Neighbors & Council Address Future of Curtis Road Project

(CHAMPAIGN)---Neighbors may get the answer they want about the future of the Curtis Road interchange. The project includes big development of the area and around the new ramps on and off Interstate 57. For the most part neighbors feel the Curtis Road project is reasonable, but they do have some concerns about the area's future. A big fear is that they'll lose their small town feel. Tuesday night council members listened to citizens’ feedback. Some say they don't want that part of town to be lined with big box stores, like on North Prospect. Residents hope the leaders' feelings now don't change in the future. "The reason I'm here is to encourage the city council to adopt language that's as strong as possible for the future." Says Champaign resident Nancy Hoetker Others like Curtis Road neighbor Kenny Goode worries about the traffic the project will create. "Curtis is being widened and I anticipate most of the traffic coming off the interstate will carry on down to Curtis." He says "But there's a possibility for more spillover into the neighborhood." Some other concerns brought forward Tuesday night were property values. Would they go up, down, or would they stay the same? The issue of green space was also a hot topic. Neighbors want to see some scenic areas along with the commercial development near the new interchange.