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BY BRENDAN O'SHAUGHNESSY
Statehouse Bureau Chief | Friday, January 30, 2004 | (No comments posted.)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Northwest Indiana lawmakers heard stories of transportation nightmares in the region Thursday.
Many of the 30 members of the Interfaith Federation complained of jobs in the southern part of Lake County that fade away because bus routes don't connect to workers in the urban centers of Gary, Hammond and East Chicago. Others noted that mass transit access to supermarkets, stores and doctors -- services taken for granted in some areas or for those with a car -- does not exist in certain neighborhoods.
Tonya Greenlaw, a Griffith resident and federation member, said a lack of transportation contributes to gang members "hanging on the corner" because there are no other work or recreation options. Teens can't go to movies, can't get summer jobs, can't get out of their neighborhood and end up in trouble, she said.
Federation members' aggressive tactics have not always made them popular with lawmakers, but the group was able to confirm commitments for a bill to fund the Regional Transportation Authority from all but a few. Leaders in both chambers seem willing to support the measure as long as the entire Northwest Indiana delegation signs on.
Federation members on Thursday were in Indianapolis supporting the RTA. Each lawmaker who promised support got a red star after their name. The group's president, Juan Rodriguez, said he didn't get a response from Rep. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland.
But Stevenson said he helped start the RTA effort in 1999, so they should know he was on board.
The author of House Bill 1282, Rep. John Aguilera, D-East Chicago, said the region needs to prepare for continued growth pushing from Chicago.
"We have to be visionary about this and put in the services to be able to grow," Aguilera said. "I see this as the biggest economic development issue of my lifetime if we get this thing moving."
While federation members spoke of justice and opportunity, Aguilera presented the bill to colleagues as a job-creation effort that gained political consensus in the region.
Iris Comer, who spearheads the federation's transportation effort, said RTA's volunteer president, Dennis Rittenmeyer, studied the options for years before forging a compromise on the restaurant and bar tax.
Comer said better busing services would help her at work, where she supervises a staff of four at a day-care program.
"None of them drive, so when they can't get to work, I have to pick them up," Comer said. "It shouldn't take someone two hours to get to work."
Hammond resident Buddy Fennie said senior citizens in the region need transportation to medical care. For 17 years, he worked as a bus driver taking people to St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers in Hammond. The hospital cut the service in November.
"Now those people have no way to get there, or they have to hire someone," Fennie said. "The Hammond buses stop about three blocks away."
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