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Three years have passed since a determined bunch of
local residents demanded that the Springfield Mass Transit District find
ways to bring evening bus service back to the capital city.
Legislation pending in the Illinois House, which
would allow the SMTD to expand its taxing authority to all portions of
Capital, Springfield, and Woodside townships lying within city limits could
help speed up the effort to get night bus service rolling again.
Under provisions of Senate Bill 572, SMTD could
receive as much as 65 cents per dollar in matching state funds. Legislators
are expected to return sometime this month to discuss a capital bill, which
would include transit funding.
This week, however, the House postponed consideration
of the bill, which Gov. Rod Blagojevich had promised to veto anyway. In the
meantime, several opportunities remain for the public to comment on the
proposed routes for night bus service in Springfield.
Two sessions will be held today, Thursday, Sept. 6,
first at 1 p.m. and again at 6 p.m., at Hope Presbyterian Church, 2211
Wabash Ave. The final public meeting takes place 10 a.m.-noon Saturday,
Sept. 8, at the First Presbyterian Church, 321 S. Seventh St. Meetings were
also held earlier in the week.
Although SMTD got on board with the issue in 2004,
the need for an additional $1.2 million has prevented the project from
leaving the terminal, so to speak.
A $321,000 grant secured by Illinois Sens. Dick
Durbin and Barack Obama was delayed for more than a year as the result of
an administrative glitch. The city of Springfield has consistently said its
coffers are too light to pitch in and, despite the state’s supplying
more than half of SMTD’s budget, extra money for downstate transit
projects has also been scarce.
The public meetings are hosted by the Central
Illinois Organizing Project and Urbitran — a consulting firm
headquartered in New York City and hired by the Illinois Department of
Transportation — which completed a preliminary report this spring
that found people working the third shift, students, senior citizens,
people with disabilities, and low-income individuals would benefit most
from buses’ continuing to roll past 6 p.m.
Those who can’t make the meetings may also mail
their comments to SMTD, drop by the SMTD offices, at 928 S. Ninth St., or
go to the customer-service section of www.smtd.org.
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com.
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com.
