeted access restrictions (right‑in/right‑out or right‑out) at a handful of minor side streets.

Kate Swinford, a traffic operations engineer with Lochmueller Group, and Carmen Franks, assistant city engineer, said the study estimates roughly 100 vehicles per peak hour would be rerouted by the proposed access restrictions — under 6% of AM peak traffic and under 7% of PM peak traffic for the corridor. The consultants noted Busey Avenue’s existing average daily traffic is about 275 vehicles per day, well under a typical local‑street planning guideline of about 1,000 vehicles per day; they said the additional diverted traffic would not exceed typical local‑street capacity.

On safety, the team cited published crash modification factors for comparable countermeasures: a lane reduction (road diet) was associated with an estimated ~47% reduction in crashes, bike lanes ~32% reduction, mid‑block crossings with pedestrian beacons ~18% reduction in vehicle‑pedestrian crashes, and targeted access control measures roughly 43% reduction for that segment under the study’s revised approach. The consultants said the highest concentration of crashes on the corridor is between Nevada and Indiana and that the recommended measures focus on that high‑crash segment.

The committee’s motion to endorse the study was moved by Council member Chandra, seconded by Council member Grace, and passed on roll call (Wu and Evans voted no; Colasetti, Bishop and Wilkin voted yes).

Council members asked several follow‑up questions about short‑term testing and implementation. Staff said temporary or pilot treatments (30–90 day temporary signs, cones or temporary restriping) are possible and that any ordinance changes needed to implement access restrictions would return to Council for formal approval. The study team also said bus stops near the high‑crash area would be relocated or reconfigured to reduce transit‑vehicle conflicts with pedestrians.

What happens next: Committee endorsement will support grant applications and the move into detailed design. Staff said designs will continue to be refined with public input and that the endorsement is not permission to implement access restrictions without subsequent Council action and, when needed, an ordinance.