Indiana

"Clearly, it’s a bad idea,” said one infectious disease expert. “It’s really letting an ignorant public make health decisions the leadership of the South Shore Line should be providing with guidance from state government."

Is the commuter railroad's unique approach to dealing with COVID deniers on trains completely misguided, or so gosh darn irrational that it just might work?

Illinois already had little influence over South Shore Line policy, and this change takes power over the the railroad away from the Indiana counties it runs through.

Subsidized parking garages frequently turn into money-losing concrete bunkers on land better suited for something more productive than car storage. The Broad Ripple parking garage in Indianapolis, a pet project of former mayor Greg Ballard, is a spectacular example.

In yesterday’s Tribune, an official from the South Shore Line commuter rail system, which runs from downtown Chicago to South Bend, Indiana, said that the line’s bikes-on-board program got less use than hoped for in its first season.

[This article runs in this week's Chicago Reader. It's a little off-topic for Streetsblog, but I thought our readers would enjoy it. -- John]

Last August, the board of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District did the right thing by voting to dramatically reduce the wait until customers are allowed to bring bikes on South Shore Line trains. While NICTD had previously been talking about delaying the bikes-on-board pilot until 2021, they instead agreed to test the program this April. Their decision was surely influenced by the Active Transportation Alliance sarcastically giving them the Broken Spoke Award as “the least bike-friendly commuter rail service in the nation.”

Last week, the board of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District voted to dramatically reduce the wait time for a bikes-on-board pilot for South Shore Line trains. A consultant had previously recommended delaying the trial until 2021, when new cars might be added to the system, allowing older cars to be modified to accommodate bikes. Thanks to an outcry from board members and advocates against this ridiculous foot-dragging, the board unanimously voted to move the pilot up to April of next year.

This is the first post in a three-part series on the Indiana Toll Road and the use of private finance to build and maintain highways.