Harlem Avenue Corridor Plan:
Corridor Planning Across Municipal
Boundaries
Heather Tabbert, Manager, Local Planning and Programs
Division
Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)
Jen McNeil Dhadwal, Principal Urban Planner
URS Corporation
April 24, 2012
RTA Local and Regional
Planning
RTA
Planning, Oversight
and Funding
CTA
Chicago &
adjacent suburbs
Metra
Commuter Rail
Pace
Suburban Bus
Paratransit
Vanpool
RTA Local and Regional
Planning
McHenry
Lake
Cook
Kane
DuPage
Chicago
Cook
Will
•
8.5 million people
•
3,700 square miles
•
2M rides daily
•
3.6 bil. passenger miles
•
5,640 bus & rail cars
•
381 rail stations
•
334 bus routes
•
7,200 route miles
•
650 vanpool vehicles
•
$36 billion in assets
RTA Local and Regional
Planning
TOD and Transit Improvement
County Transit Plans
Kane County – Randall Road
County Farm Road
SSMMA
Cicero Avenue
Funding and Technical Support:
Community Planning Program
•
•
•
•
•
•
Transit-Oriented Development Plans
Transit Improvement / Corridor Plans
Available since 1998
Funded over 100 planning studies
Annual Call for Projects
Eligibility: Local Governments and
Service Boards
Why Multi-Jurisdictional
Planning is Important
There are a LOT of jurisdictions!
Chicago Area:
7 Counties
284 Municipalities
1,400 units of local
government
Main Players in Corridor
Planning
RTA
Transit
Service
Boards
IDOT
Counties
Cities
CMAP
COGS
Benefits of
Multi-Jurisdictional Planning
• Transportation is not local
• Transportation and land
use coordination
• Avoids piecemeal
approach
• Connectivity
• Consistency
• Common goals
• Consensus building
• Implementation
• Limited funding
Funding Availability
• Nature of federal funding
is changing
• More competitive, less
political
• Focus on projects with
regional focus that
benefits multiple areas
• Support from other
agencies needed
• Innovative funding
solutions needed
The Harlem Avenue
Corridor Plan
A Successful Multi-Jurisdictional Planning
Project
Harlem Avenue Corridor Plan
A comprehensive
Corridor Plan that:
• Addresses mobility and
accessibility, guided by
Complete Streets
principles
• Unifies the corridor while
accommodating the
diversity of member
communities
• Achieves economic
revitalization
• Focuses on
implementation
Corridor Hot Button Issues
•
Issue #1 – Manage / mitigate
roadway congestion
•
Issue #2 – Maximize
redevelopment of opportunity
sites
•
Issue #3 -- Enhance
commercial development
•
Issue #4 -- Reinforce links to
adjacent commercial districts
•
Issue #5 – Encourage corridor
as an employment generator
•
Issue #6 -- Strengthen corridor
and community identity
Transportation Planning
Traffic Management / ITS
• Heavy traffic conditions at
many intersections and
around expressways
Freight
• Congestion around
industrial areas throughout
corridor
Transportation Planning
Transit
•
•
•
•
Pace Service
Metra Service
CTA Service
Arterial Bus Rapid Transit
Pedestrians/Bicycles
• Pedestrian Scale
• Complete Sidewalks
• Bicycle Facilities and
Linkage to Trails
Land Use and Economics
Land Use / Zoning
• Compatible & incompatible
uses in close proximity
• Safe access to/from high
trip generators
Economic Development
• Employment corridor
• Encourage growth and
diversification
Land Use and Economics
Open Space/Recreation
• Numerous existing assets
o
o
o
o
Forest Preserve
Local and Regional Trails
Parks
Golf courses
• Consider stormwater
management
• Provide connections
between corridor and
recreational centers
Urban Design
Parking
• Curb cuts at safe locations
• Shared parking opportunities
Design
• Landscaped buffers and
plantings
• Integrate transportation,
infrastructure and landscape
• Wayfinding and signage
Recommendations
• Economic Development Sites
• Transportation Improvement Projects
• Urban Design Projects
Toyota Park Redevelopment Site
Bridgeview
95th Street Interchange Redesign
and Redevelopment Plan
Oak Lawn and Bridgeview
Southwest Highway
Improvements
Palos Hills, Chicago Ridge and Worth
159th Street Intersection
Improvements
Orland Park and Tinley Park
Implementation
Ongoing RTA support to SWCM
Corridor communities excited to move forward
STP Funding availability
TIGER grant applications in 2011 and 2012 for 95th Street
project
• Orland Park Transportation Plan
• Pace: Toyota Park Transit Center
•
•
•
•
www.harlemcorridor.com
The Harlem Avenue
Corridor Plan
In Retrospect….
Themes & Lessons Learned
Successes
Challenges
• Building upon strengths:
• Dealing with differences
in:
o
o
o
o
Previous collaboration
Common goals
Strong, clear leadership
Long-standing
relationships
Capacity
Information and data
Current state
Internal politics and
priorities
o Appetite for change
o
o
o
o
Capacity
What did we find?
How did we deal with this?
• Full time staff of
professionals
• Part time staff /
volunteers
• Jacks-of-all-trades
• One-on-one interviews
• Tailored
communication and
engagement
approach based on
skill and ability to
respond
Information and Data
What did we find?
• Robust, in-house
• Old, paper-based
• Black-box, externallymanaged
How did we deal with this?
• Early and frequent
detailed requests
• One-on-one interviews
and field work
• Assembly of multiple
sources
• First draft with followup, checking
• Line-in-the-sand stop to
existing conditions task
Current State
What did we find?
How did we deal with this?
• Active projects and
forward planning
• Stalled maintenance
efforts
• Proposed range of
ideas, with consistent
end goal
• Acknowledged
uniqueness and
successes
Internal Politics and Priorities
What did we find?
• Different levels of
capacity for public
investment and
spending
• Collaboration and
competition
• Spectrum of
engagement
How did we deal with this?
• Sought consensus on
project goal and
understanding of
individual priorities
• Explicitly stated the
enhancing role of
project, not superseding
local control
• Made
recommendations
within capacity and
level of interest
Lessons Learned
• What we’d repeat:
o Tailored / one-on-one communication + group work
sessions throughout the project
o Recognizing individual community successes
o Listening before talking
o Proactive engagement of technical participants
o Frequent communication with client / managers
o Hawkeye budget management
• What we’ll plan for next time:
o Variability in data
o More proactive engagement of “low participators”
Q &A
Contact Information :
Heather Tabbert, AICP
Manager, Local Planning and Programs
Regional Transportation Authority
312-913-3244
tabberth@rtachicago.org
Jen McNeil Dhadwal, AICP
Principal Planner
URS Corporation
312.596.6705
jennifer.mcneil@urs.com