Are you an O’Fallon resident? Planners want your feedback on proposed U.S. 50 improvements

A pedestrian median crossing at the Community Park? Realignment of Eagle Drive between Venita and Talon drives? Roundabout at U.S. Highway 50 and Lincoln? Additional westbound lane from Green Mount Road to State Street?

These ideas, plus others on shared use paths, sidewalks, and streetscapes, are narrowed down to 11 choices presented to O’Fallon residents for feedback at: surveymonkey.com/r/Forward-50

Residents are encouraged to select their top three priorities from the proposed U.S. Highway 50 improvements list before the city and RDG Planning + Design finalize the plans going forward.

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.

The East-West Gateway Council of Government’s Great Streets Initiative project has been seeking recommendations for making U.S. Highway 50 “the next great street” through strengthening its functions and appearance as the main road through O’Fallon.

The main thoroughfare until Interstate 64 was built in 1975, Highway 50’s function has changed over the years.

It supports local access to businesses, schools, neighborhoods, health facilities, and parks for the city’s 32,000-plus residents, but the town’s leadership believes segments of the corridor can operate better, especially when it comes to land use and mobility.

A year ago, the city received a grant for a detailed plan for Highway 50 from Exit 14 to Exit 19 and a portion of Lincoln Avenue.

At the final Forward 50 open house recently, city staff and representatives from RDG Planning presented refined plan concepts on storyboards based on public feedback.

They have developed these through public design workshops and planning meetings. The plan’s final completion is scheduled for June.

To view the proposals - the presentation board files are located at: ofallon.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif1031/f/pages/2024_04_24_open_house_boards_web_version_compressed.pdf.

“This has been very good feedback. We will take the feedback and rate priorities. It’s been very helpful,” Shukert said.

This highway study is 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.

Community Development Director Justin Randall said O’Fallon residents’ ideas, concerns, and preferences have been taken into consideration for refining the concepts.

Randall said the study is to ensure the community is connected and supported throughout all the neighborhoods. It is also taking a look at market demands and potential changes in land use, plus identifying strategies to improve safety for all modes of travel. They have been imagining aesthetic improvements to strengthen the area’s appeal.

RDG, a national planning and design group with an office in St. Louis, is the project director. The firm has had ongoing conversations with city leadership and residents on mobility, land use and design, infrastructure, economic development and environment and parks.

RDG Senior Manager Cory Scott said those talks have been crucial to bringing the best ideas to life.

“One of the best features of this work is the conversations we have with community members across the Midwest,” he said.

Focus groups met last summer – businesses, churches, educational groups, and civic and service organizations gave input.

“These corridors that have more potential than realized,” Shukert said. “We developed ideas with the community in mind, the connectivity that will benefit the district. We want to make it functional for everybody.”

For more information about Forward 50: ofallon.org/planning-zoning-division/pages/forward-50-great-streets-initiative

If you have any further questions or comments, contact Randall at jrandall@ofallon.org, or by calling (618) 624-4500.