Imagine you live on the north end of town, close to Pioneer Park, maybe in Dunlap. You get up in the morning, wear your corporate uniform, and hop in your car, but instead of driving all the way downtown to your office, you only drive to the rail crossing at Pioneer Parkway. There, you find a parking lot with a small train depot — a “park and ride.” You park your car, head into the depot and have a cup of coffee and pick up a paper at the newsstand.
Then the train arrives. You get on a 45-passenger commuter railcar that looks something like this:
The railcar takes you downtown, making stops at a few places (like Junction City) along the way. The car may run right down by the riverfront, or it could run along a track that would be built down the center of Jefferson Street and meet up with the CityLink transit center at Harrison.
As you’re traveling, you enjoy a smooth ride during which time you can read the paper, check your e-mail, conduct business on your cell phone, or just relax. No driving hassles, no fighting traffic. You enjoy the same ease going home after work. Evenings and weekends, you can take the same train to basketball or hockey games, concerts, Civic Center or other downtown events, shopping in the Heights or at the new and improved Junction City, etc.
If the service in this scenario were available to you, would you use it?
That’s what the Illinois Prairie Railroad Foundation would like to know. They’re investigating the feasibility of commuter rail in Peoria, and they’re betting that people would love it. So, I’d like to do a little non-scientific research and see what my readers think of the idea. What say you?
THe last offer from Pioneer Rail INCLUDED this potential commuter line opportunity starting first with special events and then expanding to rush hour service and eventually commuter service throught the day. Over $500,000 purchase price. …….. a 999 year lease for shared biking hiking trail …………….. and trying to develope a working rail educational program in central USA were all components of the offer that was dismissed by the Ransburg COuncil and currently “on hold” pending the STB ruling. If Carver and Pioneer get the ruling they desire, I just hope Pioneer Rail DOES NOT take their last offer off the table.
If the “trail proponents” and the Park District would have compromised anytime in the last 10 years, today, they would be able to be riding their bikes along the Keller today with shared rail and potential commuter service.
What a shame that egos and individual personalities have gotten in the way for all these many years.
The ommuter line makes wonderful sense with rising gas prices, but with current trend those interrested may be rethinking the market.
I think there could be demand for this commuter rail line due to high gas prices. I don’t see the dip in prices lasting long. Political unrest, increasing demand from China/India, and a hurricane could push prices well over $3. The traffic argument is less compelling as it’s still relatively easy to get around Peoria, except on 150 near Grand Prairie and on Sterling due to all the new traffic lights.
I didn’t find info on that link on how such a line would be financed. Would it be public, private, or some combination? If entirely private would the rates be low enough to entice people to park and ride? If public financing were involved would Peorians tolerate higher gas/property taxes to support it? Most public transportation systems don’t break even on fares and need government funds to keep them in operation.
Yes yes and yes. I would totally take a train. Although, since I work at Bradley, I’d have a bit of a walk. Is there a bus that runs up Main? Could Pioneer and the city team up on this.
I would sooooo take the train to special events downtown. I often have dinner out with my girlfriends in the downtown area. Or go to meetings and such around downtown. I hate days when I have to drive out to my home near Mossville, and then turn around and come right back for a 7pm meeting. But I want to go to the meeting much more than I don’t want to have to drive.
The current talk is that initial investment/purchase of the railcar would be through economic development grants and operational costs would be offset by advertising, which would keep fares low.
This is Peoria, tons of parking and ten minutes to anything. sorry no train. Remember the size of the city, parking costs, traffic and distances we are talking about here. Now, point that train to Chicago and get me downtown in less than 3 hours and I am on it. Run it 5 times a day to the Bloomington airport maybe.
Why would people take a train instead of the bus? The novelty would wear off quickly and it’s not likely to sustain itself through advertising.
A train would rock !!!
A train would be faster than a bus Neil. Trains make fewer stops.
Do it like a loop of some sort connecting Dunlap/North Peoria, Downtown, Mossville, Bartonville, Pekin, East Peoria (downtown), Washington etc….
