‘Prospect Protest': Neighbors divided over potential traffic flow, bike lane changes
IDOT hosted a meeting over the summer to gather community input regarding the proposal, impacting drivers on Prospect between Marketview Drive and Springfield Avenue. People had concerns about widening the road then and reconfiguring the lanes then.
Now, some are more worried about the one-mile stretch between Bradley and Springfield Avenues because that's where a bike lane could go in and traffic patterns changed.
Neighbors near the Prospect and University Avenue intersection want to spread awareness so others know about the project. They feel one way to do that is by installing a sign along the fence that reads 'Future Site of the 'Suicide' Bike Path.'
Some think making changes could lead to more problems, while others feel the proposal is good.
New safety measures added to Thomasboro road, crash hotspot
'I've spoken with city officials about going ahead and re-striping and trying the three-lane configuration out, let's see how it works,' Brad LaPayne, a neighbor in the area, said.
But, he isn't on board with widening the road by four feet. LaPayne tied red ribbons around trees and said neighbors hung the sign.
'Taking the trees down and adding a bike lane seems silly to me,' he added.
He said he doesn't see bicyclists on Prospect very often.
Cynthia Hoyle, a transportation planner and advocate for safe streets, rides her bike as often as possible but avoids Prospect.
'It is a scary road to bike on,' she described.
Hoyle believes the proposed 'Road Diet' would keep bicyclists and drivers safer. However, LaPayne is worried that this type of traffic flow would cause headaches.
'You still have the same number of vehicles, but they're stretched further down the road,' LaPayne said.
'My life could've been taken': Coles Co. mom recounts car crash involving her 3-week-old, pushes for change
In the meantime, he's keeping everyone informed.
'The process is still ongoing until they start moving things, I think we can still influence what happens here,' LaPayne added.
Hoyle is feeling confident that any changes are a good thing.
'I'm absolutely sure it will work,' she said. 'It has worked everywhere else that we've done it in town. We have not undone any place that we've done a road diet. It has improved safety, made the traffic flow better and everybody's been happier.'
WCIA reached out to IDOT with several questions, you can see the full response below.
Question: What is IDOT's response to the red ribbons around the trees?
Answer: 'The plans were developed for Prospect Avenue with extensive input from the City of Champaign since the inception of this project. The IDOT section of Prospect Avenue will closely match the City of Champaign's proposed section of Prospect Avenue that is south of Springfield Avenue. Our proposed project is a result of working with local government (City of Champaign) to arrive at a plan to make this corridor more accessible to bikes and pedestrians. To implement the Road Diet and on-road bicycle lanes as shown on the City of Champaign's Bicycle Vision Map, widening of the roadway is necessary which will likely impact trees along the corridor between the back of the existing curb and the sidewalk in the grass boulevard. IDOT's policy is to plant new trees to replace those impacted by the project.'
Question: What about the large sign about neighbors' concerns about adding a bike path?
'Safety is our top priority on everything we do, including this project. IDOT's Bureau of Design and Environment (BDE) Manual indicates for an Urban Roadway with a posted speed of 35 MPH and an Average Daily Traffic greater than 19,000 an 8-foot on-road bicycle lane is appropriate and the 8' lane will also include the buffer as proposed with our project.'
Question: What's the project cost and timeline?
Answer: 'The project is currently programmed at $15.6 million for FY 2027, with construction potentially starting in the Spring of 2027 and anticipated to take two construction seasons.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Decatur Fire Dept. extinguishes multiple fires on July 4th
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — The Decatur Fire Department responded to multiple fires on July Fourth. The fire department said they first arrived at a shed that was 'fully involved' by fire on S. Illinois St. around 11 p.m. Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire. Fire crews respond to machine shed fire with 'heavy' smoke in Clinton As crews were responding to the shed fire, however, another fire broke out on N. 34th, officials said. The firefighters responded to the second structure around 11:30 p.m. When they arrived at the home, crews found 'advanced' fire conditions. Part of the basement floor had also collapsed. The firefighters worked for about three hours to completely extinguish the fire. Officials said the home was empty at the time of the fire but was being renovated. The Decatur Fire Department is investigating both fires. As of Saturday evening, officials said they could not confirm if fireworks caused either fire. Champaign Fire Dept. investigates Saturday night apartment fire Decatur fire crews also responded to several small fire rubbish, dumpster and garbage throughout the night — including one which damaged the outside of an occupied home, fire officials said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Live blog: WCIA 3 Diaper Drive 2025
