[flickr]photo:6474325141[/flickr]
A Rock Island Metra train heading towards Blue Island across 95th Street in Chicago. Photo by Jeff Zoline.
From a Metra news release:
Furthering its goal of soliciting input and engaging in dialogue with its major stakeholders, Metra is asking its riders, the public, elected officials and others for their help as it begins to craft its first strategic plan in several decades. You can offer input by coming out to one of our public open house forums [calendar below] throughout the region. You can also provide input by completing a short survey actively available here from 7/2/12 until 8/10/12.
All meeting materials are on the Strategic Plan webpage.
CITY OF CHICAGO
Tuesday, July 10, 4 PM – 7 PM
Metra
Board Room, 13th Floor
547 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60661
DUPAGE COUNTY
Thursday, July 12, 4 PM – 7 PM
Village of Glen Ellyn
Village Hall, Galligan (Village) Board Room, 3rd Floor
535 Duane Street
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
KANE COUNTY
Tuesday, July 24, 4 PM – 7 PM
City of Geneva
Geneva City Hall
22 South First Street
Geneva, IL 60134
LAKE COUNTY
Tuesday, July 17, 4 PM – 7 PM
Libertyville Village Hall
Board Room/Council Chambers
118 W. Cook Avenue
Libertyville, IL 60048
MCHENRY COUNTY
Wednesday, July 25, 4 PM – 7 PM
Crystal Lake City Hall
Board Room/Council Chambers
100 West Woodstock Street
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
NORTH SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY
Wednesday, July 18, 4 PM – 7 PM
City of Evanston
Civic Center, Parasol Room – 4th Floor
2100 Ridge Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
SOUTH SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY
Thursday, July 19, 4 PM – 7 PM
Village of Homewood
Village Hall, Board Room
2020 Chestnut Road
Homewood, IL 60430
WEST SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY
Wednesday, July 11, 4 PM – 7 PM
Riverside Village Hall
Room 4
27 Riverside Road
Riverside, IL 60546
WILL COUNTY
Tuesday, July 24, 4 PM – 7 PM
Village of New Lenox
Village Hall, Council Chambers
1 Veterans Parkway
New Lenox, IL 60451
Take Action: Attend a meeting and take the online survey.
Thanks for posting this. I haven’t seen any other coverage about it. I think they have a long way to go to live up to the draft goals they’ve set, because they’ve fallen so far over the last 10 years. I hope that their current leadership is up to the task.
This is an example of what is broken. Metra should not do a strategic plan. Metra, CTA, and PACE should do a strategic plan together. What’s next, competing in Congress and Springfield to fund competing strategic plans? RTA and CMAP should require a unifed transit plan for the region. Transit funding is in crisis. This is no time for Metra to plan solo.
I have to agree. I think the Chicagoland area is to fractured. I think they are technically all under RTA, they don’t act like it.
Give them a break – at least they’re trying; and I will be at the July 10th meeting with detailed plans for the Metra Electric District (in-city services): http://bit.ly/GrayLineInfo
I think RTA needs to reign in Metra, CTA, PACE and actually coordinate more. As for the Grey Line why don’t we just get Metra to run more trains in off hours and provide an integrated fare card system instead of wasting money on new signs that say CTA instead of METRA that do not increase service.