Sept. 28-29 open house looks at RMTD Belvidere service

Staff Report

The Rockford Mass Transit District, together with the City of Belvidere and Boone County, will be hosting a public open house Wednesday, Sept. 28 and Thursday, Sept. 29, to garner public input on the proposed RMTD fixed route bus service to Belvidere.

The open house scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 28, will run from 2 to 4:30 p.m., and the public hearing scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 29 will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Both will be held at the Keen Age Center, 2141 Henry Luckow Lane, Belvidere. The meetings are open to anyone with an interest in transit or wishing to learn about the new service. Participant feedback on the proposed routes is strongly encouraged.

RMTD has been working on developing service to Belvidere for several years. Funding through a JARC grant (Job Access, Reverse Commute) has now made this service a possibility. RMTD is in the process of completing a Comprehensive Route Analysis, and theBelvidere service is in the first phase of this analysis. The Corradino Group, a transit consulting firm hired by the District, will be presenting the proposed routes and is seeking input on effectiveness of this service. It is anticipated that fixed route service to Belvidere will start on or about Oct. 24, 2011.

RMTD provides more than 1.6 million rides each year. The District has a fleet of 64 fixed route and paratransit vehicles, and offers 18 hours of service Monday through Friday, 13 hours of service on Saturdays, and eight hours on Sundays. Rockford Mass Transit also provides service to Loves Park and Machesney Park.

For more information, contact Richard McVinnie executive director, at (815) 961-2230, or Lisa Brown, Marketing & Public Relations specialist, at (815) 961-2226.

From the Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2011, issue