Naperville fears the worst for bus riders

Anyone looking for Naperville's transportation staff members next week should be able to find them around the city's two train stations if regional commuter transportation cuts are enacted.

Regional Transportation Authority officials say drastic cuts will be implemented Sunday if state funding isn't approved. City officials already are swinging into action in an attempt to head off the commuter chaos that could ensue.

In Naperville, most of the problems probably would focus on reductions to Pace bus service to and from the city's train stations. The cuts aren't expected to affect Metra train service here, officials said,

"We have a plan, but it's evolving," said Kim Grabow, a Naperville project engineer. "You just don't know what's going to happen."

For starters, about 700 Naperville commuters a day are going to be out of a bus ride to and from the two train stations.

All but three bus routes in the city will be cut if the RTA's doomsday scenario plays out. Naperville's downtown train station and the one it shares with Aurora at Route 59 are the busiest rail depots in suburban Chicago, city officials said.

Because there's still a chance for a last-minute funding solution, Naperville's initial plans to ease commuter congestion mainly involve adding on-street parking spaces and creating more kiss-and-ride areas at the stations to handle the glut of commuters arriving by car instead of bus.

"The first phase are things we can put in place easily and take away in case the cuts don't go through," Grabow said.

If the initial phase is implemented, transportation staff and police officers will be out at the train stations to monitor the changes and determine if more drastic measures are needed.

If the cuts look to be prolonged, the city could open areas in the permit-only parking lots to handle the expected increase in cars. They also could open the downtown parking decks to commuters.

The city has no plans to create its own bus system to handle the commuting crisis.

"We evaluated that as an option, but staff didn't recommend it because we don't feel this is the city's job to be a regional transportation provider," said Carmen Carruthers, transportation planning operations manager.

City Councilman Bob Fieseler, the only rail commuter on the nine-member body, said he's planning to carpool and share his parking permit with fellow commuters.

"To people who ride the train to get to work, this is a Category 5 hurricane that's coming," he said. "I'm hearing a lot of anguish from people who are least able to compensate for this, namely single parents whose budgets don't allow for them to have a car or don't have a spouse to drive them to and from the train."

City transportation officials said they are hearing a lot of frustration from rail commuters who rely on bus service.

"People have made life choices because of how they get to work," said Karyn Robles, a city transportation planner. "People buy homes near bus routes so they won't have to buy another car, so this is really disruptive."

City officials anticipate increased illegal parking at the commuter lots, on residential streets and in commercial parking lots.

The city will add 46 on-street paid parking spots around the downtown train station if the cuts are implemented. Officials also will turn some of the bus lanes into kiss-and-ride areas.

Other kiss-and-ride areas will be added at the DuPage Children's Museum parking lot, the corner of Ellsworth Avenue and the south-side parking lot and along a driveway south of Orazio's Pub, just west of the depot.

FYI

Some commuter-related Web sites.

• www.naperville.il.us.pacecuts.aspx: Provides updates on transit funding and service interruption

• www.sharetheride.org: Provides carpooling information

• www.pacebus.com: Provides vanpool information