Last week, CIRTA went public with it’s message focused on building a coalition of transit supporters. The effort includes a spot on their website to sign your name to a petition as well as a means of organizations crafting a resolution of support for dedicated transit funding in the upcoming 2012 Legislative Session. As I …
My recent summer vacation took my family to Myrtle Beach, SC. By virtue of good fortune, and a wife who is accepting of my psychotic civic activism, we were able to spend a morning in Charlotte, NC to take a ride on the Lynx light rail line. The Lynx (or Blue Line) is a modern …
When Indyconnect unveiled its first proposal for a long range transit plan for the Indianapolis region (February 2010), many people were happy about what had been included in the plan.Transit backers were thrilled that light rail transit was planned along Washington Street from the airport to the east side. Finally, vocal advocates (myself included) had something …
As part of what appears to be an outreach effort on the part of INDOT, they are planning 3 statewide open houses to gather public input and comment on the development of a statewide rail plan. The outreach at it’s core is serving as their commitment to soliciting feedback from the public on what we …
When people’s daily budgets get compromised by our wonderfully fickle gasoline prices, it creates an opportunity for people to make a choice; that choice being whether to drive the car or ride the bus to work. For some in Indianapolis, this is a viable option. Living close enough to a bus route in these days can …
This week, I had a couple of conversations with people I would classify as people who think like I do. By that I mean, they are constantly thinking about how to improve transit for Indianapolis by using the limited resources that are available. In that respect, it is simple for me to strike up a …
For years here in Indianapolis, transit has been the elusive unicorn for activists. More funding for IndyGO? How about another study. Light rail? Let’s study it. Again. Recently, there was a heated debate between activists and the state legislature over a House lead effort to strip 18% of state supplied funding to transit agencies that would …
One Morning’s Journey on Northstar Commuter Rail By Ben Houle Recently I stayed (with family) for a few days in Anoka, a northwest suburb about 20 miles outside of Minneapolis. As I had business in Minneapolis and no car to use, I took the opportunity to ride the new Northstar commuter rail line into town. A …
As a citizen of Indianapolis and a major supporter of mass transit, it should come as no surprise that I am always thinking about how we can pull off a successful light rail system. When I think about the key components that would create the best first step, there are many things to consider. First …
Recently, our regional transit authority CIRTA tweeted about Indiana’s Long Range Transportation Plan being open for public comment. The document that controls long term planning of the state’s transportation projects is a fiscally constrained plan of what our officials are moving forward with. I don’t intend to offer a full analysis here but a quick …