Weekend Events Detours - Old Capitol Art Fair, Pride, Farmers Market

May 18-19 Weekend DETOURS:
Friday: Due to the Old Capitol Art Fair, Night Service Route 903 Inbound will travel 2nd to Monroe to 9th to Adams.

Friday: Beginning at 5:00PM, the Chatham Urbanized Area Route INBOUND will travel Monroe to 9th to the Transfer Center.

Friday at 5:00PM and ALL DAY Saturday:
Rt. 8 S. Grand/MacArthur OUTBOUND will travel Capitol to 7th to Cook to 2nd; INBOUND will travel 2nd to Lawrence to 9th to the Transfer Center.

Friday at 5:00PM and ALL DAY Saturday:
Route 12 Downtown/Medical OUTBOUND will travel Adams to 7th to Cook to 2nd to Washington to 4th.

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to continue service around multiple downtown events this weekend.

WEEKEND DETOURS!

Due to the 5K events this weekend downtown, several routes will experience detours:

11:30am FRIDAY and All Day Saturday

- Rt.12 Downtown/Medical inbound will travel 7th to Madison to 9th to Washington

- Rt. 4 inbound will travel 2nd to Madison to 9th

-Rt. 903 Night Service inbound will travel 2nd to Capitol to 9th to Adams (Friday only; no Saturday night service).

SATURDAY 9:00am to 12:30pm

- Rt. 1 inbound will travel 5th to Madison to 9th to Adams

- Rt. 7 inbound will travel Washington to 2nd to Lawrence to 9th to Adams

- Rt. 8 inbound will travel 2nd to Lawrence to 9th to Washington; outbound will travel Capitol to 9th to Cook to 2nd

- Rt. 11 outbound will travel Capitol to 9th to Cook to 7th

- Rt. 12 outbound will travel Adams to 9th to Cook to 2nd to Madison to 4th

Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon Detours

Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon Detours

The path of the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon between Lincoln Park, Downtown and Washington Park will cause a number of routes to be detoured during the race. The map below shows where routes are going. If you have questions, please contact dispatch. As soon as routes can safely move back to regular routes, they will revert back to normal.

---

Detours for St. Patrick's Day Parade

Several routes will be affected ALL DAY by Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade street closures downtown. Thankfully, the new Transfer Center no longer has to be moved for events like these (HURRAY!!!!!). However, the following routes will have detours around downtown on some portion of their outbound and/or inbound trips:

Route 1 - N. 5th/Sandhill - Inbound, instead of traveling 5th to Monroe to 9th, the route will travel 5th to Madison to 9th to Adams on its way to the Transfer Center. So stops on 5th between Madison and Cook will not have service Saturday.

Route 4 - W. Lawrence/W. Jefferson - Inbound, instead of traveling Washington all the way in to the Transfer Center, the route will detour from Washington to 2nd St. to Madison to 9th back to Washington to the Transfer Center. So, stops on Washington between 2nd and 9th will not have service Saturday.

Route 7 - W. Washington - Outbound, instead of taking Jefferson all the way to Lewis, the route will travel 11th to Cook to 2nd to Adams to Lewis to Washington back onto the normal route. All outbound Jefferson stops WILL NOT HAVE SERVICE ON SATURDAY. Inbound, instead of traveling along Monroe from Lewis to 9th, the route will travel Washington to 2nd to Lawrence to 9th to Adams to the Transfer Center. So, all stops on Monroe between Lewis and 9th will NOT have service Saturday.

Route 8 - S. Grand/MacArthur - Outbound and Inbound, Route 8 will not be able to travel Capitol Ave from 9th to 2nd then on to S. Grand. Instead, the route will Travel 9th to Cook to 2nd on the outbound portion and 2nd to Lawrence to 9th to the Transfer Center on the inbound trip. So, stops on Capitol between 2nd and 9th will NOT have service Saturday, and stops on 2nd between Capitol and Cook will NOT have service Saturday.

Route 11 - UIS/LLCC - Outbound, instead of taking Capitol to 7th, Route 11 will take 11th to Cook to 7th back onto normal route. So, stops on Capitol from 11th to 7th will NOT have service Saturday, and stops on 7th between Capitol and Cook will also NOT have service Saturday.

Route 12 - Downtown/Medical - Several portions of Adams, 7th, Capitol, 2nd, Monroe and 4th will not have service on Saturday. The route will travel Adams to 9th to Cook to 2nd to Madison to 4th to Carpenter, then, after the normal MMC portion of Carpenter, the route will take 7th to Madison to 9th to Washington to the Transfer Center. So, stops on Adams between 7th and 9th, stops on 7th between Adams and Monroe, stops on Capitol between 2nd and 7th, stops on 2nd, stops on Monroe between 2nd and 4th and stops on 4th between Monroe and Madison will NOT have service on Saturday.

Route 8 Adjustments - 1. Junction Circle; 2. Outer Park Drive

Route 8 will now travel to Junction Circle, although the times at that stop will be offset from the other routes that are based there. The move simply facilitates transfers without requiring passengers to cross Stanford Avenue on foot.

Outbound, the route now will stay on Outer Park rather than travel into the neighborhood behind Franklin School.

See detailed changes here:

In case of snow or ice...

In Case Of Heavy Snow or Ice, SMTD Will Announce Operations Switching To Snow Routes Or Other Changes. Click Here To See Snow Routes.

If You’re Not Sure If Snow Routes Are Running, Check Our Facebook Page Or Twitter, Or Call 217-522-5531. NOTE: Snow Routes Are Only Implemented If Weather Makes Roads Impassable Or Dangerous Or In Areas Where Drifts Are Common. Once Staff Inspects Routes, Buses May Return To Regular Service. When A High Volume Of Snow Is Expected, Please Prepare For Delays. We Will Do Our Best To Return To Regular Service As Soon As It Is Safe To Do So.

