Benton Bicycle Master Plan

Bicycle Master Plan Overview

Benton is participating in developing a bicycle master plan that the Greater Egypt Regional Planning and Development Commission is facilitating on behalf of the City of Mt. Vernon and the City of Benton. The purpose of the bicycle master plan will be to guide future bicycle improvements in Benton with short, intermediate, and long-term implementation strategies. The bicycle master plan will include an inventory of existing bicycle facilities, an analysis of existing roadways capable of accommodating bicycle facilities, and recommendations for specific infrastructure projects.

While the plan will be for the jurisdictional boundaries of Benton, recommended bike travel corridors will consider connectivity to existing and proposed regional bike trail networks such as the Rend Lake bike trails.

The planning process started in Summer 2023 and will be completed by late Spring 2024. Community input will be an essential part of the bicycle master plan. An Advisory Committee that includes residents, organizations, and businesses will meet with the planning team two to three times during the process to provide advice and feedback. In addition, an online community wide survey and two public open houses will allow the public to help shape the plan.

Thank You for Attending Open House #2 on Tuesday, feb 27th

Thank you to everyone who came to the open house to review the draft plan and provide feedback on priority projects! Thank you to Cafe Bloom for hosting the meeting.

If you missed the meeting and would like to view the Open House boards and maps: click here.

Existing Conditions Report Now Available

This ‘Existing Conditions Report’ is the first deliverable (product) in the process of developing the Bicycle Master Plan. It represents the end of the first phase of the planning process. This document focuses on:

• Community Engagement

• Existing Conditions

• Routes to Study

This report should be considered an “In-Progress” document and will be updated and edited, as needed, for inclusion in the draft and final master plan. The intent of this document is to provide a foundation of existing conditions.

Future deliverables include:

• Draft Bicycle Master Plan (Spring 2024)

• Final Bicycle Master Pan and Grant Application (Late Spring 2024)

Click here to download the document.

Recent Schedule

Summer 2023: Plan Kickoff

August 31, 2023: Stakeholder Meetings

October 3rd: Open House #1

November 15, 2023: Advisory Committee Meeting #2

November: Existing Conditions Report

Tuesday, Open House #2

Upcoming Schedule

Spring 2024: Final Bicycle Master Plan

thank you for coming by the Open House on October 3rd! Check out the coverage by WSIL.

Oct 4 WSIL Teaser