New momentum for mass transit

An impressive, bi-partisan group of elected officials and civic leaders have come together to show their support for a regional mass transit system – demonstrating positive momentum behind this critical issue. The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership was a founding partner of the private sector-led Central Indiana Transit Task Force, which proposed the plan that was delivered to the community through the Indy Connect public input campaign over the last week.

We continue to support a multi-modal transit system, crafting the best possible final proposal in 2011 while continuing to build support among policymakers and the public-at-large, then pushing for legislative action and popular approval by referendum in 2012.

The text of the letter is below; the piece has drawn praise from the Indianapolis Star’s editorial pages as well.

We join together today as citizens of Central Indiana. As bipartisan elected officials we represent various constituencies: As the Mayor of Indianapolis, seeking a more livable city and a stronger economy; as state legislators representing both Indianapolis and our metropolitan area; as your Congressman, representing the core of the region; and as CIRTA, representing the region’s transportation needs. We are also members of the private sector.

We’re speaking with a common purpose – to move forward on a regional, multi-modal mass transit system that is ambitious yet realistic and affordable to the taxpayers.

We support a system that revitalizes and expands our bus system while adding bus rapid transit routes and passenger rail lines across Greater Indianapolis. The system should allow both users and those who choose not to use mass transit to move around the region with greater speed and ease. It should make dramatic improvements in the mobility of the residents of Indianapolis, commuters from surrounding suburbs, and residents of the neighboring counties traveling within their own communities. The system should give all citizens more transportation options, connect our workforce with job opportunities, enhance our economic competitiveness and encourage investment in our neighborhoods.

Such a system has been talked about for years, and this year enormous progress has been made in developing a specific plan to move forward. We are committed to taking the next steps toward our future transit system.

Looking ahead to 2011, there is still significant work to be done to create the best possible plan. A reliable economic analysis of the final system plan must be completed, so that its costs and benefits are transparent to all. The specifics of a regional transit authority empowered to build and manage the system will be refined. Input from local officials will continue to be encouraged, and we will seek their support.

Our goal for 2012 is to present a practical transit plan that delivers a strong return on investment to the region’s taxpayers. Our hope is that the General Assembly will decide on such a plan during the 2012 short session. This would allow voters in the counties that wish to participate the opportunity to approve a local funding source and governance structure by referendum later that year, while also seeking federal funding for implementing the system. Any such plan must be deemed affordable in both capital costs and operating costs before it goes to the voters for a referendum.

While large-scale public investments demand exhaustive planning and careful stewardship of tax dollars, we believe that effective mass transit is a regional priority. The approach of refining and building public support for the plan in 2011, then taking legislative action and giving voters a voice through county-by-county referenda in 2012, will maintain positive momentum for a comprehensive, multi-modal transportation system.

As public servants and civic leaders, we look forward to working together to move this process forward, and pledge constructive action in 2011, 2012 and beyond to make effective mass transit a reality for Central Indiana.

Christine Altman

Hamilton County Commissioner

Chair, Central Indiana Regional Transit Authority

Greg Ballard

Mayor – City of Indianapolis

Andre Carson

U.S. Congressman

Bill Crawford

State Representative, Indianapolis

Roland Dorson

Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce