HB2587sam001 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. James T. Meeks

Filed: 4/20/2004

09300HB2587sam001 SDS093 00090 CSE 40041 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2587

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2587 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section 2705-321 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2705/2705-321 new)

Sec. 2705-321. Illinois Transit Ridership and Economic Development (TRED) Pilot Project Program; new facilities and service.

(a) Subject to bond fund appropriation, the Department of Transportation shall establish the Illinois Transit Ridership and Economic Development (TRED) Pilot Project Program to build transit systems that more effectively address the needs of Illinois workers, families, and businesses. The Illinois TRED Pilot Project Program shall provide for new or expanded mass transportation service and facilities, including rapid transit, rail, bus, and other equipment used in connection with mass transit, by the State, a public entity, or 2 or more of these entities authorized to provide and promote public transportation in order to increase the level of service available in local communities, as well as improve the quality of life and economic viability of the State of Illinois.

The Illinois TRED Pilot Project Program expenditures for mass transportation service and facilities within the State must:

(1) Improve the economic viability of Illinois by facilitating the transportation of Illinois residents to places of employment, to educational facilities, and to commercial, medical, and shopping districts.

(2) Increase the frequency and reliability of public transit service.

(3) Facilitate the movement of all persons, including those persons who, because of age, economic circumstance, or physical infirmity, are unable to drive.

(4) Contribute to an improved environment through the reduction of air, water, and noise pollution.

(b) Under the Illinois TRED Pilot Project Program, subject to bond fund appropriation, the Department shall fund in fiscal year 2005, in coordination and consultation with other government agencies that provide or fund transportation services, the Illinois Public Transportation Association, and transit advocates, projects as specified in subsection (c). Total funding for each project shall not exceed $500,000 and the funding for all projects shall not exceed $4,500,000. The Department shall submit annual reports to the General Assembly by March 1 of each fiscal year regarding the status of these projects, including service to constituents including local businesses, seniors, and people with disabilities, costs, and other appropriate measures of impact.

(c) Subject to bond fund appropriation, the Department shall make grants to any of the following in order to create:

(1) The Altgeld Gardens - Ford Supplier Park Rush-hour service, which shall provide rush-hour-only service (6:00 AM to 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM) that shall start at 130th Street and State Street and go directly to Altgeld Gardens (stopping at the store in the center of Altgeld Gardens), then leave Altgeld Gardens and go directly to the Ford supplier park on 130th Street, then to 130th and Torrence Avenue (the Ford production plant), then north on Torrence Avenue with at least one stop close to Washington High School, then to the shopping plaza at 95th Street and Stony Island. After completing its route, the bus shall turn around and go back on the same route. Service shall be every 20 minutes.

(2) The Pilsen/Lawndale Demonstration Project, which consists of the following:

(A) Pilsen Commercial route, which shall create weekday bus service to support the 16th and 18th street commercial district. Service shall begin at Cicero and Cermak and proceed along 16th Street and then 18th Street to Michigan Ave. This service shall run on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and then from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

(B) Lawndale-to-the-Loop Rush hour express route, which shall create an extended rush-hour-only express service (4:00 a.m to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.), starting at Pulaski and Cermak and traveling along Ogden and Polk with limited stops between Pulaski, the Medical District, and the Chicago Loop.

(3) The Intertownship Transportation Program for Northwest Suburban Cook County, which shall complement existing Pace service and involve cooperation of several townships to provide transportation services for senior and disabled residents across village and township boundaries that is currently not provided by Pace and by individual townships and municipalities.

(4) RIDES transit services to Richland and Lawrence Counties to extend transit services into Richland and Lawrence Counties and enhance service in Wayne, Edwards, and Wabash Counties that share common travel patterns and needs with Lawrence and Richland counties. Funding shall be used to develop a route structure that shall coordinate social service and general public requirements and obtain vehicles to support the additional service.

(5) Peoria Regional Transportation Initiative, which shall fund the development of a plan to create a regional transportation service in the Peoria-Pekin MSA that integrates and expands the existing services and that would allow local leaders to develop a funding plan and a timetable to secure final political approval. The plan is intended to facilitate regional economic development and provide greater mobility to workers, senior citizens, and people with disabilities.

(6) Rock Island MetroLINK/Black Hawk College Coordination Project, which shall provide a deeply discounted, semester-based bus pass for unlimited travel on any MetroLINK bus route to students and faculty at local community colleges to increase ridership on the metropolitan bus system and better link community college students with transportation alternatives.

(7) The West Central Transit District to serve Scott and Morgan Counties. Funding shall be used to develop a route structure that shall coordinate social service and general public requirements and obtain vehicles to support the service.

(8) Community College Coordination Projects, which shall provide deeply discounted semester-based bus passes for unlimited travel on any Champaign-Urbana MTD, and Danville Mass Transit bus routes to students, faculty, and staff at Parkland College, and Danville Area Community College to better link community colleges with transportation alternatives.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".