Road Diet For Route 31 Input Sought From Batavia Residents

Press release from the City of Batavia:

BATAVIA, IL — The City of Batavia will held a public information meeting Aug. 23 to discuss the proposed implementation of a road diet for Illinois Route 31 from Fabyan Parkway to Mooseheart Road.

Representatives from TransSystems Corporation, the contractor hired by the city to perform a perform phase 1 of the preliminary engineering study, provided a project overview. A PDF of their presentation is available here. The consultants, along with members of city staff, responded to attendees' questions. Attendees' written comments on the project were also collected.
The U.S. Department of Transportation explains the road diet approach as narrowing travel lanes or shoulders or eliminating some of them to provide more space for pedestrians and bicyclists. A typical road diet consists of converting a four-lane roadway (two in each direction) to a three-lane (one in each direction plus a center turn lane). The proposal for Batavia would convert the four-lane road from Fabyan Parkway to Mooseheart Road to three lanes with shoulders.

The project requires Illinois Department of Transportation approval, and they have requested a public information meeting be held to gather feedback prior to their approval. Spring of 2024 is the target project completion date.

The City of Batavia is also completing a separate study to evaluate the existing pedestrian crossings along the corridor and the segment of Rt. 31 through downtown Batavia for safety improvements. A public information meeting regarding that project will be held at a later date.

The comment period to provide input to IDOT remains open until Sept. 6. For additional information and to send comments, contact rbari@bataviail.gov or call 630-454-2760.

Batavia Avenue Road Diet Overview

As part of its strategic goals, the City of Batavia has been exploring opportunities to improve traffic flow and safety along Batavia Avenue, or Illinois Route 31. To assist with this goal, the city council authorized a contract with TransSystems Corporation to perform a Batavia Avenue Road Diet feasibility study in 2022. In March 2023, the city council approved a contract with the same company to perform phase 1 of the preliminary engineering study. A project overview, along with the feasibility study and contract with TransSystems can be found in this Road Diet Update 3-23 PDF.

The U.S. Department of Transportation explains the road diet approach as narrowing travel lanes or shoulders or eliminating some of them to provide more space for pedestrians and bicyclists. A typical road diet consists of converting a four-lane roadway (two in each direction) to a three-lane (one in each direction plus a center turn lane) and adding sidewalks or bicycle lanes.

City staff along with TransSystems met with Illinois Department of Transportation staff in October 2021 to discuss the scope of the project and IDOT’s expectations from the feasibility study. After receiving feedback from IDOT, the feasibility study focused primarily on vehicular traffic from south of Fabyan Parkway to Mooseheart Road.

A draft of the feasibility study was presented to the city council during their April 12 Joint Committee of the Whole Meeting.

This press release was produced by the City of Batavia. The views expressed here are the author’s own.