East-West Gateway (EWG) is seeking new planning project applications for a Great Streets Initiative project in the Illinois portion of the St. Louis region: Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties. “Great Streets” are streets that reflect and support cohesive, interesting, and healthy communities while effectively serving all users, whether on foot, bike, car, or bus. This initiative seeks to empower communities to consider their full potential for creating thriving iconic places.
Project Overview
The project is expected to begin in the spring of 2023 and conclude early in 2024 and will consist of a multi-disciplinary team, multiple rounds of community engagement, and best planning practices. The local community and EWG are the project sponsors, with the consultant selection and management being a collaboration by the project sponsors, and all parties participate fully throughout the process. The selected community will receive a detailed plan at the conclusion of the project with implementation measures, which will be owned and championed by the local community to be implemented over time.
The Illinois Great Streets project application will be open from July 28 – September 2, 2022. All application links, tools, and forms can be found on the right side of this page. If you have any questions, please email staff at GreatStreets@ewgateway.org.
The Application Form
The application form and supporting materials are due no later than 3:00 p.m. local time on September 2, 2022. You may submit your application and supporting materials to EWG by email at GreatStreets@ewgateway.org or deliver 5 hard copies to:
Great Streets Initiative
East-West Gateway Council of Governments
One Memorial Dr., Ste 1600
St. Louis, MO 63102
Application Assistance
EWG held an introductory session for local government leaders and staff to discuss the program and the process on August 16, 2022, at the Illinois Department of Transportation’s District 8 office.
Eligible Project Applicants
Projects eligible for funding are those for new planning projects and not for additional phases of a previous Great Streets project. The project area must be located within the Illinois portion of the St. Louis region served by EWG: Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties.
Funding Available
Project funds will be available to provide planning support only. Project sponsors will be responsible for implementation. Project sponsors will need to commit logistical support and community engagement / outreach for the planning effort. EWG anticipates funding one project and the total project costs will not exceed $500,000. Twenty percent of this amount ($100,000) is the required local match amount.
Application Review
EWG will evaluate applications based on consistency with the Great Streets Initiative program, “readiness” of project sponsors to facilitate the planning process, context diversity, and commitment to plan implementation.
Next Steps
Once a project has been selected, EWG will issue a solicitation to hire a consultant to provide the planning services. EWG will work with the project sponsor during the procurement process to select a project consultant team.
Applications are due no later than 3:00 p.m. local time on September 2, 2022.
If your community is interested in submitting an application, please notify staff as soon as possible by email at GreatStreets@ewgateway.org so that staff can notify you with updates about the application process.
Past Illinois Great Streets Projects
Note: The Alton project is the most relevant example to this coming effort, as the resources, scope, and deliverables are generally equivalent.