The 159th Street Corridor Plan was initiated by the Village of Orland Park and has been funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to establish coordinated transportation, urban design and economic development strategies to improve 159th Street between I-355 and I-294. Six municipalities along the Corridor are cooperating in this planning effort, which addresses a range of relevant planning issues, including coordination of marketing efforts, improvements to circulation and access, urban design concepts, and common branding and wayfinding strategies. The six participating municipalities include (from west to east): Homer Glen, Orland Park, Orland Hills, Tinley Park, Oak Forest and Markham.

Along its approximately eighteen-mile length within the study area, development patterns along 159th Street vary greatly in character and scale, while it functions as a major traffic arterial for multiple south suburban Chicagoland communities. 159th Street is used by employees, shoppers, and residents as a main access route to civic centers, shopping areas, recreational facilities, and residential neighborhoods. Despite variations in the age and development patterns of the communities along this Corridor, each must respond to collective development pressures in a manner which meets local priorities while accommodating the mobility needs of all Corridor users.

An Existing Conditions and Planning Framework(29.7MB) report released in February 2009 provided an overview of the planning process, presented key findings regarding the physical conditions along the Corridor, and summarized stakeholder input regarding issues and opportunities collected during the first phase of the planning process. The report summarized existing conditions related to: Land Use and Economics, Urban Design, and Access and Circulation. It concluded with an overall Planning Framework, which highlighted important planning considerations, organized the Corridor into seven segments, or “Character Districts,” and identified a series of Focus Areas which received more detailed planning and design attention. It should be noted that this process respected the current planning policies of each municipality with regard to future land use and development priorities. The 159th Street Corridor Plan builds upon and complements these established land use and development policies within each municipality, and strengthens them through recommended corridor-wide improvement initiatives.

The 159th Street Corridor Plan includes several inter-related elements, which together establish a structure within which the cooperating municipalities and their partner agencies can work together to achieve common and mutually supportive goals for the Corridor. Partner agencies include the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA), Cook and Will County Highway Departments and Forest Preserve Districts, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), Metra, Pace, the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation (CSEDC) and the Active Transportation Alliance.

The 159th Street Corridor Plan elements are:

• A Shared Vision and Corridor Improvement Goals, which will provide ongoing and over-arching guidance to all project partners as implementation priorities are pursued and funding strategies are developed and refined over time.
• A series of seven Character Districts, which highlight the unique physical features and considerations relevant to the common development patterns and conditions found throughout the Corridor, and highlighting the critical relationship between public and private realm improvements to ensure a cohesive whole. A comprehensive set of Character District Principles are provided to guide more detailed planning Concepts and Improvement Standards.
• Focus Area and Interchange Gateway Concepts, which provide more detailed improvement concepts for key areas along the corridor, serving as “prototype” design solutions which are broadly applicable along the Corridor, and illustrating the effective integration of public and private improvements.
• Corridor-Wide Improvement Standards Portfolio, which provides more specific details regarding desirable “Complete Streets” and branding elements that should be implemented along the Corridor. Common acceptance of these shared standards will foster both visual and functional consistency along the Corridor over time. These standards should be incorporated into any IDOT or municipal improvement projects and private development proposals.
• Marketing the Corridor(643KB), which discusses both municipal and corridor-wide recommendations for marketing the Corridor to both potential investors and potential customers, improving and solidifying the image of the Corridor as a key regional destination and thus benefiting all participating communities.

Plan elements described above will require a broad range of inter-related implementation actions to address multi-modal access and circulation improvements, urban design enhancements, and economic development and branding initiatives in a coordinated and focused manner. The Implementation Strategy developed for the 159th Street Corridor by the Steering Committee provides a “road map” that outlines initiatives to be undertaken either jointly or by individual municipalities along the Corridor, as appropriate, to enhance the function, appearance and market position of the 159th Street Corridor. Implementation efforts will focus on establishing the partnerships and mechanisms for cooperation with will be required to achieve the shared Vision for the 159th Street Corridor, creating a cohesive, vibrant Corridor that respects the character of each community while creating a singular Corridor identity.