Having completed comprehensive plans in 1966 and 1996 and an update in 2001, the City of Pekin worked with TCRPC in 2006 to update its plan. Change is a constant phenomenon in communities, and a comprehensive plan is a useful guide for managing change to generate positive outcomes. As a result, frequently updating a comprehensive plan is a sound strategy for community improvement.
The 2006 plan update identified transportation as a major issue facing Pekin. Having recognized the lack of a direct connection to an interstate highway as the biggest challenge facing the City’s economic future, the plan update identified the completion of Veterans’ Drive to Interstate 474 and the widening of Route 9 to Interstate 155 as high priority projects. Some developing areas of the City lack collector streets, which serve as primary thoroughfares for emergency vehicles. The plan update provided ways in which this situation can be avoided in the future.
Basic services and quality of life are other key focus areas of the plan update. Fire safety response times to some portions of the city are less than ideal, so the plan update proposed solutions such as building a new fire station or relocating existing stations. Addressing the need for more neighborhood parks, the plan update proposed an ordinance amendment to mitigate this disparity. By constantly evaluating itself through frequent comprehensive plan updates, Pekin is preparing for a positive future.
Click the cover to download the Pekin Comprehensive Plan Update (2.85 MB).
