The Homewood Village Board on March 10 approved a resolution authorizing the village to apply for grant funding to support pedestrian safety improvements along the Halsted Street corridor.
According to Terence Acquah, Homewood assistant village manager, the application will be submitted through the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways’ 2026 Invest in Cook Grant Program, which provides funding for transportation and infrastructure improvements across the county.
The grant would help fund sidewalks, crosswalks and other pedestrian safety upgrades along Halsted Street from 174th Street to Ridge Road, an area which has limited pedestrian infrastructure despite heavy traffic and transit use, Acquah said.
Halsted Street serves as Homewood’s primary commercial corridor and supports more than 60% of the village’s commercial sales. The roadway also carries more than 35,000 vehicles each day and includes the Pace Route 352 bus line, the busiest route in the Pace bus system, he said.
According to Acquah, despite the high level of activity, sidewalks and crosswalks are limited in several areas of the corridor. In some sections, sidewalks exist only on one side of the street, while many bus stops are not connected to pedestrian infrastructure.
As a result, pedestrians often walk along the roadway or cross outside designated crossings, creating safety concerns for both pedestrians and motorists, he said.
The proposed improvements were identified in the 2025 Far South Halsted Transit-Oriented Development plan, which recommended additional pedestrian infrastructure to improve safety and support future transit investments in the corridor, including the planned “Pulse” bus rapid transit service that is expected by 2030, Acquah said.
The Illinois Department of Transportation has not identified the Halsted corridor as a priority for state-funded improvements in the near future, meaning municipalities must pursue grants or other external funding sources to complete projects in the area, he said.
Under the Invest in Cook program, eligible work can receive 50% funding for project costs, with full cost matching available for certain planning and engineering work in municipalities participating in the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Community Cohort program, which includes Homewood, Acquah said.
Staff estimate Phase I engineering and design work will cost between $150,000 and $175,000. This phase would complete the preliminary engineering needed to make the project “shovel-ready” for future construction funding, Acquah said.
The village is working with engineering firm Baxter & Woodman of Mokena to prepare cost estimates and assist with the grant application, he said.
According to Acquah, completing the preliminary engineering would allow the village to pursue additional funding for construction through future grant cycles or other programs such as the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program or Community Development Block Grant funding.
The village previously applied for Invest in Cook funding in 2023 for sidewalk improvements along Halsted Street between 175th Street and Ridge Road. That application was not approved due to concerns about local funding commitments and limited crosswalk connections in the proposal, Acquah said.
The updated proposal includes additional pedestrian safety features and stronger coordination with transit improvements, including planned bus stop enhancements near 174th Street and Halsted Street, he said.
If the grant application is approved, the project would help create safer crossings, better connect transit stops and improve pedestrian access to businesses along the Halsted corridor, Acquah said.
