Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Planning Department County Transportation Committee met Aug. 29.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

Members in attendance: Mike Butler, Good Shepherd Manor, Laura Dick, SHOW BUS; Ken Munjoy, River Valley METRO Mass Transit District; Michael Roof, Kankakee County Veteran’s Assistance Commission, John Bevis, Kankakee County Health Dept.; Roger Hess and Geoff Olson Mr. Hess, Kankakee County.

Call to Order Chairman Butler called the meeting to order at 10:30 AM, welcomed everyone.

Public Comment 

None

Approval of Minutes Mr. Munjoy had one correction to the minutes which was to change his name in the attendance section to Ms. Brutlag. Mr. Roof made a motion to approve the minutes as corrected from May 2, 2017. Mr. Bevis seconded the motion. Motion carried.

HSTP Coordinator Issues 

None.

Election of Officers Chairman Butler asked for nominations for chair and vice-chair of the committee. Mr. Hess motioned for Mr. Butler to remain as committee chair for another year and for Ms. Dick to remain as vice-chair for another year. Mr. Roof seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Agency Transportation Needs, Interagency Coordination and Accessibility Issues Mr. Munjoy said there were no new updates.

Ms. Dick said SHOW BUS has rented a low-rider vehicle from Springfield MTD as a pilot to find out how well that type of vehicle works for rural transit. The main purpose of having a ramp instead of a lift is to provide an option to riders that are unable to use a lift. The design of the bus is higher than other types of low-rider buses in order to easily clear railroad tracks and as a result the ramp is somewhat long and can be more difficult for riders in non-motorized wheelchairs. Because of the additional ground clearance, the bus must be lowered for each time for rider to get on and off. But because the bus must be lowered and the ramp goes down to the ground, there is no big first step or additional stairs those who walk on to the bus.

Ms. Dick stated the state has selected five companies to manage Medicaid service throughout the state. Also, Connect Transit has been looking into providing Medicaid trips because one of the service providers in the Bloomington-Normal area that provided those types of trips discontinued transit service.

Disability/Aging/Transportation Issues Mr. Butler stated all policies and procedures at GSM are being examined and updated including.

Mr. Bevis stated the increase in METRO buses to the Health Department has been beneficial for riders that just miss a bus and no longer have to wait an hour for the next one. He said he will report back with an update to see how riders have responded to the route changes.

Mr. Hess said there haven’t been any changes at the county.

Mr. Roof said they are still waiting for delivery of the bus the VAC was awarded and that it expected to be delivered this summer or fall.

Program Status of Transportation Providers Ms. Dick said agreements have not been received by IDOT yet. Mr. Olson stated a notice of award was received in the morning for the Section 5311 award. Ms. Dick also said this fiscal year has many things in place that benefit transit. There were no budget cuts to transit programs, revenue collected for transit is required to be deposited into the transit fund, and the lockbox amendment was approved.

Mr. Munjoy said METRO introduced its new service routes on July 1. Holiday and Sunday service have been reinstated. Monday through Saturday service runs until 9:30 PM and Sunday service is from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM. The KCC route provides trips to KCC and south Kankakee every half-hour on weekdays. He also informed everyone that with the new route configurations, the need for transfers should be reduced which will actually reduce the total number of rides because each transfer is a ride. Also, the Midway services has eleven trips on weekdays, five trips on Saturday, and four trips on Sunday. Riders can also now board the Midway route at METRO Centre in Bourbonnais. The University Park service has one bus that goes loops between the Kankakee Area and UP all day. The Kankakee transfer center has been shifted to the north side of the street instead of the south.

Questions from the Media 

None.

New Business: Mr. Olson said he will send out tentative meeting dates for 2018 and asked if anyone has a conflicts with the dates to let him know and he will look into the possibility of changing those meeting dates.

Next Meeting Mr. Olson said the next Region 6 HSTP Meeting will be announced for September 2017.

The next CTC meeting will be on October 24, 2017 at 10:30 AM at River Valley METRO.

Adjournment Chairman Butler asked if there was any other business to come before the committee. There was none. Mr. Bevis motioned to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Roof seconded the motion. Motion Carried. Chairman adjourned the meeting at 11:06 AM.

http://planning.k3county.net/files/committee/2017_08_29_ctc_minutes.pdf