Normal, ISU highlight campus safety improvements

Image courtesy of the Town of Normal

NORMAL, Ill. – The Town of Normal and Illinois State University partnered to host the Campus Safety Showcase on Monday at the Bone Student Center.

The showcase served as the final community outreach event for the Pedestrian and Roadway Campus Safety Initiative and allowed the project team to share findings and recommendations for the Illinois State University campus.

Ryan Otto, director of public works and engineering for the Town of Normal, said the event is just one part of broader community outreach efforts since the project began.

“Over the last 14 to 16 months we’ve been at this project, we’ve had a lot of public engagement,” he said. “This is really our third wave.”

Otto said public feedback has been at the root of all decision-making.

“We’ve heard a lot of feedback,” he said. “We’re just hoping to take that feedback and build on a lot of those ideas.”

During Phase One outreach alone, the town received more than 1,500 community interactions and over 2,700 map comments.

From these responses, the town identified key themes, including balancing pedestrian safety with vehicle access.

Adam McCray, director of environmental health and safety at Illinois State University, said roadways affect everyone and the project aims to address all types of users.

“That’s everybody from those who drive cars, those who ride bikes or skateboards, to those who actually walk around campus,” McCray said. “We’re trying to find ways to improve those experiences and make it safer for everybody.”

The project has identified several intersections of interest, along with potential plans to improve them, particularly to enhance pedestrian safety.

There are currently seven quick-build projects in place across the Illinois State University campus, and project leaders hope to turn those into permanent solutions in the coming months.

For more information, visit the project documents on the Town of Normal’s website.