PEORIA HEIGHTS, Ill. – The federal government is providing help to Peoria Heights for improvements to about a mile of Prospect Rd.
The town will be receiving $2 million in grants for improvements along the main road through the town. Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) and Peoria Heights leaders made the announcement at Tower Park on Thursday.
The project idea was first brought up about one year ago. Some of the planned improvements include upgraded sidewalks that could be widened and more accessible, improvements to the street scape of the city’s downtown, and adding possible bike lanes.
Peoria Heights Director of Community Development Wayne Aldrich says the improvements are for people who may not use a motorized vehicle to travel through Peoria Heights.
“We traditionally in the transportation industry, we dwelt on cars and trucks,” Aldrich said. “Now we’re thinking about, more about, pedestrians, bikes, mass transit. So all those modes of transportation are important to us.”
LaHood says the money will be well-spent because of the growth of Peoria Heights in recent years. And the improvements are needed for more than just economic reasons.
“It also helps with safety. Allowing people to get to the Rock Island Trail, allowing better safety on our roads between War Memorial and here (Tower Park) in a very busy traffic area,” LaHood said.
Peoria Heights Mayor Michael Phelan wants the improvements to help bicyclists gain better access to the Rock Island Trail, and to have them consider Peoria Heights as a destination to stop at while biking for the day.
“We want people to come here to Peoria Heights, spend the day, get on the trail, come back, get off the trail,” Phelan said. “This helps us achieve a number of our goals, but that Rock Island Trail (is) very important.”
The project is currently in its first phase, which the focus will be conceptual engineering and conducting required federal studies. The first phase is estimated to take about a year to complete. The next stage is planning and preparation of the project, with the third and final phase being actual construction.
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