Five projects intended to strengthen U.S. Highway 50 by minimizing functional distress and capitalizing on opportunities are in the process of moving forward in O’Fallon.
But it was through public feedback that the concepts were refined, according to Community Development Director Justin Randall.
The future of the main road from Interstate 64 to Scott-Troy Road was a focus of the East-West Gateway Council of Government’s Great Streets Initiative, which funded the detailed plan from Exit 14 to Exit 19, including a portion of Lincoln Avenue.
The St. Louis Great Streets Initiative was launched in early 2006 to expand the way communities think of their streets.
“Rather than viewing a roadway project as solely a way to move more cars and trucks faster, the goal of the St. Louis Great Streets Initiative is to trigger economic and social benefits by centering communities around interesting, lively and attractive streets that serve all modes of transportation,” the EWG stated.
The Top Five Priority Projects include:
Shared use paths on north side of U.S. 50;
Roundabout at U.S. 50 and Lincoln Avenue;
New Streetscape for Lincoln Avenue from Highway 50 to downtown;
Pedestrian median crossings at Community Park;
Continuous sidewalks on both sides of Highway 50.
“It’s pretty ambitious to tackle five at once. It’s not going to happen overnight, obviously. We feel the first big steps are in the budget already. We’re looking forward to implementing the plans,” Randall told the council’s Community Development Committee July 22.
The final report presenting the findings of Forward 50, the Great Streets project that began a year ago, has been made public.
The next step is for the O’Fallon City Council to approve the top five to move forward. That action is expected at their Aug. 5 meeting.
Highway 50 was the main thoroughfare through O’Fallon until Interstate 64 was built in 1975, and its function has changed over the years.
The city hosted 11 public design workshops and planning meetings that were attended by 410 people, and during 10 months of online engagement, they had 2,165 residents share ideas, concerns and preferences, according to Cory Scott, RDG senior manager.
RDG, a national planning and design group with an office in St. Louis, was the project director. They talked to residents about mobility, land use and design, infrastructure, economic development and environment and parks.
Scott said those talks were crucial to bringing the best ideas to life. He drove in from Des Moines, Iowa, to discuss the findings with aldermen Monday.
“When we started this project, and the Great Streets Initiative is a great one, it was about more than getting people from A to Z. It was about how do we build a city, how do we build a community, we had a lot of public input,” he said. “I’m excited about what’s ahead. At the first kickoff meeting, every seat was filled up in this room with people very interested in the future of this corridor.
“It shows a real enthusiasm and curiosity about what the future of the area could be like. It’s been a real privilege to work on this, and a real privilege to represent the team.”
Connecting the community, increasing mobility, identifying strategies to improve safety for all modes of travel, aesthetic improvements to boost the area’s appeal and target places for economic development were all taken into consideration, Randall said
While it continues to support local access to businesses, schools, neighborhoods, health facilities, and parks for the city’s 32,000-plus residents, the town’s leadership believed segments of the corridor could operate better.
This highway study was funded, in part, through a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Illinois Department of Transportation. The grant was up to $500,000 and the city’s portion was $100,000.
They defined the areas of interest as between I-64 and West 3rd St/Cambridge Blvd. in the west, between West 3rd Street/Cambridge Boulevard and Weber Road in the central part, between Weber Road and Scott Troy intersection in the east.
Marty Shukert, principal at RDG, who has more than 40 years of experience in urban planning, said residents were demanding more crossings and pedestrian areas that are much “safer and easier to use.”
He said they worked on interlinking places to encourage traffic flow and walkability.
“People want to be active,” he said.
Scott said circulation was a key component for improvements.
Focus groups met in the summer of 2023 – businesses, churches, educational groups, and civic and service organizations gave input.
The 300-page document can be accessed here: ofallon.org/DocumentCenter/View/925/Forward-50-Great-Streets-Plan
Implementing the Plan
Randall said the projects are also under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Transportation, so they will also have to approve the plans.
He said the projects were narrowed down to 11, then staff and the project team addressed what could happen first, selecting five.
They decided to pursue the shared use path on the north side of Highway 50 because $125,000 is already in the budget for engineering. They will seek a state grant, but were denied twice previously, so they have heeded advice on linking community assets to the path.
Instead of stopping at Seven Hills Road, they will extend from the Community Park to the Rec Plex.
“It’s a big stretch. We were told it scores better if it links to a walking trail (at the park). They like to see it connected to a grocery store, too, for pedestrian access,” Randall said.
Working on a detailed analysis of the Roundup suggested for Lincoln Avenue and Highway 50 is included in the budget, too, which put aside $100,000 for the work on preliminary findings.
“We have to see if it will fit,” Randall said.
The staff will be identifying sources for grant funds for all the projects, he said.
At a recent Town Hall meeting, Jeff Taylor, public works director, and Walter Denton, city administrator, gave a project overview.
“We will step it up, applying for grants. Most of these projects need federal dollars,” Taylor said.
Denton said a common theme was looking ahead 5, 10 and 15 years – what do we want O’Fallon to look like, stressing quality of life.
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