The city of Elgin is evaluating how sidewalks, crosswalks, and pathways serve residents and visitors — especially individuals with disabilities. Our goal is to create accessible streets and sidewalks that allow everyone to move through the community safely and comfortably. To get there, we’re creating this Plan that fulfills the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We invite you to join us in this important effort!

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This plan identifies how sidewalks, crosswalks, and pathways serve residents and visitors to fulfill federal requirements for what's called an ADA Transition Plan. Creating accessible streets and sidewalks not only helps achieve the goals of ADA but also allows everyone to move through the community safely and comfortably. To get there, we’re creating Elgin's Plan for Accessible Streets and Sidewalks to identify priority routes for the city to consider.

It is funded by a grant from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), which is leading similar efforts in several cities. CMAP’s work supporting people with disabilities is championed by their Accessible Communities program.

How can I get involved?

The Access Elgin plan prioritizes people with disabilities, but we welcome input from everyone, including caregivers, older adults, parents, and students, because accessible sidewalks and streets benefit everyone! Visitors to Elgin are also welcome to share feedback on access needs.

• Take the online survey to share your input.
• Drop pins on the map (above)
• Sign up to receive projects through the survey link
• Public events: See the sidebar for a listing of upcoming public input meetings
• Stakeholder Interviews: We welcome input from organizations that serve people with disabilities. To schedule an interview with the project consultant, contact Mike Pubentz at Mike.pubentz@elginil.gov.

What does Elgin's Plan for Accessible Streets and Sidewalks include?

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the programs, activities, and services of public entities, including local governments. The ADA requires a self-evaluation and transition plan, which identifies where streets and sidewalks are not accessible and lays out a plan to remove barriers to accessibility. The plan covers sidewalks, crosswalks, streets, and other elements of the public right-of-way, and will define those responsible for its implementation.

Self-evaluation

The self-evaluation of streets and sidewalks will focus on identifying accessibility conditions by:

• Locating physical obstacles and policies that limit access
• Seeking public input to help develop the plan, including identifying where people face challenges navigating sidewalks, crosswalks, and pathways

Street features that may challenge people with disabilities are:

• Broken or nonexistent sidewalks
• Intersections without curb ramps and crosswalks
• Inaccessible street parking

These barriers can limit access to jobs, education, healthcare, transit, and other essential community services and amenities.

Transition plan

The transition plan will be developed after the self-evaluation is complete and will:

• Describe a plan to bring streets and sidewalks into compliance with ADA requirements, prioritizing key streets that serve public buildings, parks, and transit.
• Develop a schedule outlining when improvements will take place
• Identify changes to policies and programs that impact accessibility for people with disabilities

How is this plan different from Elgin's Active Mobility Plan?

There is coordination among those leading the Plan for Accessible Streets and Sidewalks and the Active Mobility Plan. The Active Mobility Plan is looking at broader needs for the city for both walking and bicycling, while the Plan for Accessible Streets and Sidewalks is evaluating more detailed aspects of the sidewalk system.

The ADA-specific plan is tasked with creating a comprehensive map showing where there are existing sidewalks, as well as missing links in the sidewalk system. It will include details on technical elements of Elgin's sidewalks, including features like slopes, widths, surface conditions, and obstructions--details that are not being assessed with the Active Mobility Plan.

Each plan will define projects for Elgin to consider. For example, it is possible that both plans identify a section of missing sidewalk on a busy street and recommend that gap be filled. The project results could lead to a traditional sidewalk, or if the Active Mobility Plan identifies the route as a key corridor for bicyclist safety, it could result in a shared-use pathway along the street.

By identifying key routes that need upgrades from an ADA perspective, along with broader community needs for active mobility, the city can strengthen its position when pursuing grants to fund such projects.

You can find more information on the Active Mobility Plan here.