On Saturday, March 23, two downtown blocks in the City of Alton will be transformed to demonstrate how two-way bicycle traffic would function.
Southern Illinois University Edwardville’s Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC) is hosting the “pop-up” event on East Broadway in collaboration with Alton’s proposed Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, according to Connie Frey Spurlock, PhD, SSCC faculty director and associate professor in the Department of Sociology.
SIUE students will temporarily transform the streets by installing design features such as temporary paint, tape, cones and more.
“The pop-up event provides shoppers, business owners and other community members a chance to experience and influence proposed street-level modifications, before deciding to support or oppose those modifications,” said Frey Spurlock.
Participants will experience the change and be invited to share feedback at the SIUE/STL Art Hive that will be set up in the area. The art hive will be hosted by SIUE’s art therapy counseling program.
“Pop-ups and art hives are creative and effective ways to increase public participation in community-level decision-making processes,” explained Frey Spurlock. “They are more interactive than traditional formats, such as community meetings and media announcements. The expected outcome of the pop-up is that upon experiencing the spaces with fewer or no vehicles, and more pedestrians and bicyclists, the community is more apt to embrace the idea.”
The project was made possible by a $4,000 grant awarded by the JPB Foundation.
SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC) is a cross-disciplinary program that supports one-year partnerships between the University and communities in Illinois to advance local resilience and sustainability based on community-identified environmental, social and economic issues and needs. Our mission is to connect Illinois communities with the students and faculty of the University.
SIUE is a student-centered educational community dedicated to communicating, expanding and integrating knowledge. In a spirit of collaboration enriched by diverse ideas, its comprehensive and unique array of undergraduate and graduate programs inspire professionals, scholars and leaders who shape a changing world.
Photo: SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative is partnering with the City of Alton to illustrate “pop-up” features to demonstrate how a two-way cycle track would function in downtown Alton.