The below was sent to me by Scott Fowler of the McLean County Regional Planning Commission. I agreed to post the information. I asked Scott how many cyclists were in the area, this is his response:
We currently don’t have a number for how many cyclists live in Bloomington-Normal. We are hoping that this effort will give us a better idea of how many cyclists we have in the community.
My only concern to a Master Plan and implementation is cost. How many people will benefit and how much will it cost those not getting any benefit. Diane Benjamin
The City of Bloomington is embarking on creating a citywide bicycle master plan. This plan will help guide the future bicycling infrastructure investments in the city. Residents of Bloomington will have three different ways to participate:
1. Express your opinion online via the virtual town hall at Bloomingtonil.mindmixer.com: Through this forum, you can voice your opinion, see what other members of the community are proposing in terms of Biking infrastructure improvements, engage in an online conversation with other contributors, pinpoint the problem areas on the map and interact with the City staff.
2. Fill out the paper survey: All Bloomington residents should receive a survey in the mail along with their water bills. Please be sure to fill those out and send them back with your water payments. Encourage your neighbors to fill them as well. Your input could really make the difference. If you would like additional surveys for distribution at your neighborhood meeting, please contact us at [email protected].
3. Attend the workshop: We encourage you to attend an interactive workshop led by the League of Illinois Bicyclists (LIB) to learn about the project and types of bikeways, and to provide more detailed input in person.
Public Brainstorming Workshop
March 18, 2014 7-8:30 p.m.
Bloomington Police Station
Osborn Room
305 S. East St. Bloomington, IL 61701
We urge you and your neighbors to utilize one of these ways to provide the feedback. Feel free to forward this invitation to any and all interested parties that may have an interest in participating in this important process. Feel free to contact staff at the McLean County Regional Planning Commission with questions or learn more on this initiative.
The McLean County Regional Planning Commission and City of Bloomington appreciate your efforts in taking part in this important phase.
Sincerely,
The McLean County Regional Planning Commission Staff
McLean County Regional Planning Commission
115 E. Washington St., Ste. M103
Bloomington, IL 61701-4089
Phone: 309-828-4331
Fax: 309-827-4773
Web: www.mcplan.org
McLean County Regional Planning Commission
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I’m confused, Are the County and the City working on this together but only the City citizens get to complete the survey? Does that mean that only the City of Bloomington citizens have to pay the extra money to pay for this bikeway and the county citizens won’t incur any of the cost?
The McLean County Regional Planning Commission is supported by the State and a lot of government agencies in the County. They have their own staff, then these agencies send representatives to their meetings and they are members of the board. These guys have plans for everything! Unit 5, District 87, Bloomington, Normal, and on and on. They look for grant money so get the projects proposed done. It is a good way for the State is impose what they want on the citizens because they give money. Think the East-side bypass. It goes even higher because the Feds give the money to the States and then the States hand it out. Guess who is making the decisions? They aren’t local.
This survey is a Bike Plan just for Bloomington. Normal may already have one. Whatever they come up with for Bloomington will be paid for by Bloomington, minus any grant money they can find. Going green gets money, so they will find some.