The village approved an agreement Monday night to set in motion 7-year-old plans to revive the stretch of Route 30 between Cedar Road and Interstate 80.

New Lenox received a $60,000 grant from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which is responsible for producing a regional plan for land use and transportation. The grant doesn't require any local matching and it will go toward a consultant to build on previous efforts to make the area more friendly to pedestrians and businesses.

From 2004 to 2006, an advisory group created the Route 30 Corridor Revitalization Plan, which aimed to identify problems with the area and ways to enhance it for the future.

Read more about the Route 30 Corridor Study.

At Monday night's Village Board meeting, trustees approved an intergovernmental agreement to put the plan in motion. Planning administrator Robin Ellis said the study must be completed by June 30, 2013.

According to the grant application, the grant assistance will include meeting with businesses and property owners along Route 30 to solicit input and cooperation. Some of the major issues the study hopes to tackle are:

• Improving aesthetics via streetscaping, landscaping and parking lot design.
• Improving pedestrian access.
• Consolidating curb cuts

After looking at what can be done to revive the area, the village will try to identify funding sources that could be used to implement some of the improvements.