Ouilmette Way: Wilmette Alley Redesign
Opportunities to Create a More Attractive Walkway
Wilmette, Illinois | Placemaking + Urban Design
As featured in Crain's Chicago . . .
“Simply put, downtown Wilmette is a place people and businesses want to be. The creation of a unique downtown experience is an ongoing journey that requires planning, flexibility, calculated risk-taking, public investment, a little bit of luck and the willingness of small-business owners to invest in the community.”
Wilmette continues to enhance Downtown as a welcoming and walkable destination. Ouilmette Alley connects Wilmette Avenue to 12th Street, providing direct access between the Metra Station and Downtown. A nod to local history, the Village – and alleyway - is named in honor of original settlers, Archange and Antoine Ouilmette. Although Ouilmette Alley continues to support back of business uses, such as parking, service, loading and truck traffic, the design found opportunities to also create a more attractive walkway.
Features of the reconstruction include:
- Reconstructed original brick alleyway pavement
- New sidewalk and shared path defined by decorative pavers, including engraved donor pavers
- New street lighting and hanging baskets
- Bronze commemorative plaques
- Custom archway signs
- Custom shared street signs
- Bumpouts with benches and plantings to match the Downtown streetscape
- Painted crosswalk
“Our community loves the new streetscape- the project has led to increased pride and vibrancy in our downtown and has helped differentiate Wilmette as an outstanding place to spend time with friends and family. The collaborative planning approach between residents, consultants and Village Staff has created something special and is spurring further ideas as to how we can support placemaking and community-building in our Village.”
- Mike Braiman, Village Manager of Wilmette
Prior to construction and alleyway implementation, Village President Senta Plunkett shared the following, as published in The Record North Shore, Nov 24, 2021, “… this is more than an alley… this could be a really exciting space that will draw people in.”
To have the support of the Wilmette community and hear them rally for this alley was so inspiring, to see the vision come to fruition, pure joy! This alleyway turned flexible community canvas, thoroughfare and third place presents endless possibilities and programming opportunities for the Village. The foundation of which is connectivity, history, human connection and supporting local businesses and community vitality.
If your community or neighborhood has an alley which needs to support traffic, shared pedestrian routes, landscaping, lighting and signage… here’s an example that works!
Special thanks to our partners with the Village of Wilmette, as well as our engineering partners at Christopher Burke Engineering. General contracting by ALamp. Custom sign fabrication by Parvin Clauss Sign Company.
Project Update:
Wilmette formally dedicated the alley at the Ouilmette Way Ribbon Cutting on September 9th, 2023. For the event, the alley received a colorful makeover, including temporary cables with string lights and paper lanterns strung over fresh picnic tables and shady umbrellas. The event was a big hit and a smart test – folks are already whispering about the potential for a future one-way alley…