Bike Urbana
Urbana is a Bicycle Friendly Community!
The City of Urbana encourages the use of bicycles as a logical alternative to the automobile for access to local amenities. Bicycling provides for the public health and well being of Urbana’s citizens, contributes to good air quality, and reduces congestion. With a size of 11.6 square miles and flat topography, the City of Urbana is an ideal community for bicycle commuting. Bicycling is intended to be safe, efficient, and a practical travel option for all residents and visitors in the city for both recreation and daily needs.
Central Illinois' Second Annual Bike Summit
May 15, 2013 is the second annual Central Illinois Bike Summit in Normal, Illinois. Registration available soon. Contact Rebecca Bird for more information.
 | Champaign County Bike's BIKE MAPof Urbana-Champaign. |
 | City of Urbana Bike Parking information and MAP. |
City Council Goals
Urbana City Council has adopted the goal of becoming "a multimodal, bike and pedestrian-friendly community that supports sustainable transportation." Two ways in which the City is achieving this goal is with the creation of the Urbana Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission and the adoption of the City of Urbana Bicycle Master Plan in April of 2008.
Bike Friendly Community
Urbana was designated as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) in May of 2010. LAB was pleased to see the current efforts, potential and commitment to make Urbana a great place for bicyclists, as seen by the growing number of bicyclists - approximately 8% of the population bicycles for transportation. Urbana has strong bicycle groups, high bicyclist mode share, a comprehensive bike plan, a broad bicycle advisory committee, and a good amount of bicycle parking. In 2013, Urbana will seek the Silver Bicycle Friendly Community designation, requiring completion of a major portion of the Bicycle Master Plan and development of institutionalized bicycle safety education programs by partner agencies.
May 1, 2013 is C-U Bike to Work Day
C-U Bike to Work Day takes place early in May each year as part of National Bike Month. Hundreds of registered bicyclists visit bike stations throughout the community for refreshments and prizes. Check out photos from past events or click here to find out more.
2012-2013 Bike Projects
Main Street
Two miles of bicycle lanes will be added to Main Street this summer, between Cedar and Vine Streets and Grove Street to University Avenue.
Broadway Avenue
Broadway Avenue between Water Street and University Avenue will receive improvements summer 2013 that include .25 miles of bike lanes.
Washington Street
One mile of bicycle lanes will be added to Washington Street between Philo Road and Dodson Drive this summer during a resurfacing project.
Race Street
Between Washington Street and Michigan Avenue, Race Street will be reconstructed and include bus pull-ins and .25 miles of share the road.
Cunningham Avenue
An eight foot shared use path will be added to the east side of Cunningham Avenue between Kenyon and Perkins Roads.
Safe Routes to School Grant
The City of Urbana will receive a $199,000 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to install a large bicycle network to benefit Urbana Middle School and five Urbana elementary schools. The network, which will facilitate more students biking to school, will include 2.2 miles of bike lanes, 0.5 miles of shared bike/parking lanes, and 5.6 miles of bike routes. The project will also include installation of 112 new bike spaces at schools along the bike network. Over 1,200 students at the six benefiting schools live within 1.5 miles of their school, giving this project a lot of "bank for the buck." Installation of the bike network will begin in Spring 2013.
