URBANA– Members of an Urbana commission are asking officials to apply for federal grant funding and consider a reduction to the citywide default speed limit to improve pedestrian safety.
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission presented its annual report to the Urbana City Council in December, urging council members to continue pursuing the city’s “Vision Zero” strategy. It’s a worldwide initiative for municipalities to have zero traffic deaths or severe injuries per year by 2030.
Audrey Ishii, acting chair of the commission, said the group is recommending the city examine its options to upgrade its transportation infrastructure and reduce vehicle speeds in residential areas.
“Vision Zero is simply building on that, using data to make Urbana the very best it can be,” she explained. “It’s a wonderful, vibrant community that, with calmer, more civil streets, will be everything people could hope for.”
Urbana has an average of 15 pedestrian crashes a year. From 2008 to 2017, the city saw 10 traffic-related pedestrian fatalities, up from the previous decade.
Ishii said Urbana has higher rates of pedestrian deaths than neighboring Champaign. That’s as 21% of Urbana residents commute to work by walking or biking and 19.2% lack access to a personal vehicle, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The commission’s recommendation is for the city to apply for a federal Safe Streets for All grant to conduct a speed study and consider traffic calming projects. The group is also proposing that the citywide default speed limit be reduced to 25 miles per hour.
Ishii cited research that shows reductions in vehicle speeds can improve the survival rate for pedestrians injured in a vehicle crash. She said that would make streets safer for people traveling around the city.
“We need to make the speeds appropriate to what you want to accomplish in your town,” Ishii added.
“What we want to accomplish in our town is to make it a wonderful place for people to bike, walk, take transport, stop and shop. See what kind of businesses are on offer … so an appropriate speed for our town is 20 or 25 [miles per hour].”
The University of Illinois campus already has a default 25 mile per hour speed limit. Neighboring communities like Mahomet and Savoy have also reduced their default speed limits.
Ishii said she hopes the Urbana City Council will be able to get funding to conduct a speed study and lower the default speed limit sometime next year.