City of Pekin Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan

Plan Purpose

The Pekin Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan will serve as the City’s vision and blueprint for walking and biking. and active transportation projects, policies, and programs. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan embodies the City’s ambition to create a safer, more comfortable transportation environment for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds, especially for people who walk, bike, and use mobility assistance devices like wheelchairs or walkers. This long-range planning document will fuse inspiration and ideas from Pekin residents and community stakeholders with technical analysis of current conditions and best practices in bicycle and pedestrian planning and facility design. The final plan will include recommendations for new trails, bikeways, sidewalks, and intersection improvements, as well as supporting policies, programs, and implementation strategies.

Plan Background

Walking and bicycling are on the rise in Pekin. Residents have shared with the City their desire for safer, more connected, and more comfortable streets and trails to support walking and bicycling. Creating these public spaces is about more than just helping people get from point A to point B. The benefits of a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly environment can also support community health, equity, environment, safety, economic development, and overall quality of life.

Through numerous plans, policies, and projects, the City of Pekin and its partners throughout the region have begun to transform our public spaces to make active transportation travel choices like walking and bicycling more accessible and convenient for Pekin residents and visitors. The Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan will synthesize many of these plans and policies to create a singular guide to advance walking and bicycling in Pekin.

In the Media

WCBU covered the Pekin Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. WCBU Reporter Collin Schopp interviewed Pekin City Engineer Josie Esker to learn more about the planning process. You can find the article on WCBU’s website.

Project Timeline

The planning process began in early 2023 and will continue through December 2023. The 11-month project timeline is divided into three phases, beginning in the spring with an analysis of existing conditions and the development of a vision statement to form the basis of the plan’s goals and recommendations. The project continues through the summer with the development of a future network of trails, sidewalks, and bikeways to support active transportation. The project team will also be exploring programs, policies, and implementation strategies to expand travel choices for Pekin residents and make walking and bicycling an integral part of the larger transportation system. In the fall, the project team will develop a complete draft plan document that synthesizes all the work done to date. With revisions based on feedback from City Staff, steering committee members, and the general public, the final plan document will be adopted by the City to serve as a guiding document for future investments in walking and bicycling.

How to Get Involved

Public outreach and engagement are critical to the success of this plan. The process includes both virtual and in-person options for community residents to share their input and help shape the future of walking and biking in Pekin.

Here are a few ways you get involved:

Mailing List

Sign up for our mailing list to receive regular updates on plan progress, upcoming engagement activities, and updates to the project webpage. Just enter your email address using the following form.

Online Survey

Take the online survey and share your thoughts and ideas about how you get around Pekin, what barriers or challenges you face when walking and bicycling, and what types of changes you’d like to see in and around your neighborhood. To fill out the survey, please click the below button.

Online Map

Visit the online interactive map to identify walking and bicycling destinations and barriers and areas or corridors where you’d like to see new sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, or other improvements. You can also view other map users’ suggestions and “support” their comments.

To view the online map and submit your comments, please click the below button.

Public Open House #1

The first open house meeting was held on Wednesday, May 24 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the Miller Center, 551 S 14th St, Pekin, IL 61554. The meeting focused on current conditions for walking and bicycling, community concerns and needs, and desired types of improvements to improve active transportation in Pekin. To view the project meeting presentation, please click the below button.

Public Open House #2

The second open house meeting was held on Thursday, September 28 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the Pekin City Hall located at 111 S. Capitol Street, Pekin, IL 61554. The meeting focused on the visions, goals, and objectives for the plan, survey results, the proposed bicycle network, the bicycle and pedestrian toolkit, and potential supporting programs. To view the project meeting presentation, please click the below button.

Draft Plan

Tri-County Regional Planning Commission and the City of Pekin are glad to share that the draft plan for the City of Pekin Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan is available for public review:

Questions for the Project Team?

If you have any questions or comments you would like to share with the project team, please contact:

Josie Esker, City Engineer, City of Pekin, at (309) 478-5399 or email jaesker@ci.pekin.il.us
Michael Bruner, Senior Planner, Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, at (309) 673-9330 or email mbruner@tricountyrpc.org