BY HEATHER AUGUSTYN, Times of Northwest Indiana Correspondent
VALPARAISO | The city may soon see its downtown joined to Chicago's downtown through a commuter bus line.
The Valparaiso Board of Public Works and Safety on Thursday morning moved one step closer to making that transit option a reality.
Stu Summers, executive director of the Valparaiso Redevelopment Commission, received unanimous approval from board members for obtaining requests for proposals, or RFPs, from contractors interested in providing the transit service -- including, initially, the buses themselves.
The supply of contractor buses will continue, Summers said, until the city secures a $1.6 million federal grant. If awarded, the grant would fund four new buses to be delivered in two to three years.
"We're looking to have the RFPs due back to us by July 12, award the contract on July 26, and on October 1 start service," Summers told the board.
He said no local taxes would be used for the commuter service. Instead, initial startup costs will be fueled by user fees and a Congestion Management and Air Quality grant previously awarded to the city.
Summers also said the buzz around the service already has generated some commercial and residential interest in economic development.
"Already, one adjacent property owner has expressed a willingness to invest millions in private development if a commuter bus is brought downtown," Summers wrote in a release he presented to the board.
In related business, Assistant City Planner Tyler Kent was given board approval to accept two RFPs he received for local transit bus service, which tentatively is scheduled to begin in August.
The fixed-route system will contain three routes, each using one bus. The vehicles are funded through a Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission grant.
NIRPC members attended the meeting to confirm the relationship between their organization and the city and said they will assist with marketing the new service. NIRPC also will assist the city with funding and implementing the transit.
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