EDITORIAL: Northwest Indiana RDA must give more weight to realism than flashy dreams

Times of Northwest Indiana

There's no shortage of transportation proposals being put forward as the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority considers how best to serve the region.

The RDA thinks big -- as it should -- and is willing to think outside the box. That has led to a multitude of new plans surfacing and old plans being reintroduced.

Among the proposals are modern versions of union stations.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. wants commuter rail lines to converge in his city so riders don't have to go to Chicago to change to a train that will take them elsewhere in Indiana. A bus depot would be included.

Another plan would create a multi-modal union station at Gary/Chicago International Airport, where commuter rail and high-speed passenger rail lines, along with buses, would be available.

A monorail would transport travels between East Chicago and Indianapolis.

A 60-passenger Hovercraft would ferry commuters between Gary and Chicago, whisking them across Lake Michigan in 30 minutes, at speeds up to 60 mph.

And that's just a handful of the ideas since the RDA was formed in 2005 with the specific responsibility of facilitating:

* Commuter rail service to Lowell and Valparaiso.

* Regional bus service.

* Lakefront development.

* Expanding the Gary/Chicago International Airport.

* Anything else that promotes economic development.

As the RDA considers transportation proposals, it must stick to its mission and discard the ideas that are least viable. Public funding should not go to dreams destined to fail.

Return on investment is the appropriate measuring stick, not the biggest wow factor.

Extending commuter rail service to Lowell and Valparaiso, the plan that is the grandfather of them all, is among the logical recipients.

So is expanding the airport and supporting the Regional Bus Authority.

The RDA must continue pursuing these three transportation dreams, pressing local officials to support their efforts to bring these to fruition.

Stress the expected return on investment in making the sales pitch.

And make it happen soon, not in the distant future.