Tuesday evening’s (Sept 8) Danville City Council Public Works Committee meeting included forwarding to the full council some important next steps on long talked about projects. One has to do with a budget amendment for the awarding of a Phase One Preliminary Engineering Contract for VRU improvements, Phase 1 being in the Bowman – Seminary intersection area. VRU refers to “vulnerable road users;” such as pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchairs, and also construction workers. As Danville Community Development Administrator Logan Cronk explains, this is a grant the city was awarded a while back.
AUDIO: Ever since, essentially; DATS, Danville Area Transportation Study, went away; this grant was awarded to assist us in continuing to improve our infrastructure through a regional plan. This was applied for about two years ago, and awarded.
Speaking of pedestrian improvements, that’s been a long term city goal along Bowman Avenue and East Voorhees. Cronk says, the city plans to again apply for an Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) grant to take that next step; finally. Cronk says making East Voorhees safer for walkers is a high priority.
AUDIO: It’s been applied for two consecutive grant cycles. So it’s four years since our initial application for this. We feel like we’re ready to have a really good submittal. The pedestrian walkability of that roadway is really important. There’s a lot of people that walk down the middle of that road; on what is considered a business/industrial district.
Danville Community Development Administrator Logan Cronk (second from left) speaks during Tuesday’s Danville City Council Public Works Committee meeting.
And then, there’s the strong desire expressed by many to have the Kickapoo Rail Trail Extended into Danville. The city will be applying for another ITEP grant here, for $6 million dollars worth of Phase 1 and 2 Engineering Services. As Cronk explains, the city might have to provide $2.25 million of that. But if certain numbers work out right, maybe not; should the city meet a certain qualification.
AUDIO: It’s essentially a qualification scoring, provided by the state, that considers your community as “disadvantaged” or “distressed.” And (in that case) they will cover the match entirely.
Cronk says however its divided up, that $6 million for engineering work will not be covering the acquisition and construction phase of the Kickapoo Rail Trail extension; which is still way down the road, or should we say “way down the trail.”
