Update on mass transist for Anderson

And Muncie and Indianapolis, too. Our own Senator Tim Lanane and State Representative Terri Austin are taking the lead on this through the General Assembly. The Anderson Herald-Bulletin published Legislators discuss mass transit options in yesterday's newspaper.

“It’s time that Indiana lawmakers took a critical look at our transportation problems,” Austin said. “Hoosiers are forced into wasting valuable time on crowded interstates and spending hard-earned income on escalating fuel prices simply because they don’t have mass transit alternatives. Continuing to pour money only into our current highway infrastructure simply perpetuates this vicious cycle.

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Testifying before the committee on Thursday was Chris Kiefer, Legislative Affairs Director for the Indiana Department of Transportation. Kiefer provided the panel with an overview of the state and federal funding available for mass transit programs. According to Kiefer, most dollars are placed directly into the hands of local and regional mass transit agencies that use the money to their discretion with little input from INDOT.

The panel was critical of the state’s current approach to mass transit, citing that to move forward in mass transit initiatives, INDOT would need to partner with local and regional transit agencies and provide a greater level of coordination and leadership. Several lawmakers noted that the only way for mass transit to become a reality would be for the state to take a more active role in supporting a modern mass transit system.

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The committee will convene again at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 10. The hearings are open to the public and will be broadcast via video streaming from the Indiana General Assembly Web site (www.in.gov/legislative).

The Muncie Star-Press wrote up the news under the headline Commuter rail from Muncie to Indianapolis to be studied and added this much to the Herald-Bulletin's coverage:

The Indiana Department of Transportation tentatively has selected San Francisco-based URS — one of the largest engineering design firms worldwide — to study the feasibility of developing a commuter rail system connecting Muncie to Bloomington, with stops in Anderson, Noblesville, Fishers and Indianapolis.

The report is due in a little less than a year: Aug. 31, 2008.

Ball State University and Delaware County commissioners are among those backing the proposal.