Then have some longer spurs for Metamora, Bloomington Normal, Galesburg, and Chicago !!
Even tho there is no train yet… the city ought to map out where one would go and insist developers provide the route space for one.
A wonderful idea but a bit one sided. I mean, OK, you can ride downtown or to the river front to see a concert or whatever or even connect to the city bus lines. What does the return trip offer? To look at someone’s $200,000 house? I would love to ride the train and probably would do it just to be doing it but what is out north that it can connect to? Grande Prairie Mall? I guess Junction City could be a draw. I sure hope it will be with all the plans I hear about.
As for gas prices, they will drop to near $2 a gallon. Its election time folks. They will go back up after the elections.
As for driving around Peoria, it’s getting worse everyday. Look what they did to Sterling out by the mall. 6 lanes and a traffic light every 500 ft. None of which is timed to the other. Get ready for the same mess on War Memorial Dr near the mall. A new traffic light is to be added between Brandywine and Meadowbrook. Another cluster f****
Sorry folks, while it would indeed be cool, it will never fly and this is why.
1) cost. (at least $1 M a mile, not including operating expense)
2) ridership. (not enough population density to justify costs.. thus if you could provide service it would be so miminal it wouldn’t be appealing)
3)alternatives ( parking is to cheap and abundant downtown..)
4) time (5 minute to drive to station, 5 minute wait time, 20 minute ride, 10 minute postride walk/bus to job= 40 minute trip (aka twice the amount of time it would take you to drive)
5)congestion… we don’t have any.
You would need it to go to the south side of the city and through teh bluffs as those are the people who tend to use public transportation the most. Would Dunlap residents want that? See Georgetown in Washington DC nearly 30 years ago for the same likely result.
It sounds like a great idea, however, could you imagine the effects of vehicle traffic in such a small area? There would be soo many stops and there is also no place to go. We would have to step business up in every single arena just to make it a valid concept. When I need to travel to airports or around to neighboring cities I will take the Peoria Charter Bus. It just seems the train would be a great idea if we were a large business hub, similar to downtown Chicago.
Despite varying opinions on this, Mahkno has the plan. The Kellar branch corridor should be retained and growth planning should make allowances for light rail corridors. Cheaper now than in 10 or 20 years when we really need it. Have you seen all the growth up north/northwest? Peoria will reach Dunlap sooner than you think.
Oh, and it takes way more than 10 mintues to get across town now, especially north/south.
Expensive – yes! However, if we use the Sears Block as a downtown train station we could dump half the ugly parking decks in this city! The train station could house the sports museum and other stores (not funded by the cop). Wait, this is Peoria – never mind!
anyone who thinks you can go from Dunlap to downtown Peoria in 10 minutes hasn’t tried it in looooong time. The traffic, congestion, stop lights, etc. on Allen Road, War Memorial, Knoxville, etc. coming into downtown, are a nightmare, and it’s only going to get worse. As the price of gas goes up and the population ages, how do you think people are going to get around? All our wonderful museums, riverfront attractions, ballparks, etc. will have a problem. And parking? If you work downtown, you are paying an arm and a leg for parking on top of your gas.
Two things – repsonses to many:
1. I live in Peoria but almost in Mossville. I can take either Rt 6 around or Rt 29 to work at Bradley University. Either one takes just shy of 20 minutes. Any time of day. Maybe not in the middle of the night when the cops are asleep, tho.
2. Do you have any idea how many businesses operate on Pioneer Parkway? I don’t, but as sure as my kids are the cutest ever it’s a helluva lot. I recently got stuck in some nasty traffic there at 5pm. There were cars coming out of every street/driveway/opening you could imagine!
And I’ve gotta say this:
3. Trains are faster than busses. I’ve commuted in NYC, Seattle, Philadelphia. Trains are faster than busses. Period.
I moved from Lisle to Peoria so I wouldn’t have to take a train to work anymore.
