Dunes Blog

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Valparaiso has a problem and that problem is trains.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I love trains. I think they provide excellent economic value and are generally better for the environment. I also support the South Shore Expansion to Valparaiso and Lowell. I grew up being inconvenienced by trains my whole life so normally they don’t bother me.

But I’ve just about had enough.

Valparaiso is unfortunate in that it has a major freight railway running right smack through the middle of town. This usually isn’t a big deal, the chances of being stopped by a train throughout the day are pretty low. However, freight train traffic is increasing and it’s starting to affect my daily commute. I have to cross the tracks to get to an from work; as do a lot of people who live in Valpo.

Is it just me or lately has there pretty much been a train during rush hour every day now? Valparaiso screeches to a grinding halt during rush hour when one of these trains goes through. It’s a mess. There are only two ways to get over the tracks and each are on opposite sides of the city. Not only that, the trains usually move at a snail’s pace and are incredibly long.

I sat for 15 minutes the other day. That’s how long my commute should take in total!

It’s evident that the problem is only going to get worse. Would it be so hard for the train companies to not run traffic through there, say, between 4:30pm and 6:30pm? That probably won’t happen. The train companies have made it abundantly clear that they don’t really care for the communities their tracks go through.

What we really need is another north/south bridge over the tracks in the middle of Valpo. It would greatly reduce congestion during rush hour and improve traffic flow throughout the whole city.

What do you guys think?

According to the Times today, the Valparaiso to Chicago shuttle bus has been finalized. They’ve set a launch date of October 6th and they’re calling it the ChicaGo Dash.

Two buses will depart from Valparaiso at Franklin House at 5:45 am and 6:15 am. The fares have been set at $7.50 each way, which isn’t that much more than a train fare from Dune Park or Ogden Dunes. You must reserve your seat in advance, no standing room only like on the South Shore.

Return trips will leave from Michigan and Randolph downtown at 4:35 and 5:20. You’ll be home around 6:15 and 7. Not bad, if you ask me. You’ll still have most of the evening left and be home in time for prime time TV.

The buses sound pretty luxurious. They will have free WiFi internet access, satellite TV, bike racks, bathrooms and plugs for laptops. So, it will be perfect for people who need to get work done during their commute or just want to screw off on the internet.

I think this is a great development for Valparaiso. I hope that it’s popular so that the numbers justify more buses with more flexible schedules. If the numbers are high enough, eventually the ridership will already exist for the planned Valparaiso South Shore extension.

I have no plans personally to use the bus, I don’t work in Chicago and don’t plan to again. Been there done that. But it’s great for the existing commuters and anyone considering moving to the area. Where else can you live so cheaply and still get paid the big Chicago bucks (honestly, that’s a slight misconception, I make more here…)?

I read in the paper this morning that the City of Valparaiso is going to fast track reconfiguring the intersection at Indiana 2 and the Easport Industrial Park.

Thank God.

As someone who uses this entrance four times a day, this can’t come soon enough. There is a lot of traffic through there and it’s simply not large enough to deal with trucks that insist on using it.

The plans are to turn the entrance into a more gentler s-curve so trucks don’t have to make 2 90 degree turns right after each other. I have been stopped on numerous occasions and had to wait for trucks to navigate through the intersection, blocking it.

One thing I love about the City of Valparaiso is that they are pretty good about quickly solving problems and trying innovative solutions (i.e. the roundabout). It’s a credit to Mayor Jon Costas. We’re kind of lucky he lost his bid to Indiana Attorney General.

They’ve been re-doing the bridge on Calumet in Liberty Township all summer. They worked pretty fast and now it’s all done. That was two weeks ago. The road has been sitting there done, still closed. What gives?

I’m tired of wasting gas taking the annoying detour.

Lunacy.

That’s one word describes the plan. I’m an not in support of the closure of the Miller South Shore stop at all. I think it will be a terrible mistake that will hurt commuters and damage long term growth on the South Shore line. If anything the South Shore needs to be adding stations, not removing them.

This is just the latest attempt at building a Potemkin Village in downtown Gary. The logic behind closing the Miller Station is that it will force people to go to the new Gary Metro Center that’s being built by private developers. I want to know what the developers are smoking.

Do they really think that people will drive an extra 10-15 minutes to a new station, pay $3 a day to park, risk their car getting broken into or stolen just to take one for the team and support the new station? Nope, they most certainly will not. The current Gary Downtown South Shore station is underused and in perfectly good nick. The inconvenienced commuters will just drive over to Ogden Dunes South Shore stop, which is already at capacity or simply stop using the service all together, which is the last thing the South Shore needs while it’s trying to gain funding for it’s Valpariaso and Lowell extension. Mass transit needs encouragement for environmental reasons and congestion reasons, don’t give people a reason to ditch it for their cars.

Thankfully, the NICTD is rather dubious about the whole plan and that much was clear this past Friday when the consenus seemed to be that they won’t support closure of the Miller station but are going to have a vote on it at a future date. Miller residents and rail enthusiasts are making their voices heard and it looks like the powers that be might actually listen to them.

If this development of downtown Gary ever actually comes into fruition, let it stand on it’s own merits, don’t hold commuters hostage for the benefit of a private developer. Either way, Gary is a graveyard of failed revitalization efforts. The current downtown Metro center was the last attempt to draw people downtown and it didn’t work. Just look at the abandoned supermarket next to 80-94 for more proof.

Lunacy. I hope better heads prevail and commuters win on this one.