City of St. Charles

St. Charles Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan & Complete Streets Policy

Combining the Power of Policy and Planning

Civiltech assisted the City of St. Charles in developing an actionable plan for a robust bike and pedestrian network. To support implementation of the plan with substantive policy, Civiltech also helped the City develop a new Complete Streets Policy.

Considering All Users

Civiltech interviewed staff to understand the transportation project delivery process and how other departments, such as Community Development, weigh in on these decisions. From these findings, the team wrote a Complete Streets Policy that will help guide the City in considering multimodal users in all future roadway and development projects.

Developing the Plan

Implementation of the Complete Streets policy is guided by the Bike and Pedestrian Plan, which proposes a network of corridor, trail, and crossing recommendations to improve safety for all users throughout the City. The approach to develop this plan was based on a review of crash, transportation, and land use data as well as an extensive community engagement process. The draft recommendations were presented as highly engaging renderings and other graphics.

Pace operates multiple bus routes throughout this area, including the future Pace Pulse line on Cermak. Additionally, the terminus of the CTA Blue Line is at the Forest Park Station. Both CTA and Pace participated in the Steering Committee meetings along with separate coordination meetings to ensure a safe and accessible transportation network and connectivity is provided for bus, train, and trail users in this area

Approval and Implementation

In September 2023, Civiltech’s Josie Willman and Jacque Henrikson, AICP, presented the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan to the St. Charles City Council, and the plan received full council approval. City representatives are now focused on beginning implementation in 2024 and prioritizing projects and funding. And, St. Charles Public Works has begun implementing the Complete Streets Policy with bike lanes added to a recent resurfacing projects. The Civiltech team is also working on design engineering for one of the recommended improvements in the plan.