Planning Programs and Projects

Staff from the City of Des Plaines met with development professionals to conduct a discussion panel on their study area. This involved the local planners acquiring advice, guidance, and feedback on the City's plans and goals for future redevelopment opportunities.

The Regional Transit Coordination Plan is an ongoing multi-year program aimed at enhancing regional mobility by facilitating seamless travel on public transportation.

The focus of the service coordination component, presented to the RTA Board in May 2003, was to identify and explore options to better serve important regional travel markets requiring improved connections between components of the existing transit system. Fifteen major activity centers were identified based on total employment, social services, regional attractions, or some combination of these important trip-generating activities. Analysis confirmed that while downtown Chicago destinations are well served by transit from throughout the region, suburban and other outlying city destinations are not so well served by transit. For some targeted travel markets, the study identified minor schedule changes that would be cost-effective ways to improve service coordination. Other travel markets would require service additions, which are more costly and less likely to be cost-effective, at least on an incremental basis.

Pace's Regional Call Center takes reservations for dial a ride and demand response services to seniors and individuals with disabilities. The Call Center provides comprehensive mobility management services that improve the coordination and operation of transportation services.

The Regional Transit Coordination Plan is an ongoing multi-year program aimed at enhancing regional mobility by facilitating seamless travel on public transportation.

As part of the Market Identification and Sensitivity Analysis components of the plan, a transfer Location Study was completed in March 2001 in order to prioritize inter-agency transfer locations for further evaluation. The Location Study identified and classified approximately 300 existing locations throughout the region where it is possible to transfer between two or more transit operators. The study also evaluated another 50 potential locations where transfers could occur based on new rail stations or extensions. Based on the results of this study, three conclusions were established by the project team to guide further coordination efforts. First, it appears that existing transit connections already serve most travel markets to some extent. Second, downtown transfer locations play an important role in regional transit mobility. And third, the project team recommended prioritizing investments in existing locations that either have high rates of transfer activity, or provide critical local or regional connections.

To supplement the Location Study, a survey instrument was developed by the RTA to gauge residents¿ awareness and opinions regarding various aspects of transit coordination. Telephone interviews were conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Survey Research Laboratory during the second half of 2002. Responses were recorded from over 1000 residents, with approximately one-third each from the City of Chicago, suburban Cook County and the collar counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will).