Planning Programs and Projects

The Southwest Conference of Mayors hosted a Developers Summit on September 2013 to discuss the recommendations of the Harlem Avenue Corridor Plan with potential developers.

In late 2013 Pace received CMAQ funding for Pedestrian Infrastructure Improvements along and / or adjacent to Pace Routes along the Harlem Avenue Corridor. This project funds concrete pads and sidewalks, implementing recommendations from the Harlem Avenue Corridor study.

Pace advanced construction for the Toyota Park Transit Center with a ground breaking ceremony that took place on November 12, 2013. Meanwhile, new Bus on Shoulder (BoS) service began October 24, 2016 between the Pace Toyota Park Transit Center & Park-n-Ride in Bridgeview and the East Loop and North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Pace Express buses are allowed to ride on the shoulder along I-55 when traffic is congested.

Pace initiated the Tinley Park Call-n-Ride in August 2014. Pace continues to advance transit signal priority and designated route restructuring throughout the corridor. A new Pete's Fresh Market open edin Spring 2015 in Bridgeview, and a mixed-use residential and retail building was constructed in 2015 in Palos Heights. Additionally, the Village of Chicago Ridge has created a TIF District for the Yellow Freight site, which has significant frontage on Harlem Avenue; the Village of Tinley Park is pursuing development of a Master Plan for the Mental Health Center site, near 183rd and Harlem; and a Harlem Avenue Overlay District Rezoning Plan is in the process of being adopted by the Palos Heights City Council.

The Village of Worth, a corridor town, completed a "Planning Priorities Report" through the CMAP LTA Program as well as TOD Plan for the area surrounding the Worth Metra Station through the 2015 RTA Community Planning program.

The City of Palos Heights received Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding, via the RTA's Access to Transit Improvement Program, for access to transit capital improvements, as recommended in the Harlem Avenue Corridor Plan. Installation of these improvements were completed in summer of 2016.

In September of 2020 demolition commenced of a long-vacant trucking terminal at 10301 S. Harlem Ave. in Chicago Ridge. The 75-acre property originally owned by Yellow Freight property lies within a 105-acre TIF zone stretching along Harlem, the largest tract of land available for development in the Village.

In 2021 the Village of Worth was awarded Invest in Cook funding for a 0.8-mile long new sidewalk and multi-use path north of the Cal-Sag Channel between Harlem Avenue and Metra’s SouthWest Service Station in Palos Heights. The project will help connect Pace bus routes, retail corridors, recreational facilities, and community destinations as well as tie the Cal-Sag Trail to commuter rail service, which were recommendations of the plan.

In June 2012, the service provided 11,709 trips. This project is complete.

The plan was accepted by the Village of Schaumburg Village Board on December 13, 2011. Since that time, the Village has taken several actions to implement the plan and improve transit service. Schaumburg worked with Pace to reroute the Woodfield Trolley (Route 905) to better serve riders and revised the funding formula to create savings that allowed an increase in service. Additionally, Pace Route 602, a Metra feeder service, was reroute to more densely populated areas in the hope of increasing ridership. This change went into effect in September of 2016. The Village has also made changes to its Dial-A-Ride Transportation that include additional service and greater availability of subscription service.

The Village also worked with Pace and members of the local business community as part of Pace's I-90 Market Expansion Program to consider improvements to local transit service. This resulted in several new routes (604, 607, 608, 611) and a service expansion on one existing route (600) that provide connections to Schaumburg.

The study was completed in June, 2010. In July of 2011, an RFP was released and proposals sought for the Southwest Will TMA Implementation and Travel Demand Study by the Joliet Arsenal Development Study and the City of Joliet. A committee consisting of JADA, Will County, Will County Governmental League, Will County Center for Economic Development and the City of Joliet selected Ruettiger & Tonelli / AECOM after the interview process. The project commenced in the summer of 2013.

Construction completed in 2020 of Foxford Station, a 28 unit condominium development with 3,800 square feet of ground-floor commercial space at Wolf Road and Burlington, across the street from the Metra station.

A developer plans to break ground in the fall of 2022 on a 10-unit condominium development on Hillgrove Ave., between Franklin and Howard Avenues.

The RTA will continue to monitor progress and offer assistance as needed.