Recycling Survey to Assist Public Works

The Champaign Downtown Association’s Urban Environment Committee works to improve the aesthetics of downtown Champaign. Recently the committee has been working to improve upon information available for downtown residents and businesses of services in the area so that everyone is aware and can do their part to improve the appeal of downtown.
Seeking to improve upon efforts and share information with public works for better development of recycling programs the CDA is collecting information in a survey that will be shared with Angela Adams, who is the new Recycling Coordinator and will be responsible for implementing programs. Some of the tentative concepts that have been discussed is requirements for businesses that would be similar to single family homes. Development of new programming is being worked on throught he summer and hopes are for new programing by January.

To assist with development we request that all fill out this short survey. Thanks!

C-U Bike to Work Day

Tuesday, May 4th – There will be a Bike to Work (or school) event from 7-10AM with stations in downtown Champaign at Neil and Main, downtown Urbana at Main and Vine, Engineering Plaza on campus, and the Savoy Recreation Center. There will likely be food, and there will definitely be comraderie.  Come out on your bike and enjoy what we hope will be a beautiful morning.

Riders should pre-register online for the event so that the organizers can get a good “bike count” and justify future grant applications! – http://www.champaigncountybikes.org/CUBikeToWork/register.html.

More information on Bike Month and the Bike to Work events at www.champaigncountybikes.org.

Think Parking Deck during the snow!

To My Fellow Downtown Parkers:

If you live and work downtown, I recommend you consider using the new downtown parking deck on days or nights when the forecast calls for heavy snowfall. Its nice to have a downtown garage to park our cars safely off the streets and out of parking lots.

Its a great way to let the plows do their work. You can be be off and running without having to scrape your windows, shovel around your car, have shoes filled with snow, and then maneuver through snow to get to a clear road.

I did it last night, and plan to do it more. It was great to walk on shoveled sidewalks past One Main,  cross Neil opposite Ko-Fusion, and go through the covered walkway “tunnel” of M2 directly into the lot.

And be reminded the deck is a “no-ticket zone” with a maximum 24 hour rate is $7.50. Thats a pretty sweet deal.

Jeff Mellander, President
Precision Graphic Services, Inc.

CashKey’s Make Parking in Downtown Easier!

If you are always running out of quarters when finding a place to park in Downtown here are a few helpful hints to make your visit easier.

No change… no problem.

1) Try parking at the Illinois Terminal Parking Lot. This lot is open to the general public (not just those visiting the terminal) and it uses a pay station which accepts, cash, coin, and debit/credit cards.

2) Purchase a CashKey. These devices work like an I-pass.  They allow you to preload time onto your CashKey and every time you insert it into the meter it deducts $0.25 worth of time.  These can also work at University and Urbana meters assuming that you have loaded time onto those portions of the key.  For more information on the CashKey visit the City of Champaign website at www.ci.champaign.il.us/parking.

3) Park further away. You can take advanatage of cheaper parking by simply parking a little further away from your destination and walking.  Look for the colored stickers on the meter post.  These tell you how long you can park at that meter and how much.  Meters further out are generally priced at $0.25 per hour and gradually increase to the most coveted spaces of $0.75 per hour.

4) Use the Hill Street Parking Deck! When this deck opens in March 2009, it will house 600 brand new parking spaces that give you both conveneience, shelter, and choice of payment.  This deck is right in the heart of Downtown and will accept cash, coin, and debit/credit cards.  Look for more information this winter.