Existing Conditions
These data points build an understanding of the current context from which future plans can develop.
Existing Conditions
Using a base year of 2015, existing conditions data establish a baseline from which planning visions can be grounded. This section includes demographic, land use, environmental, and health data as well as information specific to each transportation mode.
Demographics
The Champaign-Urbana Urbanized Area spans approximately 47 square miles and contains a population of more than 148,000 people in east-central Illinois. The region is located 135 miles south of Chicago, Illinois, 120 miles west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 180 miles northeast of Saint Louis, Missouri. Five municipalities are partially or wholly within the Champaign-Urbana Urbanized Area, including: City of Champaign, City of Urbana, Village of Savoy, Village of Tolono, and Village of Bondville.
Land Use
The distribution and concentration of people and land uses within the urban area can increase or decrease transportation options for people and businesses accessing goods, services, employment, education, open space, and other resources. Effective coordination of land use development and transportation planning can produce policies and strategies that preserve and enhance valued natural and cultural resources and facilitate healthy, sustainable communities and neighborhoods. This section provides an overview of local land use information including population density, land use distribution and acreage, and the locations of archaeological and historical sites.
Environment
It is critical to consider the natural environment when accounting for the short- and long-term impacts of transportation decisions. In connection with new approaches to how we maintain and enhance the livability of our region, current Federal and State transportation legislation reconfirm the need to enhance the performance of transportation systems while protecting and enhancing the natural environment as one of its primary goals. Managing environmental resources as a group of strategic assets that are crucial to municipal goals, important to ecosystem health, and beneficial to the region is key to successful regional management.
Health
Scientific evidence in public health literature has firmly established the relationship between transportation mode choice and public health, separate from the risk of injury or death as a result of a crash. In a 2010 report titled [The Hidden Health Costs of Transportation] (https://www.apha.org/~/media/files/pdf/factsheets/hidden_health_costs_transportation.ashx), prepared for the American Public Health Association by Urban Design 4 Health, Inc., the authors cite several studies demonstrating differences between car-based communities and communities that facilitate more active modes of transportation through better support and infrastructure for walking, biking, and public transit.
Transportation
The following sections provide an overview of transportation behavior in the community including each mode in the local transportation system. Data regarding infrastructure, safety, and ridership are included where available. Commuting Behavior According to commuting data for workers 16 years and over, the majority of MPA residents choose to drive alone to work over walking, biking, or transit, but at significantly different rates depending on the municipality. In the cities of Urbana and Champaign, commuters choose to walk, bike, and take transit to work at significantly higher rates than the other local municipalities and national averages.