City of Blue Island Think Outside the Loop
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Information courtesy of chi.streetsblog.org:
When bus stops and train stations aren’t safe or convenient to walk or bike to, that can be a major disincentive to riding transit. Today the Regional Transit Authority announced that it has received federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grants for seven projects that will improve bike and pedestrian access. The total package comes to $4.03 million, with the feds providing $3.2 million, or 80 percent of the funding, and the 20-percent local match coming from $248,000 in municipal funds and $558,000 in RTA funds. The cash will be used for sidewalks, crosswalks, bus shelters, signage, covered bike parking, and other infrastructure at stations and along bus corridors.
In Blue Island, the project scope includes:
1. Constructing a sidewalk and providing pedestrian connection on Irving Avenue, between New Street and Vermont Street, at the Blue Island Metra stations on the Rock Island District Line and the Metra Electric District Line.
2. Provide on-street bike lanes along Irving Avenue and connection to Cal Sag Regional Trail.
3. Reconstruction and reconfiguration of Irving Avenue between New Street and Vermont Street for one-way northbound traffic.
4. Resurfacing and parkway beautification of Irving Avenue between New Street and York Street.
“By creating better connections to transit for pedestrians and bicyclists, these projects advance our goals of relieving congestion, reducing emissions, and growing transit ridership,” said RTA executive director Leanne Redden. “The investments will foster a safe and welcoming environment that benefits all transit riders, regardless of how they access our regional system.”
The RTA’s Access to Transit program helps fund small-scale infrastrucutre projects as identified in communities’ transit-oriented development plans or corridor studies completed through either the RTA Community Planning program or the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Local Technical Assistance program.