No, do you think we need to take a charter plane throughout Peoria. It is just not something remotely feasible. If we had various growth districts then it would be a good idea. Maybe C.J. in like 15 years or so. But, right now I don’t need a train to take me to Wal-mart and joe’s crab shack.
Right now we might not need a train but planning for it and providing space for it are essential. Taking homes later on is nasty business when you could have just drawn some lines and left it as green space in the meantime.
Using the Sears block as a train station would be an outstanding and forward thinking move. Dropping the rail under Adams St. from Averyville down to Bartonville would be a good move.
I’d take the train if it’s still running at 4am and my house was near Dunlap. That would be great. I could get trashed and take a train home from the downtown bars. That’d be alot better than the alternatives now. Wait over an hour now for a taxi or drive yourself. And as far as driving distances now in Peoria. Driving from my house near Newman golf course to work near the Northwood Malls is almost a 10 minute drive just because of the freaking street lights. I have 9 blocks between my house and work and have to go through(stop at) 7 poorly timed street lights.
Everyone,
Apologies for the wind but…
Peoria is not a big city so the concept of commuter rail service seems iffy, and prohibitively expensive, though something designed to cater to both commuters and tourists might work. The proposal involves diesel-powered trolleys not Metra-style bilevel commuter trains. Park-n-ride stations on Allen Road (possible now that the connection is in place across University St.), Pioneer Parkway, Northmoor Road, Peoria Heights and somewhere downtown would allow tourists to see the sights and locals to travel between the fast-growing northwest area of the city and downtown Peoria.
First and foremost, the Kellar Branch needs to be maintained for rail freight operation. If the the now 15-year storm cloud of uncertainty is lifted, then the line can reach its FULL potential and be used to lure new industry to the city limits.
Now that the western connection is in place, retention of the Kellar Branch combined with access to Growth Cell Two and the resulting competitive access to the nation’s rail system, would make this line a valuable economic development tool. That’s far more than some multi-million dollar path for joggers and bicycles will ever do! Wish everyone, including the notoriously sloppy-with-the-facts local newspaper (which could save on transportation costs by using the rail alternative for receiving some of its inbound newsprint), trail proponents (who would get their trail built alongside the track with no opposition) and city council members (who would benefit from spearheading a successful, economic development and possible tourism-enhancing project) would see this.
Once the entire city-owned Kellar Branch and former Union Pacific Pioneer Industrial Lead is secure as a rail corridor, the preferred operator, Pioneer Industrial Railway, can start weekend tourist service with diesel-powered trolleys to test the waters. If done correctly, (and Pioneer’s owner runs a tourist line at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania), this will be a boon to local tourism, offering something unique (unlike a trail) that people will come from all over the region to ride. Weekday service, which can double as a commuter service for regular riders in partnership with CityLink, would then be the next logical step.
How come the years for the Board of Directors on that website is 1997-1998?
Is this something that’s being discussed right now?
Ryan, the Illinois Prairie Railroad Foundation website is woefully out of date, but it is the only website they have, so I linked to it. They are a small group that doesn’t charge any dues for membership (thus there’s no budget for website maintenance), but they did just have a meeting last night at the Peoria Public Library to discuss these issues. Steve Tarter from the Journal Star was there (he’s doing a story on the Renaissance of Rail that will run this Sunday, I believe), as was Sharon Deckard (the founder of IPRRF), Dan LaKemper (Pioneer Railcorp), David Jordan (blogger), Carol Trumpe (Peoria County Board), and several others. So, yes, it is being discussed now, and pretty seriously.
It would have to be a 50/50 situation to even have a CHANCE of working… 50% for folks living around here who would use it for convenience, and 50% to attract some type of tourism. In other words, it would have to be rather heavily subsidized by Peoria, Peoria Heights, Dunlap (perhaps), and merchants (perhaps) along the line.
So, a rather cool looking train and a couple cars would be necessary. With excursions available, and good food, too. And rentals for parties. Sort of a Spirit of Peoria on rails, but more user friendly. Could it be done? Sure it could. Would it be a money-maker? Sure it wouldn’t. And, in these trying economic times in Peoria, that’s likely its death-knell before it even enjoys a birth.
