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SOUTH e <br />04 �O <br />reecs <br />1865 RESOLUTION NO. 4U d Q ' I (O <br />A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA <br />EXPRESSING ITS SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS AND UPGRADES <br />OF THE NORTHERN INDIANA COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT <br />WHICH OPERATES THE SOUTH SHORE LINE <br />NCmmi, the South Shore Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter <br />Transportation District ( NICTD), with a 10- member NICTD Board including St. Joseph County Commissioner <br />Andrew Kostielney and St. Joseph County Council Member Mark Catanzarite, as part of the membership. For <br />many decades, the South Shore Line has provided, and continues to provide vital transportation services from the <br />South Bend International Airport to the Millennium Station in downtown Chicago. The South Shore services <br />countless numbers of residents and businesses located in the following Indiana counties: Lake, Porter, LaPorte <br />and St. Joseph; and <br />NC, , NICTD's 20 -Year Strategic Business Plan notes as part of the "Program Overview" that: <br />"Trip times from South Bend to Chicago would be reduced by 39 minutes, with smaller time savings from <br />other stations. Two of the factors that have the greatest positive impact on ridership are better travel times <br />and more frequent service. Therefore, these improvements will increase average daily ridership on the <br />NICTD system by 38 %, and would also greatly facilitate and enhance transit - oriented development and <br />strengthen neighborhood redevelopment along the route" <br />and have identified $15 million for the South Bend Realignment as part of the "Market Expansion Capital Costs" <br />projections, and has further noted that: <br />"South Bend Realignment: South Shore trains currently navigate a circuitous reverse `C' in order to access <br />the South Bend Airport terminal from the east. The route is long and trains are slowed by 23 grade <br />crossings. This realignment project would provide a more direct route to the west side of the airport <br />terminal by eliminating three track miles, reducing travel time by up to 10 minutes, and cutting the number <br />of grade crossings from 23 to 7" with a map of the expansion depicted on page 11 of the Executive <br />Summary; and <br />6*Aaw4 the NICTD has further proposed that the South Shore Line take the necessary steps to meet the <br />National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements so that the proposed improvements and upgrades can <br />meet the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) "Core Capacity" funding guidelines, and collaborate on seeking <br />the additional state and local funding necessary to positively move the transportation advancements forward; and <br />OXCnv4 the details on the "Double Track N.W. I — Connectivity for Accelerated Growth" for Michigan <br />City where a double -track is proposed from Sheridan Avenue to Carroll Avenue were discussed at three (3) Public <br />Workshops held at the Center for the Arts in Gary, Indiana on October 4th; at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center in <br />Porter, Indiana on October 5th and at the Michigan City Hall on October 6th, with more information being available <br />at: htip:/ /www.doubletrack- nwi.com /imai4es /files /Michi ag nCityExhibitsforAueement pdf ;and <br />G,fig;m� on November 2, 2016, the Michigan City Common Council adopted a Resolution approving an <br />operating agreement for the Northwest Indiana Double Track Project which also supports the "Core Capacity <br />