Transit district plans still on track, Valparaiso mayor says

VALPARAISO | City officials aren't tossing out blueprints for the transportation-oriented district they're drawing up around the commuter rail station pencilled in just west of downtown.

And, the way the Regional Development Authority sees it, problems with population numbers and $25 million in extra costs are all part of big-project planning.

"We'd like to see that project go forward," said Tim Sanders, RDA executive director. "Most people know commuter rail is an economic driver in Northwest Indiana."

The RDA will help South Shore planners come up with projections that more accurately show growth in Northwest Indiana, Sanders said.

Growth statistics that the Federal Transit Administration uses to distribute funding don't reflect numbers of people moving into a region.

"That doesn't seem right," Sanders said.

Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas isn't enthused about seeing the West Lake expansion coming in phases.

"If the West Lake corridor is built and comes all the way to Valpo, it makes sense in its entirety, not in bits and pieces," he said.

But Sanders said piecing out big projects is par for the course. Under its charter legislation, the RDA is charged with developing the Gary/Chicago International Airport, regional bus service and commuter rail. The RDA already has signed on to supply nearly $9 million of $39 million earmarked to pay for 12 new South Shore rail cars.

"I don't know what big project gets done all at once with someone writing a check for hundreds of millions of dollars," Sanders said.

In Valparaiso, plans for new west side condominiums and town homes, shops and a Campbell Street extension to U.S. 30 will go forward whether the South Shore comes rolling down the track or not, officials say.

"Any time we can connect to the Chicago economic engine, it is good for Valparaiso," Costas said.

"Obviously if the train comes it creates a much greater market," he said. "There's some speculation involved."

The city hopes to have an express bus shuttling commuters to the Dune Park South Shore in Chesterton as early as next year, said Stuart Summers, executive director of the Valparaiso Redevelopment Commission.

"We're trying to get ahead of the ball game by planning for the future," he said. "But we can foster redevelopment in downtown even if the train never comes to Valpo."

Lowell town officials could not be reached for comment Friday.