There’s 130,000 people over in Tazewell County that might be interested in using a commuter rail service if it provided low cost access to downtown Peoria, although I must admit that after living in St. Louis for 15 years the “traffic” here is pretty laughable. It takes me 30 minutes or less to get to my parent’s house on the north end from Pekin.
If the system could link into other rail networks serving the region (Tricounty, Bloomington-Normal, Chambana, Springfield, Chicago, St. Louis) I think it would be great. I agree with Mahkno … at least incorporate the idea into plans for the future.
Look… light rail for travelling around inside of Peoria proper would not be very helpful. Peoria does not need a subway (yet and not likely ever). The purpose of light rail is to connect neighboring communities.. and in Peoria’s case connect the north and south. It’s purpose would be to connect Dunlap, Washington, Metamora, Germantown Hills, East Peoria, Pekin, Mapleton etc. into a network so that people would not need to commute. It would also enable those of lower incomes to travel to jobs that might otherwise be more burdensome.
In Europe as town Peoria’s size might have 2 rail stops at best. 1 main station where light local rail meets regional rail meets national rail and then one peripheral station for unusually shaped cities or areas of unusual traffic. Now a light rail route in Germany, inside what would be the equivelant of a county, the rail would stop at most smaller towns.
Another point I want to make is that there are two ways at looking at how rail would operate financially. There is a lot of talk about rail being self sufficient, that somehow ridership should support the rail and that if ridership slips so should the service. In Europe, supporting rail is a public service, that as a matter of public policy is pointedly subsidized. There is talk over there of rail services being more self sufficient but by and large they are revenue spenders not revenue generators. Is this a problem? No because the point of doing that is severalfold a) it enables lower income folks to get to jobs that they might not otherwise take, b) rail, and public transportation reduces demand for roadways and parking. By supporting rail you are avoiding the expense of building and maintaining more roadways and parking lots. In an area where space is at a premium, and open space is valued. Not building roads is a plus. Which costs more roads or rail? c) Rail enables higher density developments. If you have rail you don’t have to make allowance for as many cars when you build. d) Rail enables higher density retail, which of course means better tax revenues. e) More rail usage means less gas usage. Less gas usage has benefits on many levels.
So yes Europeans subsize their rail, but they also spend a lot less on roadways and a lot less on public services where density is factor in costs.
Perhaps the PHA could get involved. There has been talk of removing/relocating some housing from current locations in the city to areas further out. Maybe they could fund part of this and put some public housing out in Dunlap. This would allow the children access to better public schools as well.
Raoul Duke – Dunlap school district ALREADY has a number of low-income housing developments (large apartment complexes) located within its boundaries.
Light rail needs to be discussed now and planned for now, not 20 years from now when it will be much harder to do. Even if Peoria does not get light rail service soon, they MUST plan for it now and stop trying to waste valuable assets towards a hiking trail. Pioneer Railcorp is willing to spend their money on this. Let them try it. How does Peoria lose anything by letting a private company better the Peoria area?
Light rail works in Europe but after thinking about it, light rail would not work in Peoria. As long as you got people who think they need a 5 ton SUV to get to the mall and think more of their cars than other human beings, then you will never get ridership. In Europe, most people can’t afford SUVs, don’t think they need a huge SUV, and gas prices have always been high. They use public transporatation which has been well intergrated into thier cities.
SUVs certainly do exist in Europe. More people than you think can afford to own cars than who actually buy them. If the the public transportation system is good, more people will choose not to waste the money on a car. Gas prices in Europe are artificially high. The base price is not much different than here. Taxes are what make it so high. There are benefits too that. More conservation. More people choosing to use public transportation. A good part of those taxes are put to work subsidizing public trans in various ways.
The iron law of choice exists in europe too. The iron law is that if given the chance to drive, they will. It is a problem there too but they have more clever ways to discourage auto use in favor of pedestrian friendly alternatives.