5/7/2008 Media Contact: Joe Whitman Whitman Communications 317-627-1614, whitman@netdirect.net

MPO to Seek Public Input on Northeast Corridor Transit Recommendation

On April 30, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) presented a route and technology recommendation to meet the long term transit needs of the Northeast Corridor. This preliminary recommendation, part of the rapid transit study DIRECTIONS, was made at a special  joint meeting of the Technical and Policy Committees of the Indianapolis Regional Transportation Council (IRTC) – the decision-making body of the transportation planning process. As the region’s primary transportation planner, the MPO makes all of its recommendations to the IRTC Policy Committee which is made up of elected officials from throughout the area.

The IRTC voted unanimously to proceed with public meetings to present the MPO’s recommendation of the Nickel Plate Line as the Northeast Corridor route, the first of seven in a proposed region-wide rapid transit system. The MPO also recommends Diesel Light Rail technology to provide rapid transit service along this route. In making its recommendation, the MPO considered technical feasibility, capital cost, speed of implementation and public input concerning selection criteria, system goals and preferred transit characteristics gathered through DIRECTIONS’ extensive community involvement program.

Additional meetings will be held throughout the Spring to accommodate further public review and comment, including at the Gene B. Glick Junior Achievement Center (June 17), Fishers Town Hall (June 18), Indianapolis Central Library (June 24) and an, as yet, unscheduled day-time downtown location. In addition, the MPO and the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority (CIRTA) will address special stakeholder groups located throughout the corridor. (To schedule a presentation for your group, call 327-5136 or 327-7585.)

In July 2004 the IRTC selected the Northeast Corridor, our region’s busiest, as the first leg of a potential region-wide transit system. Since then, the MPO has conducted an Alternatives Analysis (AA), evaluating 13 route and transit technology combinations with the aid of extensive public

input. The Nickel Plate Line is the track that is used each year as the Fair Train route linking the Indiana State Fairground and Fishers. The majority of the line is owned by the Hoosier Heritage

Port Authority and is currently used by the Indiana Transportation Museum for leisure excursions.

The Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority (CIRTA), as implementing agency, will see the recommendation through Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS), Preliminary Engineering and funding identification if approved by the IRTC later this year.

For more information, contact:

                        Joe Whitman, APR, Indy MPO, 627-1614, whitman@netdirect.net

                        Jen Thomas, APR, CIRTA, 441-2487, jen@jenthomaspr.com

                        John Bartholomew, City of Indianapolis, 327-6709, jbarthol@indygov.org