New Thinking Improves Warehouse District

Council works toward continued improvements on Heart of Peoria Plan.Since 2002, the City of Peoria has collaborated with numerous stakeholders and outside consultants to create the Heart of Peoria Plan designed to effectively transform over 8,000 acres of the City – targeting areas including the Renaissance Park, the Warehouse District and the Sheridan Triangle Business District. Emphasizing a style of living that deflects from the standard late 20^th-century motorized transportation and instead focuses on dense work environments and pedestrians, the Warehouse District was considered the prime area for development.

Getting the Latest

Recent discussions held by the Peoria City Council encompass the desire to duplicate the outdoor dining and entertainment so prevalent in the Peoria Heights area within the Warehouse District located in Downtown Peoria. But “al fresco” dining requires constructing sidewalks wide enough to accommodate room for tables and eateries. Washington Street is approximately five lanes wide through the Warehouse District, and in multiple areas the sidewalks are extremely narrow and even non-existent. Narrow sidewalks combined with wide vehicle lanes create an environment unwelcoming and unsafe for pedestrians. Furthermore, several sidewalks are broken, unpaved and overgrown. Overhead utilities and utility poles close to the sidewalk, also pose threats to pedestrian and motorist safety.

Such concerns prompted the City to issue plans for a sidewalk just over eight feet wide running along Southwest Washington Street from Harrison and on to Persimmon Street. A 5 ½-foot section of sidewalk dotted with plant life will run alongside the 8 ½ foot section. Some city council members are concerned that more footage than the 14-foot total will be needed. City Councilman Gary Sandberg says not only is the sidewalk plan too narrow but the vehicle lanes, consisting of 11 feet, are too wide, leaving little room for cafes between the building and parking space. Present plans will allow pedestrians 4 feet to walk between the dining tables and buildings.

But Peoria Public Works Director David Barber maintains that trucks traveling on Washington Street to East Peoria require the wider footage and also cites state guidelines for lane width. At the City Council’s recommendation, construction at Harrison and Washington Streets is set to begin, costing about $600,000. Pending the completion of this area, work will continue into the Warehouse District, moving south along Washington Street.

Prime Time Development

Identified as a prime place for development in the Heart of Peoria Plan, the Warehouse District includes the Washington Street corridor from Liberty Street to south of Edmund Street. Peoria’s plan for the district encompasses not only wider sidewalks but also better safety and accessibility in the area for automotive transportation as well as pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders.

The City of Peoria’s 2008 feasibility study for infrastructure improvements for the entirety of the Washington Street corridor included the area from Adams Street/I-474 interchange near Bartonville to the Washington Street/Hamilton Boulevard intersection in downtown Peoria.

The project, known as the Warehouse District Complete Streets Project, received a $10 million TIGER II grant from the US Department of Transportation in the Fall of 2010, making it one of only two TIGER II projects in the state to receive capital funding through this program.

In November of last year, the City Council approved the selection of the project’s design team, encompassing Hanson Professional Services, The Farnsworth Group, TERRA Engineering and Third Coast Design Studio.

Getting Involved

Public involvement on the Washington Street Improvement pushes the project forward. The Stakeholder Involvement Plan (SIP), for example, designates the roles and responsibilities of both the city/consultant team and stakeholders. In conjunction, The Project Study Team, or PST, including the design team of consultants and the Illinois Department of Transportation, was formed to provide oversight to the project and make certain the project complies with all state and local requirements. The PST is responsible for presenting the final recommended plans to the City Council for approval.

Lastly, the Washington Street Advisory Committee, a group of 13 selected stakeholders, convenes on a monthly basis to serve as advisors to the PST, offering guidance and providing advice on the potential impacts that various street designs will have on their interests.

The Washington Street Improvement Project’s success relies on support from the general public by attending meetings or sending comments. Visit www.washingtonstreetpeoria.com for more information on ways to become involved.