Program for New Sidewalks

The City is working on a multi-year program to add sidewalks on at least one side of every street to increase safety for pedestrians and improve the walkability of our community. Using safety as the top priority, the program is based on a rating system incorporating many factors to determine the order in which areas receive sidewalks. City staff identified approximately 70 areas in Wheaton that will receive sidewalks through a multi-year program. You can see the presentation of this program to the City Council here. 

Criteria used to determine the order in which the 70 street segments will receive sidewalks include:

  • Street classification (arterial, collector, local, or cul-de-sac)
  • Proximity to an arterial or collector street
  • Geometry of a roadway (hills, curves, sight distance issues), and 
  • Separation from a travel lane (whether people currently walk in the road, parkway, shoulder, etc.).

Listing of Areas to Receive Sidewalks (PDF)


Areas that Received Sidewalks Under the Previous New Sidewalk Program:

New Sidewalks for 2020

  • Liberty Street between Fisher Street and President Street
  • Williston Street between Illinois Street and Willow Avenue
  • James Court from Elm Street to just north of Arbor Avenue
  • Irving Avenue between Prairie Avenue and Wakeman Avenue
  • Center Avenue between Marcey Avenue and Westhaven Drive
  • Paula Avenue between Westhaven Drive and Marcey Avenue
  • Marcey Avenue between Mayo Avenue and Paula Avenue
  • Prairie Avenue from Irving Avenue connecting to existing sidewalk

2020 Sidewalk Plan Set

New Sidewalks for 2019

  • Wakeman Avenue between President Street and Santa Rosa Avenue
  • Prairie Avenue between Irving Avenue and Main Street
  • Jefferson Avenue between Ellis Avenue and Gary Avenue
  • Campbell Avenue between Dawes Avenue and Elm Street
  • Fischer Street between Dawes Avenue and Elm Street

New Sidewalks created in 2018

  • Thomas
  • Park
  • Howard

2018 School Sidewalk Analysis

*While Foothill/Aurora Way ranked high in the needs analysis, the area contains a floodway which would require a bridge structure, extensive permitting from multiple regulatory agencies, and pre and post-construction modeling of the channel.


Additional Information

You can watch videos of previous City Council discussions of the City's new sidewalk program below: 

For other questions, please contact City Engineer Sarang Lagvankar: 630-260.2067 / slagvankar@wheaton.il.us