GLEN CARBON - Glen Carbon trustees on Tuesday unanimously approved the final draft of an updated Parks & Trails Master Plan, putting a long-term vision in place for outdoor recreation, multi-modal transportation, and more.
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The full 140-page plan was developed by TWM Inc. in association with Planning Design Studio. Among other details, it outlines the step-by-step process by which the new plan will be developed and implemented.
The new plan, which replaces the village’s 2010 Master Park Plan, calls for improvements to be made to each of Glen Carbon’s 11 parks. These include Acme Park, Bird Park, Butterfly Park, Cottonwood Park, Greenspace East, Honor Roll Park, Miner Park, Mont Station Park, Sasek Park, Schon Park, and Village Hall.
The new master plan will guide the village’s “forward vision for its park system over the next 10 to 20 years,” according to a resolution to adopt the plan. This is part of the village’s goal to become more “accessible to bicycle and pedestrian traffic” and promote alternative transportation methods.
At Tuesday’s Village Board meeting, TWM Inc. President Rob DeConcini emphasized the importance of giving the village an “actionable plan” to guide the future of its parks and trails.
“It's been a very rewarding experience to be part of this master planning process,” DeConcini said. “The master plan itself is an actionable plan. That was our goal - to not have a document that just sits on the shelf. We wanted to give the village a document by which it could produce tangible results.”
Among the steps are multiple meetings to gather public input, including a Town Hall meeting and stakeholder interviews, as well as studies of the village’s existing park and trail conditions. The plan not only includes the firm’s recommended improvements to each park, but also the public survey response showing the percentage of residents in favor or against each recommendation.
Also included in the plan are a series of suggested roadway corridor improvements, ranked by priority. The top-ranked roadway improvement projects and their estimated costs are listed as follows:
DeConcini said the vast majority of the Master Plan project cost was covered by grants from local agencies. Of the project’s $90,000 total cost, about $42,000 was paid by the Agency for Community Transit (ACT) through its CY23 Community Action Grants Program award, and about $36,000 was awarded by the Metro East Park and Recreation District (MEPRD) through its FY23 Community Planning Grant.
After DeConcini’s comments, Mayor Bob Marcus thanked him and the TWM team and expressed excitement about implementing the updated plan.
“Thank you to you and your team for all your hard work,” Marcus said to DeConcini. “You did a great job and we’re looking forward to implementing it.”
With no further discussion, trustees voted unanimously to approve the adoption of the Parks & Trails Master Plan.
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