If all the transportation dreams in Northwest Indiana become reality, its industrial landscape would soon look like something out of the 1960's animated sitcom "The Jetsons.'
A monorail would whisk travelers over East Chicago streets, hovercrafts would fly over Lake Michigan for the Loop, high-speed trains would bullet in and out, and computer-controlled traffic systems would end all roadway congestion.
What can work and what's simply a Jetsons-like gag has become more pressing as taxpayers are asked to sink increasingly large sums into transportation projects.
So far, return on investment has been a key criteria for judging what projects get attention. The
Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority's strategic plan basically consists of a report analyzing the economic benefits of projects and how to fund them.
Those types of studies are the foundation for funding decisions for major projects, according to Alexander Metcalf, a former chief economist for the U.K.'s British Rail, and now a transportation consultant in Frederick, Md. Effective transportation improves productivity and decision-makers have to know how it will affect the region's overall economy.
"The value of each project is, what contribution can it make?" Metcalf said.
One measurement of that is jobs, a subject that tends to attract the interest of politicians.
For major projects, something on the order of at least 10,000 to 15,000 jobs should be generated, Metcalf said.
Along with jobs, any such project should be targeted at raising incomes and expanding the tax base. The greatest boost to incomes in Northwest Indiana would come from having more effective transportation links to Chicago, Metcalf said.
"Suddenly you would be having all those young computer guys making $70,000 a year and living out there in Dune Acres," Metcalf said.
The RDA's strategic plan calculated a $196 million region investment in Gary/ Chicago International Airport could eventually yield up to 86,000 new jobs for the region. Similar calculations were done for the South Shore commuter rail extension, regional bus service and lakefront development.
But that isn't all the RDA is being asked to fund.
Executive Director Tim Sanders has heard informal proposals for high-speed rail, a hovercraft for commuters, a water park and a Broadway-style musical venue.
"I wish them all the luck in the world," he said of the last proposal. "But it's just not in our program."
The RDA is willing to branch off from its four legislatively specified projects of airport, South Shore, buses and lakefront, Sanders said. It can do that under a catch-all category in the legislation that allows for funding of projects that contribute to economic development.
Recently, the RDA formed a working group to study a transportation proposal from
21st Century Systems Inc., which has offices just down the hall from the RDA at the
Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana.
"It's transportation," Sanders said. "It's leveraging federal money. So that meets key criteria."
For local political leaders, a key criteria is the effect on their constituents, who will pay the freight for major projects, according to Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr.
When the RDA launched in 2005 and it looked like the South Shore commuter rail extension might happen soon, McDermott proposed a "Gateway" commuter rail and bus station just north of Hammond's downtown. The proposal was a reaction to a proposed
South Shore extension route that would take South Lake County commuters west to Chicago but not east to the Gary airport and points beyond.
"If we are using taxpayers' money to build a railroad where it's more convenient to get to Illinois that it is to get to Northwest Indiana, then that's a problem, McDermott said.
There is a danger that a narrow focus on the economic benefits of individual projects can obscure their broader impact, according to Taghi Arshami, a principal partner of the Arsh Group, a Merrillville planning and environmental design firm.
"You can oversimplify issues that are actually very complicated," Arshami said.
"For example, there are economic opportunities for the truck business in Northwest Indiana, no doubt. But that doesn't mean you should send all those trucks into the middle of a neighborhood and say, OK, we're creating jobs."
The RDA, with its members one step removed from the political arena, is a positive step forward for the region when it comes assessing the overall impact of projects, Arshami said. Because of its regional makeup, it is the one group best suited to guide lakefront development and other projects with long-term impacts.
"What's needed there is way beyond the capability of the cities," Arshami said. "But the rewards can be tremendous and they will be regional."