Ask for Complete Streets
Details and FAQs

What is the goal of this Complete Streets website?
Primarily, to give folks an easy way to speak up for better bicycling and walking conditions, when nearby road projects are being designed. Many people are frustrated when road construction projects do not improve conditions, often worsening them. The time to affect the design is early in the process. That's when it is much easier (and cheaper) for the road-building agency. Through this website, you can help show demand and need and suggest what should be done.

What happens after I submit a survey?
Your responses will come to us (LIB - the League of Illinois Bicyclists). We will add a cover letter explaining the survey. We will request that your comments be considered and added to the official project record. This will be sent to the head of the appropriate road-building agency and to the elected official in charge of it.

What projects are shown on the maps?
LIB has gathered lists of upcoming roadwork, from all of IDOT's districts, the state's 10 urbanized areas, urbanized counties, and others. We've filtered the lists down to what you see on the maps - but definitely not a complete list of all projects from all agencies.

Our goal was to pick projects where we have the best chance to make an impact, namely:

• Projects that we suspect are early enough in the process
• Projects with an appropriate scope of work (widening; reconstruction; shoulder work; a few resurfacing projects - especially urban, where striping could be changed)

What about the project phase and year?
Project phases and funding are often split up over more than one year. When this occurs, we list only one of the phases, usually an early phase such as engineering or right-of-way acquisition.

Funding availability (or lack thereof) often delays projects past the given year. Also, many projects are given a multi-year funding timeframe (e.g., IDOT's 2006-2011 program). As a result, it's hard to say when a project will actually occur.

Project lists were gathered in late 2004. We hope to be able to refresh the data and maps periodically, perhaps every two years.

Types of improvements?
The last survey question asks you to suggest design features to make it easier to bike or walk, along or across the road. Examples listed are: on-road bike lanes, paved shoulders, wider outside lanes, parallel off-street trail, sidewalks, crosswalks, raised refuge islands at intersections, and bridges at key crossings. Learn more about bikeway features at LIB's Municipal Bicycle Resource Guide site, especially on-street and off-street options. Other resources include the Design and Engineering sections of www.walkinginfo.org and www.bicyclinginfo.org.

How is the Complete Streets project funded?
Primary funding for this program comes from LIB's members. Help support this type of work by joining us. See our main website and latest newsletter to learn more about our advocacy work.

Other questions? Ask us here.