Updates to improvements around campus

[WIU0812]

Most likely the funding will become available for the other two lanes as soon as the first two are done since all the major earthwork is complete hard to out a stop to something midway through completion. Even if Rauner makes cuts most planned construction will continue especially projects like this.

[sealhall74]

I think I mentioned this way back but the QLot walkway leading up to a very nice walkway bridge over University Drive would be a great place to announce to the world "Welcome to Leatherneck Country". I would further embellish the greeting a bit by adding the two Queen song titles "We Will 'Rock' You" and "We are the Champions" and of course the bridge would be equipped with motion sensors which automatically kick on that music when someone is crossing the bridge. Gotta think big here. If I win the lottery tonight, consider it done. My only stipulation will be that the WIU Engineering Department must do the bridge design work. With those kind of bucks in my pocket, I am pretty sure I could convince Caterpillar to custom-build the major steel support pieces for us. The Art Department will be putting on the finishing touches long before the first concert in the PAC. Hey, it will be a total team effort just like Rock would want it to be.

I think I will double up on PowerBall tickets today.

[sealhall74]

Most likely the funding will become available for the other two lanes as soon as the first two are done since all the major earthwork is complete hard to out a stop to something midway through completion. Even if Rauner makes cuts most planned construction will continue especially projects like this.

I hope the planners incorporated some room for a bike path as well. Around my neck of the woods, most major thoroughfares have a nice wide asphalt walk/run/bike path next to it.

[ST_Lawson]

Most likely the funding will become available for the other two lanes as soon as the first two are done since all the major earthwork is complete hard to out a stop to something midway through completion. Even if Rauner makes cuts most planned construction will continue especially projects like this.

I hope the planners incorporated some room for a bike path as well. Around my neck of the woods, most major thoroughfares have a nice wide asphalt walk/run/bike path next to it.

Honestly, around here, I'd highly doubt it. We've got a couple of bike lanes in town, but there's not really a huge bike culture. I just don't see someone riding their bike out on the highway just to ride on a 3 mile long bike path that's a mile or so outside of town. It works well in the cities and suburbs because there's enough people and stuff is close enough together, but in Macomb, I don't think it'd get much (if any) use.

[WIU0812]

Most likely the funding will become available for the other two lanes as soon as the first two are done since all the major earthwork is complete hard to out a stop to something midway through completion. Even if Rauner makes cuts most planned construction will continue especially projects like this.

I hope the planners incorporated some room for a bike path as well. Around my neck of the woods, most major thoroughfares have a nice wide asphalt walk/run/bike path next to it.

Honestly, around here, I'd highly doubt it. We've got a couple of bike lanes in town, but there's not really a huge bike culture. I just don't see someone riding their bike out on the highway just to ride on a 3 mile long bike path that's a mile or so outside of town. It works well in the cities and suburbs because there's enough people and stuff is close enough together, but in Macomb, I don't think it'd get much (if any) use.

Agreed they would be better off turning an alleyway or something similar to this into a bike trail from the school out to Walmart area and connect to square in middle. I know alot of bike trails come when a railroad is abandoned in a town. Though I only think there is the one main line and they wont abandon or move that because of the Amtrak which WIU needs. That makes the only viable option for Macomb being converting an old alleyway into a bike trail.

[sealhall74]

If there is anything in the way of housing or apartments near that bypass, a bike path would get a whole lot of use by people just walking their dogs.

[WIU0812]

Here is about one of the only routes I could come up with besides you could run one near some power lines that cut from east to west right near the cemetery. There is not a lot of good alley ways that run east and west. The blue is the beginning of the bike trail that they are creating this summer with the Adam St project and is supposed to be a shared area between one lane cars and bikes on the side. Basically you would run the alley and then cut over and replace your sidewalk with an bike trail along Lafayette which runs pretty close to the cemetery on west side and then cut across at the university intersection and run along cemetery out to veterans park and cut down to Walmart. I am actually surprised they have not tried to make small bike trail yet most towns of Macombs size have a trail in some shape or form.

macomb bike.jpg (196.95 KiB) Viewed 5496 times

[ST_Lawson]

It's all farms and wooded areas around there. There's no housing or apartments or anything near where the bypass will be going. I actually live in one of the closest neighborhoods in town to where the bypass will be going, and it's still over a mile and a half away from where I live. There are some ideas for bike paths around campus and down to the river in the most recent Master Plan, but it may be quite a while until we see those. Generally, anything outside of town is not going to be very conducive to good bike riding/walking paths.

As for billboards, your better bet would be to just put them up along 67, north of where the bypass pulls off, or on 110/136 west of town along the Colchester/Tennesee bypass. That way you get both the traffic just passing through and the traffic that's going into town.

[ST_Lawson]

Also, just fyi, a couple of the one-way streets that go East-West already have bike lanes on the side. So you can pretty much ride all the way across town on Washington and Carroll streets with bike lanes.
There's also bike lanes proposed for much of the street renovation in the Master Plan documents.

[WIU0812]

It's all farms and wooded areas around there. There's no housing or apartments or anything near where the bypass will be going. I actually live in one of the closest neighborhoods in town to where the bypass will be going, and it's still over a mile and a half away from where I live. There are some ideas for bike paths around campus and down to the river in the most recent Master Plan, but it may be quite a while until we see those. Generally, anything outside of town is not going to be very conducive to good bike riding/walking paths.

As for billboards, your better bet would be to just put them up along 67, north of where the bypass pulls off, or on 110/136 west of town along the Colchester/Tennesee bypass. That way you get both the traffic just passing through and the traffic that's going into town.

Ya, those would be better areas just figured WIU would have to purchase a small plot of land then and if they could use what they already had it would be cheaper.