100-plus projects proposed in revamped Naperville bike, pedestrian plan

Dozens of new bike lanes and trails intended to improve connectivity in Naperville could be coming to the city.

After roughly a year of work by city staff and the engineering firm A. Epstein and Sons International, Naperville has unveiled a new bike and pedestrian infrastructure plan that would reshape the city’s bike network. The plan, which would cost about $54 million, includes more than 100 infrastructure recommendations and would be implemented through 2050.

The city adopted its last bike and pedestrian plan in 1997. There was an interim update in 2006. Since then, Naperville has grown significantly, becoming Illinois’ third-largest city with a population of about 153,000.

“Our existing plan is over 20 years old, so there was definitely urgency on staff’s part to update that plan,” said Michael Prousa, the city’s transportation manager. “That was further solidified based on the 2023 community survey, with mobility being one of the key points from residents that improvement was wanted.”

In the 2023 community survey results, 63% of residents rated the ease of biking in Naperville as “good” or “excellent.” In the more recent 2026 community survey, that number dropped to 52%.

The city’s Transportation Advisory Board, which recently got a first look at the draft plan, is expected to sign off on a more finalized plan in October before sending it to the Naperville City Council for approval.

“When you look at peer communities that we always compare ourselves to, whether it’s Overland Park, Kansas, or Carmel, Indiana, this is one area where a lot of them have honestly gotten a decade or two ahead of us,” Councilman Ian Holzhauer said during a recent council meeting.

At a high level, suggestions in the plan aim to better connect the north and south sides of Naperville, provide alternative routes on lower-speed, lower-volume streets, decrease traffic stress throughout the city and enhance intersections with high-visibility treatments.

“In general, people in Naperville want to walk and bike, and in a lot of situations, they just don’t feel safe doing so,” Greg Osborne, vice president and senior project manager at Epstein, said at the recent council meeting.

While Naperville generally has many sidewalks and most streets under city jurisdiction are low-speed and residential, Osborne said rivers, railroads and streets with heavier traffic and higher speeds created barriers for people biking or walking.

“In Naperville, it’s difficult to access downtown as a bicyclist and as a pedestrian because of all the busy streets, and the development pattern requires people to travel on or across busy roads,” he said.

Plan recommendations include 112 new infrastructure projects, 10 intersection improvements, 12 enhancements to existing facilities, five policy recommendations and four program recommendations.

Some suggestions include adding new bike lanes or signage to help residents feel more comfortable biking throughout the city.

Gartner Road was identified as one high-priority area where a bike lane should be added to help residents better reach areas like the Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve and DuPage River Trail.

Adding sidepaths — trails that are adjacent to roadways and designed for pedestrians and cyclists — was another major recommendation in the plan, with suggestions to add them along 95th Street and Modaff Road, among others.

“A lot of our sidepath locations are going to be on our higher-volume, higher-speed roads,” said Sydney Smith, a project manager for the city of Naperville.

As for intersection improvements, Smith highlighted Eagle Street and Aurora Avenue and Hillside Road and Washington Street as two that particularly stood out as high priorities. Both have bike lanes that conflict with right-turn lanes for vehicles, she said.

For the Eagle Street and Aurora Avenue intersection, one recommendation is to direct cyclists to use the crosswalk to turn. For Hillside Road and Washington Street, adding green dash markings was suggested.

“The goal is to reduce conflict points or improve visibility of cyclists so that vehicles know where to anticipate a cyclist to be, and cyclists also know where they should be, basically making their visibility clearer (and) making their movements more predictable,” Smith said.

cstein@chicagotribune.com