This project aims to widen the shared use path of the existing Lorado Taft path from 4th St to 6th St. This is a major E-W thoroughfare for bicyclists and pedestrians connecting west side of the campus, Ikenberry Commons to core of the campus. We recognize that this path, in existing condition, is too narrow to safely accommodate the volume of traffic. F&S hired TERRA Engineering in Fall 2025 to design a solution for this corridor, with input from the campus bicycling community and they have provided a draft of the design proposal (see attached). The draft design calls for construction of an 8’ wide sidewalk immediately south of the existing 8’ wide path, which will be converted to a bike path. The total estimate to construct this path will be about $345,000. We are requesting SSC to fund $212,515.91 for this project, which will cover a portion of this construction project. We have funds available from Bike Fee and we are requesting campus funds for this project as well that will cover the remainder of the project cost.

This proposal directly funds the following. See approved budget for details.
1. Site Clearing, Asphalt Paving, Cement Concrete Paving, Soil Placement & Grading 2. Illinois Native Grasses (Per SSC Funding Standards, Must Be Straight Species and Indigenous to Illinois)