The South Elgin Bike & Pedestrian Plan has won the Congress for the New Urbanism-Illinois’ Region: Metropolis, City and Town Award!

The plan — which was supported through funding from Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Local Technical Assistance Program — promotes investment in public transportation, walking and biking as key strategies to implement the village’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan, the Kane County Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, CMAP’s GO TO 2040 Plan and other regional plans.

The South Elgin Bike & Pedestrian Plan, which was adopted in June of 2014, was guided by a Steering Committee with broad representation from the village, CMAP, business owners, residents, the Kane County Division of Transportation and local transit agencies.

The plan was innovative as it used GIS to compare the levels of mobility across transportation modes. This procedure enabled the village of South Elgin to assess the existing and proposed bicycle and pedestrian networks in the village with an unprecedented degree of accuracy. This practice and plan can be looked at as a model of excellence in the region.