The Smile Politely Editors are comprised of Justine Bursoni, Seth Fein, Joel Gillespie, Doug Hoepker, Brian McGovern, Ryan Neaveill and Dan Schreiber. They, along with the website designer Mason Kessinger and founding Editor-in-Chief Chris Maier, decide to highlight certain events going on in Champaign-Urbana in a democratic fashion, without bias, in order to best bring to you the finest information on the entertainment around town.
Census statistics show that Champaign-Urbana has more bicyclists than the average American town. Urbana ranks third in Illinois (and first in towns of over 1,000 people) with 4.61 percent of the population commuting by bicycle. Champaign isn't far behind with 2.31 percent, slightly behind Carbondale. The U.S. average is right around one percent.
There is also a thriving bicycle culture in C-U. Prairie Cycle Club, ChampaignCountyBikes.org and The Bike Project co-op serve as resources and advocates for cyclists. Critical Mass, bike polo and chariot and alley cat races are frequent and well-attended. There are also several good established and unofficial bike shops around town which serve the community.
Biking around campus and in the old parts of Champaign and Urbana is possible and often enjoyable. Much of the motor traffic seems to be used to being around bicycles and often give them the benefit of the doubt at four-way stops. As you may have noticed, it's pretty flat around here, which makes it less challenging for novice cyclists to get around.
On the other hand, the outlying areas of both cities were not planned with bikes in mind, especially north of I-74. The trail system — despite the contribution of the new bike lanes along First Street — is disorganized and frustrating to navigate, especially in Campustown. Many of the secondary streets are poorly-maintained and filled with potholes.
So, does the good outweigh the bad? Do the smiles and waves from motorists outnumber the honks and fingers in your experience? How bike-friendly is Champaign-Urbana?
Comments (8)
Friday, August 1, 2008 5:33 PM
I wish more streets on campus had curbed-off bike paths. Heck, sometimes during the school year I wish Green St. was pedestrian/bikes only!! Also, campus bike paths tend to end in really weird and inconvenient places.
Awareness is key. Bikers (especially new students to C-U) should be notified of our rules of the road (and abide by them). Pedestrians should stop listening to their iPods, texting and juggling bowling pins all at the same time while trying to cross streets and bike paths. Perhaps the Chancellor needs to send out a mass mail reminding people to look both ways??
We're doing alright... but there is much room for improvement. I have hope for the future ;-)
Friday, August 1, 2008 8:01 PM
I'd say it's ok, but nothing particularly special. The addition of a bunch of bike lanes is nice, but they aren't the solution. Bike lanes marginalize bikers and even make it harder to do left turns. Do they expect you to do a left turn from the right side of the street or something? Now you have to weave into traffic to make a left turn. Also, the roads are typically in worse condition near the curb with cracks, bumps, and holes everywhere. Now you will feel bad if you want to ride in the road because there is a clearly marked area dedicated for bikes (and now the auto drivers have a reason to yell at you).
As for the bike lanes on the sidewalks in campus - come on! They are in such crappy condition that they will seriously harm your wheels if you are not careful...
In downtown Urbana you can no longer bike on the sidewalks, which works for some people and not for others. The downtowns and campus are generally easier to bike because cars are not driving very fast. Some of the areas on the edge of town are extremely hard and dangerous to get to because of bridges, interstate highways, and fast traffic. I really love how some of the neighborhoods past I57 don't provide a safe biking route OR a bus route. They voted AGAINST buses because they didn't want to pay taxes for it. Now look at all the money you are losing on gas for your SUV, eh?
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that there are many different types of bikers. I may be a biker who likes to go in the street, but there are a lot of people who don't really want to (for a variety of reasons).
I also think there is still room for a much larger bike culture here - especially at the University. Many people just don't understand bikes or what is involved in biking, so they get nervous or confused when they encounter one. I have rolled up to many intersections where a car has already stopped, yet they will not pass through until I have - as if bikes had some sort of right of way. The bottom line is that the more bikers there are, the more bike aware the general public and local governments will be.
Friday, August 1, 2008 10:05 PM
I can say its about 300% better than Hartford, CT. I realize that every time I travel back here for work. Hartford is definitely in the
I appreciate the compactness, wide and mostly slow roads, and aware drivers in Urbana (much less so in Champaign and North of I-74). Its very relaxing. There are always improvements that can and should be made, but take a breath and enjoy it once in a while.
Friday, August 1, 2008 10:08 PM
I can say its about 300% better than Hartford, CT. I realize that every time I travel back here for work. Hartford is definitely in the less than 1% bracket for bicycle trips. The folks that do ride though are pretty tough cookies. Things are changing though. The bike racks at work were full almost every day this week, whereas I used to be the only kook pedaling in. Commuting to work by bicycle this week has been about as exhilarating as downhill mountain biking, except the trees are moving and talking on cell phones.
I appreciate the compactness, wide and mostly slow roads, and aware drivers in Urbana (much less so in Champaign and North of I-74). Its very relaxing. There are always improvements that can and should be made, but take a breath and enjoy it once in a while.
Saturday, August 2, 2008 3:05 PM
It's far easier to bike in San Francisco than in Champaign. In SF basically nobody cares that you're on a bike or thinks you're a freak. As long as you're not causing an accident, you're just any other dude on the road.
In Champaign I regularly get shouts, honks, and threats from people passing in cars. Where is the mythic midwestern hospitality?
Sunday, August 3, 2008 1:23 AM
I live in the "old" part of Champaign, and so I find both towns quite easy and fun to bike around in the summer.
The secret is the grid layout of all the streets, and the fact that nearly everywhere is residential. "Bike-friendly" means that everywhere you want to go is accessible by back streets. You ride where the cars aren't. Of course you stay off Neil Street, University Avenue, Kirby, and the like.
The problems with biking in Champaign-Urbana arise where there isn't a grid of comfy back streets. The worst are places where developers have been given free rein to build as they like, and what they like are huge arterial highways and dead-end mazes of cul-de-sacs. It's a nightmare getting around far west Champaign or North Prospect or south Savoy if you're trying to entirely avoid main roads.
The best thing the Cities of Champaign and Urbana could do for bicyclists is to mandate that all new housing developments hook up their residential boulevards, forming an old-fashioned grid of side streets if possible. If the new neighborhoods around North Prospect did that, one might be able to ride to Meijer without mixing in traffic.
Maybe this is where I part ways with "Dan" above. I've seldom had drivers yell at me, and then only when I was stupid enough to try riding on Springfield. (Even so, I wait at the light like everyone else.) But I've been to San Francisco: that city doesn't have any back streets! There's traffic on all of them, you can't comfortably segregate bikers from drivers. In Champaign, even downtown is navigable by bikers -- if you stick to Park, Taylor, Clark, and Market Streets.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008 7:33 AM
Biking in Champaign, IL means taking your life into your hands.
Futhermore, every 1000 bikes I see, I see only 1 helmet. I can only imagine this is a symptom of mass-vanity! Even with a bike helmet bikers are at risk of being murdered (too strong a word? I think not) by SUV drivers fiddling with their cell phones. Last time I rode my bike on CU streets I wore an old motorcycle helmet.
Saturday, August 23, 2008 9:03 PM
I agree with James. It's taking your life into your hands. However, it's worth it. There's not a whole lot of easy to get experiences that make you feel as free as you do while riding a bike.
I live (now) in Portland, and we're lucky enough to be considered one of the most bike friendly cities in the country. Still, it's defying death every time I make it home from the grocery store / park / work.
The more folks that ride around on bikes, the better ...