Planning Programs and Projects

Called the "Queen Suburb of Chicago" by early realtors, Western Springs is known as a community with lovely homes, great neighborhoods, and a strong sense of community. It also has a wonderful, small downtown with unique restaurants and shops centered on a Metra commuter rail station. To maintain and enhance this unique core of community life, in 2011 the Village crafted a Downtown Redevelopment Plan. The planning process involved an extensive public participation process, including a community survey, participatory workshops, a temporary storefront office for walk-in conversations about downtown, direct interviews and meetings with property owners and developers, and oversight by a steering committee. The intensive process resulted in a Plan that was adopted by the Village Board on August 22 by Ordinance 11-2643 as an amendment to the Village's Comprehensive Plan. Highlights of the plan include a wayfinding system, a renovation strategy for the overall streetscape, identification of nine potential redevelopment sites, creation of design guidelines, façade renovation sketches, implementation strategies, a marketing and promotions strategy, and examination of parking demand and identification of parking improvements.

In late 2009, the Village of Wilmette began a planning process that leveraged the Village's high commuter usage of the rail and bus systems to create a long-range vision for an improved downtown area. This ten-month planning and design process built upon several other studies and engaged some 300 residents in the process. The study process evaluated market feasibility, infrastructure capacity, and most importantly public opinion to create the final plan recommendations. The result of the project created a Master Plan that suggests increased densities, building heights and a mix of acceptable land uses combined with an appropriately regulated urban design and public realm character for defined portions or Target Areas of the Village Center. Additionally, the Master Plan conceptually addresses other areas of the Village Center, most notably the Green Bay Road corridor and future redevelopment which may occur there.

The final Wilmette Village Center Master Plan is intended as a basis, or starting point, for any future detailed development planning, design or engineering that will be required leading up to construction and implementation of all or portions of the Plan. It is a guide and as an approved Village tool, it will provide the roadmap for future initiatives, Village leadership goal setting and budgeting and management of the downtown. It is a living document and must be easily and effectively managed and adaptable to changing market conditions. While the time horizon for this Master Plan has been identified as a 10 to 15 year program, it is important that staff and Village leadership update and benchmark the plan on a regular interval. The Village of Wilmette officially adopted the Village Center Master Plan document as an amendment to their comprehensive plan on January 25, 2011. The project's website contains detailed information and reports.

This project assisted the Village in identifying, analyzing, and developing a transit improvement plan to encourage, promote, and complement transportation options along Route 20/Lake Street. The study focused on Lake Street from Route 83 on the east to Swift Road on the west, taking into account Pace bus Routes 711 and 715. Redevelopment guidelines that support transit and pedestrians, and a circulation plan recommending ways to accommodate multimodal transportation throughout the corridor were prepared. This project was developed as a continuation of another RTAP Project, the DuPage Mayors and Managers DuPage Community Circulator Prototype Plan, of which the Village was a participant.

This project examined potential pedestrian enhancements and transit-supportive land uses within the City's downtown which includes the Pace Chicago Heights bus terminal and a proposed site for a station on the SouthEast Service Line Extension.

The City of Chicago, in conjunction with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), looked at three elevated train station areas (Berwyn on the Red Line, 43rd Street on the Green Line and a potential infill station near Cermak on the Green Line) and developed comprehensive land use (urban design) and transportation plans for each station. This study was an important first step in the citywide effort to strengthen the relationship between land use and transportation, plan for neighborhood growth and enhancement, inform future development and redevelopment decision-making, and guide public and private investment in three station areas.