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — WCIA 3's annual Diaper Drive for Nexstar's Founder's Day of Caring took place June 20. Throughout the day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., we collected new / unopened packs of diapers for newborns and toddlers, as well as monetary donations in our backlot. We hoped to collect enough diapers and money to be able to care for Champaign County children for six months. After 13 hours, we collected enough to last five-and-a-half months. The diaper drive may be over, but you can still donate year-round online by clicking here. Updates from the drive, including donation totals, who reigns on the diaper race leaderboard, and more, are listed below. 7 p.m. After 13 hours, the WCIA diaper drive for Nexstar Founder's Day wraps up with the final number. United Way CEO Sue Grey reveals how long donations from the diaper drive will be able to care for Champaign County children. In the diaper changing race, there is a new champion, with Jennifer Newell having the fastest time of 17.46 seconds. A table of participants and their times are listed below. Time (in seconds) Participant 17:46 Jennifer Newell 17:83 Stephanie Seay 18:65 Brandon Merano 21:83 Sarah Sandquist 25:00 Kevin Hildebrand 26:20 Josh Jessup 28:43 Kevin Lighty 29:10 Katie Madigan 29:20 Luke Sullivan 30:06 Seth Bohnhoff 31:39 Laur Bleill 31:63 Cindy Crawford 32:50 Senator Paul Faraci 32:79 Sue Grey 32:87 Jennifer Roscoe 34:00 Jess Firmand 34:03 Dr. Lymarie Rosado 34:40 Alyssa Whitacre 34:90 Michelle Gonzales 35:32 Amanda Brennan 37:66 Julie Cebulski 38:13 Martin O'Donnell 38:26 Mitchell Rife 38:33 Andy Quarnstrom 39:20 Julie Pryde 39:83 Laura Gerhold 45:16 Brad Zimmerman 48:23 Addy Johnson 51:40 Heidi Gulbrandson 6:55 p.m. There's one more diaper changing race between WCIA reporters before the diaper drive wraps up. Brandon Merano, with a station-leading 18 seconds, squares off with new dad Seth Bohnhoff. 6:40 p.m. Becca Guyette with United Way of Champaign County speaks on what happens to diapers after they are donated. 6:16 p.m. Kevin Hildebrand with CRS Hospitality was the winner of the diaper changing race last year, and he's back to defend his title. 6:10 p.m. Jennifer Roscoe speaks with Dr. Lymarie Rosado, a pediatric intensive care physician at Carle, on how important clean diapers are for a baby, not just for hygiene but for their development. 5:25 p.m. It's usually not a good thing to see an ambulance, but a crew from AMT Ambulance stopped by the WCIA backlot for a good reason. They donated 4,500 diapers, one of the biggest donations of the 2025 diaper drive and a close second to the Champaign Park District, which donated just over 5,000 diapers. 5:15 p.m. Another rematch in the WCIA diaper changing race, this time it's Jennifer and Kevin. Kevin won this matchup last year but lost to Seth just minutes earlier. He's looking to bounce back. 5:00 p.m The WCIA Weather team has two dads on the team — Kevin and Seth. They went head-to-head in the diaper changing race to defend their wins — Kevin from last year and Seth from just minutes earlier. 4:51 p.m. It's a rematch one year in the making. Seth and Amanda go head-to-head again in a race to change a doll's diaper the fastest. But unlike last year, Seth now has experience with a real baby. He's looking for redemption. 4:30 p.m. Amanda Brennan interviews Bev Baker, Chief Impact Officer of United Way of Champaign County, on the history of diaper banks in Champaign County, how United Way became involved and how they get diapers into the community. 4:00 p.m. Behind the scenes, WCIA employees are busy handling diapers and getting them ready for distribution to the community. Here's a step-by-step process of how that happens: 12:25 p.m. Amanda, Jacob and Mitch face off during WCIA's Diaper Drive with United Way of Champaign County. This is round three for Mitch, who hasn't had any luck all morning with changing a diaper the fastest. 12:10 p.m. Organizations across Champaign-Urbana have been collecting diapers ahead of WCIA's diaper drive all week. Amanda Brennan visited two banks and a law firm that participated, picked up the diapers they collected and spoke with staff on why they took part. 12:03 p.m. Sue Gray, the President and CEO of United Way Champaign County, provides an update on how many diapers have been donated during WCIA's diaper drive for Nexstar Founder's Day of Caring. 11:45 a.m. 10 a.m. Jacob Dickey and Mitchell Rife wrap up The Morning Show with an update on how many diapers have been donated so far and with their plans on how to beat Taylor Mitchell in the diaper changing race. 9:50 a.m. It's redemption time for Mitchell Rife. He lost to Taylor Mitchell earlier in The Morning Show, so he's getting another chance to beat his co-anchor in the diaper changing race. 9:17 a.m. WCIA's Amanda Brennan speaks with Dr. Awad Alyami, a pediatrician at OSF, on how important diapers are for babies' health and why they must be clean. 'Diapers take care of the skin, which is the first defense mechanism of the body from germs and infections,' Alyami said. 'Urine and stool is very irritant to the skin, so if (the diaper) isn't changed quickly enough, we can have diaper rash…if that's not addressed quickly enough, we might run the risk of superimposed yeast infection or bacterial infection.' 'A diaper change doesn't cost much, but to treat infections after that can be very costly,' Alyami added. He added that he often sees families without diaper bags when they bring their babies for appointments. In that event, OSF does connect families with community resources to help them. 9:13 a.m. Already a few hours into the Diaper Drive event, Taylor Mitchell and Mitchell Rife checked in to see how donations are coming in and who reigns on the diaper race leaderboard so far. 9:01 a.m. Mitchell Rife took on Beverley Baker of United Way for another diaper changing race. After Baker celebrated a victory, she discussed the impact of donations to the diaper drive. 