NIRPC

The Illinois Department of Transportation is pushing forward with the risky and unnecessary Illiana Tollway by announcing its "short list" of four finance and construction groups that can build the 35-mile Illinois portion. Streetsblog has reported abundantly from the Illinois perspective -- including a look at IDOT's own analysis showing a net decrease in Illinois jobs as a result of the project. But it's also worth taking a look at how the process -- and the opposition -- have played out in Indiana.

Two weeks ago, at a friend's suggestion, I started a petition to lobby the South Shore Line to allow bicycles on trains, which currently has 125 signers. Our motivation was mostly selfish: We want to be able to travel to the Dunes National Lakeshore and other places in northwest Indiana with our bikes. So I reached out to Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, the agency that operates the South Shore Line. Yesterday afternoon, when I called John Parsons, NICTD's planning and marketing director, he said he was expecting me since he had already received many emails about bikes on trains (the petition website automatically sends them).