A refreshed 20-year plan that provides a roadmap for potential bicycle and pedestrian accommodations across Naperville has officially been adopted.
The Naperville City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 20, unanimously approved the plan as drafted, with one additional caveat: a feasibility study for a pedestrian and bicycle tunnel under the railroad tracks between Washington and Mill streets is being added into the plan.
The plan’s adoption came on the heels of a favorable recommendation from the city’s Transportation Advisory Board. Members on the panel voted, 8-0, in support of the document.
What the updated plan entails
After a series of discussions, the heavy lifting on the plan’s refresh got underway in August of 2025. The original plan was drawn up in 1997 and subsequently received what city officials described as “an interim update” in 2006.
City officials hired consulting firm A. Epstein and Sons International Inc. to facilitate the document update. Steps in the process included evaluations of the city’s existing transportation network and gathering public input.
In a memo detailing the plan, Sydney Smith, project manager with the city’s Transportation, Engineering, and Development department, indicated the plan yielded a number of findings. Among them:
- Most of Naperville’s existing infrastructure and low-stress paths are amenable to recreational bicycling activities.
- A limited number of high-stress intersections and streets within the city require bicyclists and pedestrians to travel from one destination to the next.
- The plan details several gaps within the existing city landscape, such as the on-street downtown connection of the DuPage River Trail.
- The BNSF railroad, state and county arterials, and DuPage River were cited as key barriers to the existing network.
- More low-stress routes could be achieved through neighborhoods, side paths on arterial roadways, and what Smith described as “conspicuous crossing treatments.”
At a high level, the plan includes a number of recommendations:
- Improving crossing accommodations at 10 locations within the city.
- Improving existing on-street accommodations.
- Undertaking multiple feasibility studies for potential construction accommodations. The sites include the 87th Street bridge, crossing the DuPage River Trail; a sidewalk infill on Naper Boulevard, Lisson Road, and Royce Road; and extension of the DuPage River Trail through downtown.
- Developing 113 specific bike and pedestrian facility projects that collectively would encompass 32 miles of new bicycle low-stress, on-street routes, as well as 15 miles of new bike lanes, 37 miles of new side paths and trails, and 12.2 miles of upgrades to existing facilities.
Potential loss of parking spaces in some areas addressed
If implemented, the recommendations could result in changes — including on-street parking accommodations — in some areas of the city. Several residents weighed in verbally or in written comments before the council took action.
Brian Bohr, a homeowner on West Jefferson Avenue, said he is an Iron Man triathlete who cycles hundreds of miles throughout Naperville each summer. Bohr said despite riding bikes often himself, he urged the council not to adopt the plan in its current state because it could impact the narrow street he lives on if the plan moves forward.
“This isn’t a minor adjustment. It’s a consequential change to an established neighborhood,” Bohr said. “Our homes are real close together, driveway space is already pretty limited, and street parking accommodates our families, guests, contractors, and service professionals. Removing it could lead to obstructed sidewalks, real accessibility concerns, and legitimate questions about property values.”
The council also received written comment from the Wil-O-Way Homeowners Association, whose members indicated there is widespread opposition to bike lanes on River Road and Jefferson Avenue. Concerns related to property values, perceived safety risks, and challenges entering and exiting driveways were included in the comments.
Councilman Patrick Kelly was one of several elected officials who commented on the residents’ thoughts before the vote was taken.
“I can understand the concern. I don’t think I know enough tonight to say whether I think it’s good or not, but it looks like a future council will get a lot of information so they can make the decision,” Kelly said. “I personally don’t know if it’s necessary to rip it out of this plan tonight, knowing that that will come back in the future.”
When asked to comment on the concerns, Smith said further resident feedback and council adoption would be required to implement any of the larger-scale changes detailed in the plan, such as on-street parking alterations.
“Those are all things that are going to be coming in the next step for any project to be implemented,” Smith said. “This plan basically provides us with a roadmap, not a ‘these are the exact projects and how they will look in their final form.’”
While the council’s vote was unanimous, several members of the elected body expressed a desire to have more information on what impact the plan could have on neighborhoods if it is ultimately implemented in whole.
“I really do appreciate the amount of time that staff has put into this, but I’d prefer to get more of a concrete itemization of parking spaces and whatnot,” Councilman Nate Wilson said.
Further reviews of each spoke of plan required
The council’s adoption of the plan does not set in motion any specific next step. Mayor Scott Wehrli sought assurance from city staffers on the processes and protocols, going forward.
“Whatever we do tonight, I want to have some confidence before I vote that what we’re committing to in this vote is not going to authorize specific engineering on these things and basically get it all paid for and teed up and then go to the residents and say, ‘Oh, we’re going to do this in your neighborhood. How do you feel about it?’” Wehrli said. “There might be a point where we have to stop, and the neighborhood’s got too many challenges.”
In clarifying the plan’s intent, Allison Laff, deputy director of the TED department, said the document is intended to outline a list of potential options to improve bicycle and pedestrian accommodations within the city.
“These are things that will need further vetting as we go forward — again, because it is a very large plan,” Laff said. “Adopting this plan does not specifically authorize us to go forward.”
Councilman Josh McBroom, who serves on the TAB Board, also commented on the fluid nature of the plan during the deliberations.
“It seems very aspirational,” McBroom said. “It’s a plan. There’s competing interests. The city has major infrastructure priorities that need to be taken care of.”
Residents, council members voice support for plan
Several residents, as well as multiple councilmembers also gave generally favorable feedback on the plan as drafted.
Catherine Clarkin, a Naperville resident and founder of Accelerate Climate Solutions, shared with the council a report local students drew up two years ago on bikeability within the city.
“Spending on safe and connected bike infrastructure has many obvious benefits,” Clarkin said. “Imagine taking all of those things that we love so much about the Riverwalk, and extending that citywide, but including access for bicycles. Wouldn’t that make our city more livable?”
Councilman Ian Holzhauer spoke enthusiastically of the plan and the potential remediation it could bring, down the road, to what he described as a “missing mile” within the city amid a much broader regional network of hundreds of miles of bike trails.
“If you were to go from the north end of town to the south end of town, there’s about 1 mile of break there,” Holzhauer said. “This won’t be solved by this council — or probably even my time on council — but I just hope for anyone on staff who’s listening to this that this be a priority in the next decade or two, that we work on closing this gap a little bit.”
Councilwoman Mary Gibson described the updated plan as “a great guidepost” for the city.
“We often talk up here about how a city like Naperville doesn’t just happen on its own,” Gibson said. “It takes planning and a vision, and I think this is the first step.”
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