'It's a real opportunity': A reimagined Third Street corridor could transform Springfield

Pat Randle of Springfield said he's been excited about the potential redevelopment of the Third Street corridor ever since an initial study came out in 2011.

The corridor is part of the Springfield Rail Improvements Project, a massive $351 million undertaking that will in part shift freight and passenger rail traffic from Third Street over to two sets of tracks on 10th Street.

Randle and others envision the five-mile or so stretch of the corridor, starting about where the Interurban and Wabash Trail come together near Stanford Avenue, extending through the city and north to around the Illinois State Fairgrounds, as a greenway for pedestrians and cyclists.

Randle, who went to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, said an extensive number of bike trails has helped the Metro East community flourish.

More:On shaky ground: How century-old underground mine continues causing uncertainty, heartbreak

He sees the same thing for Springfield.

"If we develop (these existing train tracks), I think we redevelop the whole town," Randle said.

Randle and about 100 other people were part of an open house last week at the Bank of Springfield Center.

The idea, said project manager Mike Mendenhall of Hanson Professional Services, Inc., was to gauge what the public would like to see happen with the corridor.

Mendenhall said that the next step is narrowing the focus down and coming up with cost estimates to pursue funding for the project. Hanson is again working with RDG Planning and Design, an Iowa-based urban planning firm, as a sub-consultant. Hanson and RDG prepared the initial 2011 study.

The trail could spark business development, including restaurants, bars, other small businesses, and housing.

"If we look at the rail project like a gift, the Third Street corridor is like the bow on top of it," said Ryan McCrady, president and CEO of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, "Really, it's one of the many ways we can maximize the economic impact of the rail consolidation.

"It's a real opportunity for us."

Hewitt Hue Douglass lives near the Third Street corridor. He was at Thursday's open house to push for the bike and walking trail but admitted he saw and heard ideas he hadn't considered.

"I never thought about retail shops along that corridor," Douglass said. "That would be a good thing, I think. This is Lincoln's home. We can sell a lot of Lincoln stuff if we put it on the trail."

Mike Murphy also sees it as an economic engine.

Murphy, the CEO of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, is also an avid cyclist who has frequently ridden the Monon Trail from suburban Carmel to Indianapolis, Indiana.

"The number of opportunities we have to spend money during those 15 miles is amazing: restaurants, bars, retail opportunities, bike shops, little shops," he said. "We can emulate what they do there and really help downtown Springfield. This would be an asset.

"We talk about wanting people to live downtown. This would be another reason to come downtown, if you have a linear park where you can go for a walk or go for a jog or on your bike or walk your dog."

Mayor Jim Langfelder said he would like to see consideration for a solar-powered trolley system similar to one in Norfolk, Va.

Passenger pick up and drop off could be from North Grand Avenue to South Grand Avenue, he explained.

"It shows you the potential," Langfelder said of the corridor. "If it's done right, it's really going to create that commerce and that residential aspect. It'll really help future development."

Mendenhall said some other ideas included a downtown farmer's market or vendor area and a plaza or overlook to offer a view of the Capitol Building.

"This has the potential to create a historic impact for the city of Springfield and promote a lot of businesses to be downtown, " he said. "It makes it a lot more livable and interesting for people to be there.

"There are lots of unique things that could be part of this."

Reporter shares sickle cell awareness:'Broken glass being stabbed into my bones': Springfield IL reporter fights sickle cell

A more practical matter, Mendenhall said, is the safety of cross streets along the trail.

That could mean the installation of center medians or bollards, portable plastic posts that direct and control pedestrian and vehicular traffic in protected areas, Mendenhall said.

Pedestrian crossings could be elevated to increase visibility to vehicle traffic or in some cases bridges could be constructed, Mendenhall added.

Through the Third Street corridor, land is owned between Union Pacific Railroad and the city, Mendenhall said. Once the tracks are shifted over to 10th Street, he said, the intent is to transfer the property along Third Street over to the city.

"We are working through the land acquisition process with (the city), and we believe that will occur," Mendenhall said.

Like Randle, Jane Ford was piqued enough by the rail study more than a decade ago to join Friends of Transit.

Looking at renderings of possible designs and ideas for the corridor, Ford said she was intrigued by what might be possible: public art, kids' areas, plazas, businesses and connecting trails.

"The options are almost endless," she said. "There are so many opportunities here for pedestrians and bicyclists, businesses and places to bring people together that for a longtime Springfield resident, I'm very happy."

Mendenhall said he is hoping to get through the public comment section and engineering phase by the end of 2022 or in early 2023

Hanson and RDG is working with a steering committee that has city, Sangamon County and Illinois Department of Transportation members on it. It will come up with a final design with construction completed in mid-2029.

"The biggest thing I've heard tonight," Mendenhall said, "is, 'how quickly can you get this done?'"

To submit comments or make suggestions about the Third Street corridor, contact Jimmie Austin at 217-747-9257 or email info@springfieldrailroad.com.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Public weighs in on uses for Springfield's the Third Street corridor