Status of Bicycle Facility in the Illinois Department of Transportation

By Melvin B. Larsen

The desire to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution along with the very recent energy crunch has brought a great deal of emphasis to a mode of transportation that received but little notice in the past— the bicycle.

The Illinois General Assembly has responded to citizen demands with the enactment of Senate Bill 83 which requires the development of a Comprehensive Bicycle Program. Although the companion appropriation bill for implementing the construction aspects of the program was not enacted because of budgetary concerns, Governor Walker did instruct the Departments of Transportation and Conservation to proceed with the planning that will be necessary to accomplish these objectives of Senate Bill 83, including but not limited to education, research, registration, standards, and a bicycle plan.

To fulfill this mandate the Department of Transportation scheduled a meeting in mid-December 1973 when the goals of Senate Bill 83 were discussed with other members of the Interagency Council. The representatives of the Department of Transportation, the Department of Business and Economic Development and the Office of Public Instruction agreed that the development of a comprehensive plan could best be accomplished through a task force group. This group, to be chaired by a representative from the Department of Transportation, intends to schedule its first meeting for late winter. At that time, work will be done on recommended policies and a conceptual approach for the development of a bicycle route plan.

The Interagency Council has already agreed that a key ingredient in a comprehensive bicycle plan must be public involvement and directed the task force group to insure that it has contacted local governmental agencies, park districts, regional planning commissions, private bicycle organizations and the individual citizens to identify the needs of the bicyclist. The exact method of gathering information from these diverse groups has not yet been determined.

It appears that the major thrust of bicycle activity in Illinois at this time will be restricted to planning efforts, however, as the program is developed revenue sources for physical construction will be sought.

One such source available at this time is the Federal Highway Act of 1973. Several stipulations of this Act, however, dim the effectiveness of utilizing this money. First is the fact that it is not clear whether Illinois has the statutory authority to expend the matching money that is required for bicycle projects. Secondly the bicycle project must be built in conjunction with a highway improvement which requires a coincidence of needing a bicycle facility and the need of a roadway; repair at the same location. The fact that the bicycle project must compete with highway improvement projects with the available money makes expenditures for bicycle facilities less palatable. The expenditure of Federal Highway dollars also requires that any project considered must be a part of a comprehensive bicycle plan which dictates that our current planning activities must be accomplished before physical construction can begin.

Although it appears that we are faced with a time element before any physical improvement can be made time does provide us with an opportunity to make decisions that will result in a more efficient and prudent expenditure of money when it is available for bicycle facilities. The preparation of the comprehensive plan is being coordinated in the Bureau of Programming, Department of Transportation by Mr. Ronald W. Houska.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 32 May/June, 1974