Pace Public Hearings

Pace announces public hearings to discuss DuPage County service modernization plan FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 15, 2016 2:00:00 PM Media Release Office: (847) 228-4225 Contact: Patrick Wilmot (847) 228-4225 Highlights include all-new Ogden Avenue bus route and over $1 million of new service ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL- Continuing its practice of modifying existing bus service to improve efficiency and reinvesting the savings to improve current service or add new bus routes, Pace will restructure several routes in western and central DuPage County this summer. The service agency's service modernization plan increases the number of trains served on Metra's BNSF Line and invests over $1 million toward new bus service in the area. Public hearings to discuss the proposed changes occur March 29, 30 and 31 in Naperville, Lisle and Downers Grove respectively. Impacted communities include Naperville, Lisle, Downers Grove, Woodridge and Lombard. The all-new Route 722 Ogden Avenue will operate approximately every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday between the Naperville Metra Station and Yorktown Center in Lombard. A portion of the new route overlaps the existing routing of Route 714 College of Dupage - Naperville - Wheaton Connector on Ogden Avenue, so Route 714 will be rerouted to provide new service to Diehl Road and Washington Street in Naperville. Route 722 will also overlap much of the existing Route 829 Lisle - Naperville Office Corridor in the Warrenville Road area, so Route 829 would be combined with the new route. However, Route 722 will be scheduled to meet all trains currently served by Route 829 and the expanded service on Route 722 would meet two additional evening trains not served by Route 829. "We're working every day to improve both service and efficiency, and this proposed plan is another example of this type of effort that we have implemented successfully in numerous other parts of the region," said PaceChairman of the Board Richard Kwasneski. "We encourage the people who live and work in the area to join us at our public hearings to learn more about the service proposal, ask questions and provide feedback that we can use to shape the final plan." Pace routes connecting local neighborhoods in Downers Grove with the village's two Metra stations will be adjusted to improve efficiency by combining Route 464 West Downers Grove with Route 821 IL53/83rd St. - Belmont Metra Station and realigning Route 462 Southwest Downers Grove to have a simplified, shorter routing. The new, combined route would meet six Metra BNSF Line trains not currently served by the existing service. In Naperville, Route 684 Naperville-Maplebrook and Route 686 Naperville-Old Farm would be combined into a single route with simplified routing, as the two current routes operate geographically close to one another. Pace analyzed ridership patterns for both routes, and the combined route will serve the areas with the highest demand for ridership to mitigate impacts on current customers. Additionally, some customers can use Route 678 Naperville-Carriage Hill, which operates on Washington Street, as an alternative. The same strategy would be employed to combine existing Route 688 Naperville-Huntington and Route 689 Naperville-Hobson Village. Again, some customers impacted by the change can consider using Route 678 as an alternative. As in Downers Grove, the new, combined routes would serve six additional Metra BNSF Line trains not met by the existing service. The public hearings are an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the proposed changes and to ask questions and provide feedback to staff. Based on the input received, the plans may be adjusted before the Pace Board of Directors votes on whether to approve the plan at their April 13 meeting. Implementation of the service changes is tentatively scheduled for June. ### More information regarding this press release.