2018 System Redesign Comment Locations & Dates

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.

Construction at Bus Stop F

Due to construction on 5th Street only one bus will be able to park at Stop F at the downtown transfer center starting on Thursday, December 21st. Other routes that normally stop at F will be moved to other transfer stops.

• Route 18 will move to bus stop B
• Route 4 will move to bus stop A
• Route 3 will move to bus stop C
• Route 1 will stay at bus stop F

The construction is expected to conclude within a few days.

Detours for Routes 10 & 11 on Oct. 4th

The Illinois Association of Technical Accident Investigators (IATAI) will be conducting crash tests at several locations near South Taylor and East Stanford on Wednesday, October 4th. Routes 10 and 11 will be detouring around the area from 8:15 AM to 5:00 PM.

Click here to open the above map in a new window.

Route 11 will be making trips from downtown to Capital City Shopping Center and back. A helper bus will be used to make connections between CCSC and the rest of the usual Route 11 south of Stevenson. Do not hesitate to contact our dispatch if you have questions: 217-522-5531

Detours for 2017 Route 66 Mother Road Festival

Several streets downtown will be closed for the Route 66 Mother Road Festival being held this weekend so we will be relocating both the day and night transfer centers to 5th & Jackson. Here's a listing of the detour maps for each route:

• Route 1 - North 5th
• Route 2 - North 9th
• Route 3 - Grandview
• Route 4 - West Jefferson
• Route 5 - North Walnut
• Route 6 - East Cook / Ash / White Oaks Mall
• Route 7 - West Washington
• Route 8 - 1st & Highland
• Route 9 - M. L. King
• Route 10 - Southern View / Laketown
• Route 11 - UIS
• Route 13 - MacArthur / Westchester / Jerome
• Route 14 - Wabash / Prairie Crossing / Gaines Mill
• Route 15 - South 11th / UIS / LLCC
• Route 16 - Bergen Park / Sand Hill
• Route 18 - Lawrence / Knox Knolls
• Route 901 - North Side Night Service
• Route 902 - Southeast Side Night Service
• Route 903 - West Side Night Service
• Route 905 - UIS / LLCC Night Service

Several routes will also have to make slightly different detours on Friday, September 22nd due to the parade, starting at 5:45 pm and lasting until the parade concludes. These can be seen on this map.

New Passenger Guide!

The Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) announced today that new booklet-format Passenger Guides are now available to the public. The new publication replaces the decades-old folding maps that SMTD has used since the 1960s.

"Over the years, we have heard complaints that the maps and schedules were too large and too difficult to refold and reuse," said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning & Marketing Specialist. "After discussing several options, we came to the decision that the booklet format would work the best."

In addition to the maps and schedules and a few pieces of information squeezed onto the old maps, the Passenger Guide contains much more detailed information on everything from night service to local college campus stops to a page dedicated to points of interest throughout the area.

"The new Passenger Guides give us the opportunity to give passengers and the public in general easier-to-read schedules and maps, information on how to ride and other, more-specialized facts about bicycle policies and how SMTD is an environmentally-friendly choice for transportation, just to name a few," Schoeffel continued.

SMTD is already looking ahead to future editions.

"With our coming move from Fifth and Capitol to the new, off-street Transfer Center and all of the changes that will cause, future editions will hopefully include bus stops along each route, detailed transfer information and more information on new technology being implemented over the next year," he added. "It’s an exciting time at SMTD, and we hope we can provide plenty of information to our passengers to manage smooth transitions to new sites, new technology and new routes over the next two years so they can fully enjoy the improvements as well. The new Passenger Guides are a first step in that information distribution effort."

Passenger Guides will be available beginning in the next couple of days from Road Supervisors at the Transfer Center, at SMTD’s offices at 928 S. 9th Street and later this week at locations around Springfield where you can purchase tickets. 

An electronic version is available here.

SMTD Making Over 550 Trips to the State Fair

The Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) announced today that bus service will again pass by the Illinois State Fairgrounds at bus stops along Sangamon Avenue over 550 times during the 2017 State Fair.

"Our regular Route 1 North 5th and Route 2 North 9th service will pass by the fairgrounds over 500 times during this year’s State Fair," said SMTD Managing Director, Frank Squires. "And we have maintained our stepped up public outreach from last year to continue to get the word out that there are plenty of bus trips to the state fair available to the public."

Brochures detailing schedules will again be available at local hotels, the fairgrounds and other popular visitor spots, and signage downtown, at fair gates and along the routes to the fair make the routes much more visible to residents and visitors alike.

"The only real change from last year is eliminating the last two weeknight trips," said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning & Marketing Specialist. "Since last year’s fair, our regular night service was reduced by one hour. So, to avoid dropping off passengers downtown with no bus to connect to, we are rolling back the weeknight trip hours to align with our regular night service."

Service runs weekdays from 6:15 AM to 9:30 PM on weeknights and 6:15 AM to 6:15 PM on Saturdays. There is no Sunday service, and buses may not run their regular routes on the Thursday the State Fair opens due to parade traffic and street closures around the fairgrounds.

All of SMTD’s daytime routes that cover most of Springfield meet the state fair routes at the downtown transfer center throughout the day. Passengers needing to change buses downtown should ask their first driver for a transfer when they pay their fare. Regular fare for passengers 5-and-over is $1.25 each way. Seniors 65 or older with ID ride for $ .60 each way. The first two children under 5 ride for free. More than two children under five ride for $ .60 each. To learn more about SMTD’s State Fair Service, click here.