The Sangamon Mass Transit District Board of Trustees approved major changes surrounding the relocation of the SMTD Transfer Center, a new route system and new service to surrounding communities.
After holding eight public comment events throughout the Springfield area and providing an interactive web page where interested residents could look at detailed route maps down to the individual stop, the board voted to approve the system re-design.
“Since February 1st, we received over one hundred written comments in the form of emails, web feedback, event comment forms and petition signatures, and we had nearly eight hundred unique page views of the re-design web page,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s service planning & marketing specialist. “We were required to hold two public comment meetings, but we felt a change this large warranted a bigger opportunity for the public to see the routes and give us their feedback.”
Schoeffel said public comment had an impact on what the final product will be in August. “Over the course of the three-plus weeks of public comment, we made alterations of varying degrees to five of the new routes, and we’re considering one or two more that were not able to be tested yet,” he added. “We tried our best to encourage public participation, and we wanted those that did show up to know we were listening to what they had to say. At SMTD, public comment is not just a formality in the process.”
The new routes are planned to go into effect with the relocation of the downtown transfer center from the intersection of 5th & Capitol to a new off-street area on the west side of 11th Street between Adams and Washington. SMTD plans to release more information including schedules and maps in the weeks and months leading up to the relocation planned for August 1st.
Also at the meeting, SMTD’s board approved lease agreements for the relocation of the transfer center and expansion of SMTD service into surrounding communities.
“We have been in discussions with the county for some time regarding how best to provide public transportation options to some of the surrounding communities,” said Managing Director Frank Squires. “The board’s action on Monday moves us forward on many fronts, and we’re looking forward to the changes and additions.”
Squires said the expansion into other communities — potentially Chatham, Rochester, Sherman and Riverton/Spalding — is still in the planning stages, and funding will be shifted from a line item originally expected to be used for a contract with Sangamon Menard Area Regional Transit (SMART) for the same purpose. No current funding for regular SMTD operations or the current SMART rural service will be affected by the expanded SMTD coverage.