'We reached enough to cover the diaper bank for four months last year. We would love to be able to reach six, if at all possible. We've seen the need increase. We're getting the demand from our partners and we know that families in our community are stretching their dollars … We want to keep the kids in our community healthy, we want families to be able to go to work and school, kids to be able to go to childcare where they're safe and well cared for, and we need the diapers to accomplish all of those things,' Baker said. 7:46 a.m. Laura Gerhold from the Family Room talks about how donations are important for their children who go into the foster care system. 'Every year there are 100s of children who enter into the foster care system here in Champaign County,' Gerhold said. 'Those children are in need just like your own children at home, and so making sure that they have access to diapers so that they're clean and sanitary and their families can support them in other ways financially. Sometimes when children enter into a new home, there may be limited resources. This is one burden that we can take off of those families because everyone knows the cost of taking care of a kid and any little bit of support can help.' Gerhold added that families are so grateful and thankful when they receive the donations. 7:26 a.m. The Morning Show team went head-to-head in a diaper changing race. 7:15 a.m. Cindy Crawford of the Community Service Center in Rantoul said having this event in 'critical' to help fill a community need. 'Right now with our economy, it's just so challenging for people to be able to afford diapers, and they're very expensive,' Crawford said. 'Wipes as well. So just being able to provide that to people is huge.' Crawford said at the Community Service Center, they provide diapers for around 100-300 children a month at their location alone. 'This is a multiplier effect. If they're able to get help with diapers, they're able to get out and buy other things that their families need,' Crawford added. 6:57 a.m. WCIA's Mitchell Rife faces off with Martin O'Donnell of Busey Bank in one of the first diaper changing races of the day. Ultimately, O'Donnell walked away with a win at a time of 38.13 seconds. That time puts him in third place, behind Stephanie Seay (17.83) and Sarah Sandquist (21.83). 6:37 a.m. Mitchell Rife caught up with Chief Development Officer of United Way Becca Guyette on why diaper donations are so helpful. Guyette said that between 13- 14,000 diapers are distributed a month from United Way to the community through their partner agencies. Last year, WCIA collected around 15,000 diapers in just one day for the drive, emphasizing how far the donation drive goes to help families in need. 6:15 a.m. WCIA's Taylor Mitchell and Mitchell Rife preview more of what's to come throughout the event, including the anticipated diaper races. Rife said he's vying for that number one spot this year. 6 a.m. As the Diaper Drive kicked off, our own Mitchell Rife talked with United Way's Carolyn Butterfield about the importance of the drive. Butterfield said diapers are about $80-100 per month, per child. 'So when you're on a limited budget, that's a lot of money…' Butterfield said. 'Folks are forced to make it stretch until their next paycheck. And those are tough choices. Parents don't want to do that. But we're here to help kind of bridge that gap so that folks can get to that next paycheck, not have to ration diapers, kids are healthier, parents don't have to miss work or school because they can't bring enough diapers to daycare. So that's real important; that affects the household bottom line.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
U of I hosting STEM academic boot camp for student veterans
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Saturday marks the start of a week-long academic boot camp held at the University of Illinois. This summer, a new group of enlisted student veterans will engage in a STEM academic boot camp from June 21-28 at the U of I. This program is facilitated and designed in partnership with national nonprofit Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) and will provide an immersive college preparatory experience. CUPHD pushing preventative mosquito measures for summer This specific program requires each participant to complete 75 academic hours, which would simulate a typical 'finals week' in college. The purpose of this is to prepare student veterans for the demands of academic life as they transition from military careers to higher education. Every year, over 115,000 veterans transition from military service to civilian life, and for many, enrolling in college is an important step in starting a new career. In this boot camp — hosted by the Chez Veterans Center, the hub for military populations at the U of I — veterans learn from esteemed Illinois faculty, work with research leads, receive personalized mentorship from successful student veterans and familiarize themselves with campus resources. Staying safe during heat advisory in Central Illinois: 'WSP was more influential than I could have ever expected,' said Navy veteran Adam Sherman, a WSP-Illinois alumnus. 'I was pretty anxious on my way here, but the entire process fostered and reinforced such a motivating and positive mindset that I will carry throughout my entire academic journey. I would do it again a million times over.' Additionally, 88% of WSP alumni have completed or are on track to earn a college degree. This surpasses the national average for veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill (54%) and full-time civilian students (61%). Support from the U of I and investments made by foundations, corporations and private donors cover the program's entire cost for participants. The college has partnered with WSP for four years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
