Creating New Designs for Carpentersville, IL

There was a burst of energy this morning in the Otto Engineering parking lot of Carpentersville, IL as nearly 40 planners, architects, engineers and municipal, county and regional officials descended on the town.  CMAP held a charrette as part of a Parntership for Sustainable Communities grant to develop designs, and stimulate thinking for the downtown. It was a great way to apply new urbanist principles, particularly the CNU/ITE Urban Thoroughfares Manual. 

We went for a walking tour along Main Street across the Fox River, then convened back in the Carpentersville Middle School. CMAP staff divided us into groups such as urban design, economic development, housing, and transportation and we were asked to redraw the downtown, reconfigure  intersections, and brainstorm ideas on how the town can attract local businesses based on assets like being on the Fox River and Illinois’ longest bike trail. As one member said, “Disneyland goes to great lengths to recreate these kinds of places - Carpentersville already has them.” The day concluded with participants voting on keypad polling to see which big ideas will surface from the charrette.

This project is part of implementing the Goto2040 regional plan.  Visit CMAP’s website for further updates on how these ideas will come to fruition.