Springfield, IL – The Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) will hold eight Open House-style events to gather public comment on a new route system planned to take effect when the agency moves its downtown transfer center from 5th & Capitol to 11th & Washington/Adams. The move is scheduled to happen August 1st and requires at least two meetings for the public to be allowed to comment on the proposed changes. SMTD’s Board of Trustees will then vote on the proposed new route system at their next board meeting at the end of February.
“The transfer center move is something the community has been looking forward to for quite some time,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD Service Planning & Marketing Specialist. “Because that move changes routes by eight or nine city blocks, several of our current routes cannot maintain their schedules after that move. So, instead of tweaking just those routes, now is a good time for an overhaul of our entire system, building in more efficiency, offering more destinations and providing clearer schedules that are more-easily understood by current and prospective passengers as well as visitors.”
SMTD will go beyond the required two public meetings for a change this size, offering eight separate events over three weeks in seven locations across the area, an interactive web page and likely Facebook LIVE of at least one of the events for anyone who may not be able to physically make it to a location. There will be no formal presentation. Instead, the events will include several stations with maps and graphics highlighting detailed sections of the system along with a station for a more general overview. The offerings are scheduled as follows:
- Thursday, Feb. 1st
- 12:00 Noon Re-Design Web Page Goes Live on SMTD.org
- Wednesday, Feb. 7th
- 2:00-5:00PM Open House Sangamon County Public Health Dept. 2833 S. Grand Avenue E, Conference Room
- Friday, Feb. 9th
- 12:00-2:00PM Open House SMTD Board Room, 928 S. 9th St., Springfield
- 6:00-7:30PM Open House SMTD Board Room, 928 S. 9th St., Springfield
- Thursday, Feb. 15th
- 5:00-7:00PM Open House First United Methodist Church, 2941 S. Koke Mill
- Friday, Feb. 16th
- 4:00-6:00PM Open House St. Agnes Parish Hall, 245 N. Amos
- Tuesday, Feb. 20th
- 3:00-6:00PM Open House UIS Student Union Ballroom
- Wednesday, Feb. 21st
- 3:00-6:00PM Open House Jerome Civic Center, 2901 Leonard St.
- Thursday, Feb. 22nd
- 4:00-6:00PM Open House Grandview Municipal Building, 1620 N. Milton
The public is encouraged to make written comment at one of the events, via the comment page on the website or via comments on any Facebook LIVE broadcast. Comments will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for review before the system re-design is voted on. No comments will be accepted after 4:30PM on February 23rd in order for staff to have time to compile comments for the board of trustees.
