Joliet Creates Downtown Equitable Transit Oriented Development Plan

The City of Joliet and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) announced the kick-off of the planning process, and the first community-wide workshop to create
the Downtown Joliet Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) Plan – a blueprint for improving the areas surrounding the Joliet Gateway Transportation Center.
The plan will create a vision for the area surrounding the Joliet Gateway Transportation Center. In addition, the plan will identify strategies to enhance development opportunities in the area while ensuring the station area contributes to a welcoming and active downtown.

The workshop will take place on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, on the second floor of the Gateway Transportation Center Train Station located at 90 East Jefferson Street. The workshop will be an open house-style format, and residents are encouraged to stop in any time from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The city will make available free parking that evening in the surrounding parking lots.

City planner Jayne Bernhard noted “the City has discussed evaluating development options at the former Lyons Lumberyard property and surrounding area for several years. With the continued public and private investment in this area of our downtown, the City acted on a grant opportunity from the Regional Transportation Authority in late 2022 to formally study this area for future development opportunities and overall enhancements to the area surrounding our transportation center.”

Public input is critical to the development of a thoughtful and realistic plan for this area. “We hope people will pop in to provide input and share their ideas,” Bernhard said. To encourage attendance, the newly opened Joliet Railroad Museum will be available to tour that evening. Members of the public can stay informed via the project website at: https://www.joliet.gov/etod and may participate both in person and online throughout the plan’s development.

The entire process is expected to take about a year so residents should stay active and aware of the project as it progresses by tracking it through the project website. For more information about the city, visit https://www.joliet.gov.