Moving to Urbana/Champaign

[sllydog]

Clear up one reply, the University of Illinois Campus is located in both Champaign and Urbana. The dividing line is Wright Street which runs North and South and passes quite close to the Illini Union.

The natives of these two communities view themselves quite distinct. I live in Urbana, the smaller of the two. Population ~35,000 The natives have a lot of attitude about their town. They really shouldn't. Urbana is the county seat of Champaign Oounty. The mayor seems to be in favor or replacing some street lights at two intersections with round-a-bouts. When one considers the number of visitors the U of I attracts for sporting events, this is sure to cause some problems.

Champaign (pop~65000) seems to have a more realistic self-image. It would seem that the city government is less driven by agendas.

Both communities have a range of different types of neighborhoods and any type would have examples to be found in both. It would help if you could mention what you feel would be the perfect housing situation for your family. (This would include number of bedrooms and bathrooms, total square footage, number of stories, basement? garage? lot size? age and architecture?) Do you plan to drive to work or take the bus? How much do you plan to spend to live the dream? How far in miles and time are you willing to travel to work?

Wish I could be more help.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by sllydog

The mayor seems to be in favor or replacing some street lights at two intersections with round-a-bouts. When one considers the number of visitors the U of I attracts for sporting events, this is sure to cause some problems.

In that case roundabouts should be a good thing since all else being equal they can manage a higher volume of cross traffic than a light-controlled intersection can. The one caveat is that the volume of traffic entering the roundabout during heavy traffic periods needs to be roughly equivalent from both axes or else the traffic flow on the more traveled axis will effectively block out traffic from the other axis from having a chance to enter the roundabout.

Which interesections is he looking to roundaboutify?

[linicx]

I lived in a city that replaced 5 stoplights with one roundabout. Each entrance had a stop sign. It was sometimes a bit hairy during heavy traffic, but overall it was quite amazing to see how much faster traffic moved when it wasn't behind a stop light.

I do not know how well a traffic control device like a roundabout would work in a city the size of Chicago. It would probably be a very good idea in Urbana.

[pianist1972]

Actually the population figures quoted above are outdated...Urbana is about 43K, Champaign is 82K, Savoy is closing in on 10K. Plus, about 45K students, so it really is more like an area of 175K or so. All the shops you could want, and quite a thriving non-chain dining scene. Real estate is affordable, though there was a lot of higher-end construction as the bubble burst. But, places like CU weren't hit as hard, with the relatively stable university employment and large healthcare sector.

[sllydog]

One intersection mentioned was Florida Ave and Philo Rd. Philo Rd has a lot more traffic. The other one was Windsor Rd and Race Street? Windsor has a lot more traffic. I was more concerned about non-locals having to confront the unfamiliar.

[JaimeeG]

The intersection at Windsor and Race is a double lane 4 way stop, which I find frustrating and dangerous. Perhaps a roundabout would be good there. Philo and Florida? That's odd. I think the lights do a fine job there, but maybe it's different on a game day?