April 27, 2023
Urbana Township has installed a 3 Foot Passing sign on Race Street just north of Curtis Road. This is a popular route for cyclists into and out of Urbana, and one frequently used by the Moonlight Rides. Thanks for your support!
3 Foot Minimum bike and ped passing signs are going up in the City of Champaign (16 locations), two have been installed on Homer Lake Road near Homer Lake Park, as well as two more in Urbana Township on High Cross and Brownfield Road.
Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) put up 2 CCB provided 3 Foot Passing signs on State Highway 49 southbound near Old Homer Lake Road and Northbound by the Homer Fire Station. This road serves as an important connection to Homer for those traveling around Homer Lake Park.
Thanks to generous donations, over 20 of the Illinois Department of Transportation 3 Foot Passing signs have been placed in locations around Champaign County including Savoy, Mahomet, Champaign County Forest Preserves, and Tolono Township. An additional purchase of 40 signs recently arrived for use in Champaign, Urbana, and surrounding Villages and Townships.
CCB, consulting with Ride Illinois, has raised funds for standard IDOT 3 Foot Passing Signs designated R4-I102. These correspond to the language in State statute 625 ILCS 5/11-703 concerning the overtaking by motorists of a bicycle or individual proceeding in the same direction. Our purpose is to avoid another tragedy (three bicyclists killed since 2018 in Champaign County) by educating motorists and encouraging active transportation (which increased during the pandemic).
Donors, interested bicyclists, community members, and agency staff have suggested locations for signs. From these, CCB identified a number of potential locations where we think signs could be placed in Champaign and Urbana; immediately outside these cities; on a county road; and on a state road. Verification of suggested locations is based on heat map data of bicycle travel (from two different aggregators – RideWithGPS and Strava) and consideration of placement where vehicles will see the signs at or before they come upon frequently used bike routes, in conjunction with road changes, infrastructure transition, higher speeds, and city limits. According to IDOT, installation should be based on engineering judgment and should not be installed indiscriminately so as to maintain sign effectiveness.
Working with Champaign County, IDOT, and Urbana Township, we have already delivered some of the additional signs to IDOT for Hwy 49 near Homer Lake north of Homer, to Champaign County for Homer Lake Road, and to Urbana Township for several locations just outside of Urbana city limits. CCB’s donors provide the signs in return for the governmental unit providing the pole and labor to get them placed in appropriate locations. We have submitted suggested locations to both the City of Champaign and City of Urbana and have signs reserved for them!
Two more 3 Foot passing signs have been added along the popular Church Street, Savoy route over I-57. Our thanks to the Tolono Township for installing these and to CCB Board Member Peter Davis for his work lobbying and presenting signs to our local road officials. See the gallery of signs.
3-Foot Passing Signs are beginning to appear on roads commonly used by bicyclists around Champaign County. These include in 3 area Champaign County Forest Preserve Parks (Lake of the Woods, Middle Fork, and Homer Lake), South First Street, and on State Highways 47 and 150 around Mahomet. The gallery of signs is growing!
