NICTI

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    The NICTI Executive Committee Meets to Discuss Status of the Project

     Residents of Boone and Winnebago Counties Participate
      in Commuter Rail Survey

NICTI Executive Committee Meets to Discuss Status of the Project

On Tuesday, March 3, 2009, the NICTI Executive Committee met to discuss the status of the project, the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) document, and next steps.

A considerable amount of work has been completed over the last six months. The main thrust behind recent activities has been to more clearly identity partnerships with other providers, particularly Amtrak, related to start up service. Additionally, effort has gone into determining a scaled back version of service that would meet start up needs. Meetings have been held with political representatives as well as the Illinois Department of Transportation Division of Railroads and Amtrak to discuss the options for running both commuter rail service and Amtrak service on the locally preferred alternative (LPA). In addition, various funding options were explored. This included looking at staged deployment scenarios for future service as well as teaming opportunities and partnering. At the meeting, the Executive Committee decided to reach out to other partners: McHenry County, Amtrak, and the Tri-State Alliance.

The draft EA was reviewed. Findings indicate that there are few significant environmental impacts with the LPA. The reviewing agency must approve the findings prior to giving authorization to advance the project to the next major phase which is called preliminary engineering. After this review, it is anticipated that the draft Environmental Assessment will be released for public review and comment late 2009 at which time a public hearing will be held to formally record comments, which will be incorporated into the Final Environmental Assessment.

Residents of Boone and Winnebago Counties Participate
in Commuter Rail Survey

The Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning (RMAP) retained a researcher from University of Illinois Health Systems Research to conduct a scientific poll related to (a) regional priorities, (b) local funding and (c) local governance. A survey was sent to 10,006 households in Boone and Winnebago Counties. With partial results in, the survey indicates that nearly 3/4 of the respondents feel that commuter rail is important or very important. Many people also expressed a willingness to fund the operation of the service through a variety of revenue measures. A full report will be prepared for the next meeting and results will be posted on this website.