16-87 Supporting South Shore Line Upgrades

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04SpuTH8 � U 1. d 1865 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA EXPRESSING ITS SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS AND UPGRADES OF THE NORTHERN INDIANA COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT WHICH OPERATES THE SOUTH SHORE LINE G," the South Shore Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District ( NICTD), with a 10- member NICTD Board including St. Joseph County Commissioner Andrew Kostielney and St. Joseph County Council Member Mark Catanzarite, as part of the membership. For many decades, the South Shore Line has provided, and continues to provide vital transportation services from the South Bend International Airport to the Millennium Station in downtown Chicago. The South Shore services countless numbers of residents and businesses located in the following Indiana counties: Lake, Porter, LaPorte and St. Joseph; and 6 *;,%4 NICTD's 20 -Year Strategic Business Plan notes as part of the "Program Overview" that: "Trip times from South Bend to Chicago would be reduced by 39 minutes, with smaller time savings from other stations. Two of the factors that have the greatest positive impact on ridership are better travel times and more frequent service. Therefore, these improvements will increase average daily ridership on the NICTD system by 38 %, and would also greatly facilitate and enhance transit- oriented development and strengthen neighborhood redevelopment along the route" and have identified $15 million for the South Bend Realignment as part of the "Market Expansion Capital Costs" projections, and has further noted that: "South Bend Realignment: South Shore trains currently navigate a circuitous reverse `C' in order to access the South Bend Airport terminal from the east. The route is long and trains are slowed by 23 grade crossings. This realignment project would provide a more direct route to the west side of the airport terminal by eliminating three track miles, reducing travel time by up to 10 minutes, and cutting the number of grade crossings from 23 to 7" with a map of the expansion depicted on page 11 of the Executive Summary; and 6*Lm� the NICTD has further proposed that the South Shore Line take the necessary steps to meet the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements so that the proposed improvements and upgrades can meet the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) "Core Capacity" funding guidelines, and collaborate on seeking the additional state and local funding necessary to positively move the transportation advancements forward; and 6ACm%& the details on the "Double Track N.W. I — Connectivity for Accelerated Growth" for Michigan City where a double -track is proposed from Sheridan Avenue to Carroll Avenue were discussed at three (3) Public Workshops held at the Center for the Arts in Gary, Indiana on October 4th; at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center in Porter, Indiana on October 5th and at the Michigan City Hall on October 6th, with more information being available at: http: / /www.doubletrack- nwi.com /images /files /Michi anCityExhibitsforAgreement pdf ;and Cam, on November 2, 2016, the Michigan City Common Council adopted a Resolution approving an operating agreement for the Northwest Indiana Double Track Project which also supports the "Core Capacity