City of Champaign Closes Green Street to Pedestrian Traffic
Every University of Illinois student is familiar with Green Street, the bustling downtown of campus. Lined with restaurants, shops, and high-rise apartments, there’s never a dull moment for the countless students passing through.
With so much daily foot traffic, many residents have proposed turning the portion of Green Street between First and Wright into a European-style promenade, with outdoor seating, safe bike paths, and ornamental foliage.
However, Green Street also serves as one of the main roads leading into the sister cities of Urbana and Champaign, connecting to Neil Street and branching to major highways.
Following tense debate, the Champaign-Urbana Motor Department of Transportation finally made a firm decision on Monday, banning all pedestrians from Green Street stores, sidewalks, and other concrete.
“Green Street is like the aorta for the burgeoning heart that is the Urbana-Champaign community” said one spokesman for the CUMDOT in our correspondence. “Pedestrians are like cholesterol, blocking the veins and arteries—preventing cars from getting through. So, we stand strongly behind our decision.”
We also spoke to the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan-area Chamber of Commerce about the economic impacts of the decision.
“Pedestrians, for years, have prevented a pivot to the highly-profitable drive-through model. Now, students will be able to munch on a pizza from Mia Za’s, or sip on a Blue Guy from KAM’S, all in the comfort of their own car,” said Kirby Neil, head of expansion at CUMCOC.
Despite these changes, the bike lane will still be available for Doordash parking. Just make sure to hit the ‘park anywhere’ triangle.
We’re excited to see all the new changes this move will bring to campustown.