The proposed Longmeadow Parkway (LMP) is a
minor arterial roadway about 5.6 miles in length, extending from Huntley/Boyer Road to Route 62, including a new Fox River Bridge crossing.
This
minor arterial roadway--scheduled to be complete in August 2018--will have three lanes and five-foot shoulders, as well as separated, multi-use pathways on both sides of the road and continuous LED lighting along its length.
The street is a substandard
minor arterial with a 60-foot-wide right of way, making it impossible to reach that goal.
Among the improvements will be converting Kirk Road from a two-lane, dead-end street into a
minor arterial with four lanes of traffic and a center turn lane.
The problem is that the street, actually a
minor arterial, sits in a combined commercial and residential area.
Its strategic plan recommends the interjurisdictional coordination of traffic signals so that parallel
minor arterial streets that cross over municipal boundaries can handle diverted traffic efficiently.
The current design is unsafe, with nearly double the statewide average accidents for a
minor arterial. There were 74 collisions in just three years (2008-11) along the corridor.
Whisenhunt pushed the issue when he improved the west side of Kanis Road beside Dairyland to
minor arterial standards and helped pay for a traffic signal at Chenal Parkway.
Streets are classified as major arterial,
minor arterial, residential streets or alleys.
arterial road - a major or main route