In the midst of contract negotiations with the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, it is clear that University officials hope to renew an agreement with the district that would keep bus service on campus.

It is unclear, however, under what provisions that contract will be renewed.

The University turned to a private transportation research team earlier this year to analyze the MTD relationship with the University and what type of changes can be made. Issues were raised regarding congestion on Wright Street and pedestrian safety.

“The question we asked was to see whether or not it would be advantageous to have our own bus system,” said Associate Chancellor Peg Rawles.

“The answer was ‘no way’, that would be horrible. Don’t do that to us,” said Facilities and Services Transportation Demand Manager Morgan Johnston.

The transit analysis found that MTD charges the University $35 per hour when it costs between $70-$80 per hour to operate.

The analysis was a follow-up to a 2006 transportation study, independent of the MTD, which was also completed for the University. According to that report, the University is currently paying $3.6 million per year for campus bus service and is proposing an increase to $4.9 million to accommodate changes.

The analysis proposes the idea for a complete street – one designed to include provisions for cyclists, vehicle traffic and pedestrians – to be built as a solution to the bottleneck at Wright and John streets that forces southbound buses into oncoming traffic.

According to the MTD transit analysis, one of the main goals of the University is to go from a driving campus to a pedestrian campus. Current discussions between the University and the MTD include rerouting most bus lines. The analysis proposes reducing traffic off of Wright Street by re-routing the 22 Illini, the most heavily ridden bus on campus.

“In our view that would seriously undermine the reliability of the 22 Illini route,” said MTD director Bill Volk. “There is nothing in the study that indicated that a reduction on the number of trips on Wright Street will increase safety if you have 60 trips from 70 trips running through Wright.”

Volk says the concern would be the push of more vehicles on Green Street that would otherwise be on Wright, endangering Green Street pedestrians.

Within the last 3 years, MTD buses have twice killed pedestrians, causing the University to become more concerned with pedestrian safety.

These were the only two fatalities in the last 20 years. One collision was at the intersection of Sixth and Chalmers streets and the other located at the intersection of Goodwin Avenue and Gregory Drive.

“We’re looking at the pedestrian environment and ways we can improve it,” Rawles said. “Safety is the board and chancellor’s preoccupation.”

Rawles said the recent fatalities “certainly was a part of the reason” for the focus on pedestrian safety.

“We needed to touch base with the outside world and see if we’re getting the best cost benefit ratio, and we were overjoyed to see that the answer is yes,” Johnston said.