One of the most critical employment and commercial corridors in the region, Veterans Parkway is also one of the most dangerous in Bloomington and Normal and divides the communities. In 2024, the McLean County Regional Planning Commission (MCRPC), the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and other local partners launched a planning study to reinvent and re-envision Veterans Parkway for a Corridor Plan by all and for all, with focuses on safety, equity, and sustainability. Of particular importance is to safely accommodate all vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit users.

Originally constructed in 1941, the 83-year old Veterans Parkway has grown from a 4-lane bypass to an outdated, car-centric major arterial with 6-12 lanes today, carrying the highest traffic volume of any road in the Bloomington-Normal twin-city metro area. The current roadway design provides minimal accommodations for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users. Veterans Parkway also presents substantial barrier to cross-community access and is frequent location of serious crashes, including more than 75 life-altering injuries and deaths in the past 10 years.

Community member feedback is critical to help guide the recommendations in the plan. Your input will help shape the future of this essential corridor and how it will provide access to and from shopping, jobs and healthcare in the future. Your input will help the consultant team to understand the community’s challenges with the existing parkway, and desires for a reimagined one.

Participate in our engagement map by selecting the tab at the top of this page!