By Dee Longfellow
On Wednesday, June 12, around 110 people came to Elmhurst University for a Downtown Plan Workshop to develop a vision of the future of the community and to obtain public input.
This workshop came on the heels of the public workshop held on Tuesday, Feb. 13, which offered residents and stakeholders a chance to express their thoughts before any plans or recommendations were drafted. Attendees were given the planning process and the project schedule.
Also on Feb. 13, there was a listening session targeted to Elmhurst’s corporate citizens, property and business owners, as well as developers, as an important downtown stakeholder group. The session served to establish a dialogue with those members of the business community who can offer keen insight and a distinct perspective, which are crucial to the downtown plan’s ultimate success.
Downtown Plan Visioning Workshop
Nik Davis, AICP, principal with Houseal Lavigne, led the workshop by offering a short introduction to the method and how the exercises would unfold. Participants were invited to work together in groups to share their ideas, thoughts and concerns in various categories.
“Think about what you want Elmhurst to be in another 20 years,” Davis said. “We want to capture the community’s desires, needs and aspirations.
“Think about what you go to other towns for. A certain restaurant, a store, a drycleaner? And then think about what Elmhurst has that draws people from other communities.”
He pointed out that there is an Existing Condition Overview map available on the City’s web site. That became a starting point of the evening’s exercise, as a large map of the City was available at each discussion table with a set of colored markers to be used to mark areas where a suggestion was made.
For example, one table drew an orange rectangle down York Street and Addison from 3rd Street to the railroad tracks, requesting it either be a designated bike path or at least have bike lanes added.
Categories people asked to reflect upon were:
• Vehicular and parking including roadway improvements, intersection improvements, poor congestion, heavy traffic circulation, traffic signals, public transit, parking lots, parking decks.
• Pedestrian and bicycle including sidewalk connections, ADA accessibility, pathways, bike routes, pedestrian walkways, and safety concerns.
• Streetscape is a broad term meaning everything that makes up the street, including sidewalks, landscaping, planters, outdoor dining, benches, trash receptables, public art installations and other site furnishings and amenities.
• Public gathering spaces, plazas, and green space used for community socializing.
• Signage includes gateway features, wayfinding, directional, archways, monuments, parking and downtown amenities.
• Opportunity sites and catalyst sites, which includes land-use types including residential, commercial, office, mixed use, etc. What development would you like to see, i.e. restaurants, apartments, places of entertainment? Are there existing buildings that need enhancement or should be considered for redevelopment?
Where do we go from here?
The event concluded with each group offering its ideas followed by a general agreement of a vision for downtown Elmhurst and what projects and improvements may be helpful to fulfill that vision.
The next step in the process is for Davis to take these findings along with those from the previous workshops back to Houseal Lavigne to develop a preliminary plan. That plan is expected to be unveiled before the entire community at an open house event in the future.
