Ottawa plan lays out guidelines for park, bandshell along riverfront

The Illinois and Fox riverfronts are front and center of a new comprehensive plan in Ottawa.

The proposed plan which lays out guidelines for a park, bandshell and either residential or commercial buildings to fill in the space south of Woodward Memorial Drive, between the to-be-built YMCA and La Salle Street, will head to the City Council on March 15 after the Plan Commission finalized revisions Monday night.

Other areas for development include the U.S. 6 corridor and the Interstate 80-Route 71 interchange east of town, with U.S. 6 in need of an update in both commercial use and residential spaces. The interchange is expected to be developed within the coming years now that it has city sewer and water lines.

Many of the updates from planner Mike Hoffman involved changing page numbers and table numbers in the document, but there were a few additions created to highlight items Ottawa brings to the table.

This includes a deceptively high population, after Plan Commissioner John Stone pointed out much of Ottawa’s population lives beyond city limits. It was estimated about 25,000 people live in and around Ottawa.

Hoffman also included the proposed Peoria-to-Chicago Amtrak line that’s currently in discussion, which would have a stop in Ottawa and the grant the city of Ottawa has received to move a switchyard that currently affects traffic on Columbus Street.

The overall cost of the riverfront project as laid out would be $27 million to $30 million, although it could be reduced to $10 million to $14 million with the removal of certain plans, such as new buildings.

Much of Hoffman’s plans were left alone: It’s still recommended a bike lane with connections to the Illinois and Michigan Canal trail be built and more roadway islands constructed to help dangerous turns like the one by McDonald’s on Norris Drive.