Featured speaker U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN) urges Northwest Indiana to "start doing" to create better transportation options for the region
At an educational forum July 27, local stakeholders in the transportation debate heard a panel discussion on federal funding and other transportation issues, which featured U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.).
The event marked the first time Business Leaders for Transportation hosted a forum in Indiana . The coalition represents more than 12,000 regional employers and provides a collective voice for Chicago-area businesses on surface transportation issues.
“Our organization is based in Chicago , but our needs and efforts extend throughout the region, including Northwest Indiana ,” said Frank Beal, executive director of Chicago Metropolis 2020, which co-leads Business Leaders for Transportation with the Metropolitan Planning Council and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “Business Leaders for Transportation strongly believes that the future economic vitality of Northeastern Illinois and Northwest Indiana depends heavily on a better connected intermodal system, which requires interstate coordination. Connecting active and informed business communities throughout the region is key to securing state and federal funding for priority projects.”
More than 100 people attended the breakfast. Gary Airport Administrator Paul Karas welcomed the crowd, followed by a presentation by Beal, who offered a brief overview of the Business Leaders for Transportation coalition, including current transportation priorities and coalition achievements.
For the remainder of the forum, a panel of speakers shared their thoughts on transportation needs common to Northeastern Illinois and Northwest Indiana , including improved freight rail infrastructure, expanded commuter service, and better interstate connections to help create and maintain a healthy business network. Since the federal government has begun to finalize replacement legislation for the expired TEA-21 transportation funding bill, the time is ripe for municipal, state, and business leaders to define their roles in ensuring that priority transportation projects are adequately funded, according to featured speaker U.S. Rep. Visclosky.
“Transportation enhancements and infrastructure improvements are key factors in regional development,” said Visclosky. “As a federal legislator, I am in a prime position to help Northwest Indiana gain access to funds that will assist in these projects. We must not wait on other people to start these projects for us; we must take initiative and act to better our region. Now is the time to not only keep the infrastructure we have – like the Port at Burns Harbor , the Gary/Chicago International Airport, and the South Shore – but also to expand on them.”
Visclosky has been vocal about raising municipal support for an expanded South Shore line, which shuttles commuters to and from jobs in Indiana and Chicago. Indeed, an estimated 80,000 people cross the Indiana-Illinois border daily for work, one of the many reasons why it makes good sense for business and community leaders throughout the region to strengthen relationships, according to MarySue Barrett, MPC president.
“By forming an active partnership between business leaders in Northwest Indiana and Northeastern Illinois, we can offer a collective business perspective to the transportation decision-making process and help ensure that funding for regional transportation projects meets our most pressing needs and that transportation and development is better coordinated,” said Barrett.
The first step is raising awareness that an effective transportation system is crucial to a healthy local economy. As panelist Steve Mosher, director of the International Port at Burns Harbor in Portage , Ind. , pointed out, competitive business is tied inextricably to moving people and goods from point A to point B in a timely and efficient manner.
That is the driving force behind CREATE, a freight infrastructure plan to improve freight mobility throughout the Chicago region. Panelists Earl Wacker of CSX Railroad and director of the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office (CTCO), and Chuck Allen of Norfolk Southern Railroad and superintendent of CTCO, presented the plan in detail and outlined its benefits for Illinois and Indiana . Indeed, CREATE is a project of national significance, considering that nearly one-third of the nation’s rail shipments pass through the Chicago region annually – a volume projected to grow by 80 percent in the next 20 years.
“Local employers are interested in the potential explosive growth in transportation, distribution, and logistics for the Chicagoland region that includes Northwest Indiana ,” said Jim McShane, president and CEO of Lake County Integrated Services Delivery Board, one of the forum’s many partners. “Our Gary Airport and the regional RTA both hold the potential for greater connections to future sustainable wage jobs.”
The Merrillville forum was the third in the 2004 series. It took take place Tuesday, July 27, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m., at Avalon Manor, 3550 East U.S. Highway 30, Merrillville , Ind.
The event was sponsored by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern Corporation, and Southeast Airlines, and delivered in partnership with Center for Workforce Innovations, Friends of Gary Airport, Indiana High Speed Rail Association, Lake County Integrated Services Delivery Board, Northwest Indiana Forum, and Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission.
The forums follow a series in late 2003 that brought together six congressmen and local leaders with more than 500 concerned constituents in five separate forums.
Business Leaders for Transportation is a coalition of nearly 180 members representing more than 12,000 regional employers that provides a collective voice for Chicago-area businesses on surface transportation issues. Of central importance to the coalition is increased state and federal transportation funding for northeastern Illinois, supported by coordinated planning to achieve the most efficient and desirable return on transportation system investments.