Activate Church + Main is a planning process initiated by the City of Rockford to improve mobility for all modes and position Downtown Rockford for future growth through the conversion of Church and Main from one-way to two-way streets.

Rockford’s Central Business District street network was established to meet the travel demands of the early to mid-1900’s, which at the time, focused on connecting residents on the northwest side to the City’s industrial and manufacturing developments on the southeast side. One-way streets were an efficient way to move north-south traffic around the core of the downtown during morning and evening peak-hour traffic. Today, the City has transformed into an east/west City with much of the growth occurring to the east towards the I-90 corridor. Downtown Rockford has also transformed through the years and is experiencing several redevelopment projects. The result is a local desire to convert the north-south one-way streets into two-way streets to simplify traffic circulation and slow down traffic.  A two-way street conversion design could also improve access, mobility, and safety for all modes, including pedestrians and bicyclists alike. Additional considerations, such as aesthetics, traffic signals, signage, on-street parking accommodations, and redesignation of the state route (IL Route 2) are also part of the study

The planning team has worked with the City of Rockford and the community to complete a traffic analysis, phasing strategy, and downtown transportation plan. Alternative design studies are underway. Once a cost-effective and functional solution is identified, the team will work to obtain local and IDOT approvals, final design plans, and contract documents.

The maps below highlight the existing conditions of Downtown Rockford and the proposed two-way conversion and are also available for download in the Documents section below.

The Activate Church + Main project is centered on the following goals:

• Enable economic development and improved mobility within Downtown Rockford
• Support an overall transportation network plan for the Downtown
• Improve safety and direct access for emergency responders
• Ensure plans are informed by public input
• Incorporate improvements for pedestrian and bicycle facilities
• Minimize any potential impacts to property owners

Thank you to all who participated in the Virtual Open House on Tuesday, July 14. While we wish we could have discussed the project with you all in person, we appreciated the questions and feedback we received in this online setting. The Open House included information about the location of the State Route, detailed roadway sections, and ideas about the future of Main Street as a local road. Click here to view the slides from the presentation, which are also available in the Documents section below. We encourage anyone interested in the project who was unable to participate in the open house to review the material and send any questions to the team via the Contact section.

In the coming months, the project will move into design documentation—where detailed construction documents will be drafted that formalize the proposed roadway design. A final public presentation will be planned once design documents are completed. As of September 2021, construction of the project is budgeted in the 2023 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

Please share any questions or comments you have about the project through the idea submission box in the contact section below. Sign up for emails to receive updates on the project via the pop-up box, and check the project website often to see how to get involved!