Pace’s Old Chicago Park-n-Ride To Receive An Indoor Passenger Waiting Facility And Restrooms

Shown in front of an I-55 Express Bus that will serve the improved facility are, left to right, Dispatcher/Supervisor Maurice Shelton, Bus Operator Barbette Easley, Pace Director John Noak, Pace Executive Director Melinda J. Metzger, Congressman Bill Foster, Pace Chairman Rick Kwasneski, Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta, Pace Director Jeff Schielke, and Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant.

Pace (Arlington Heights, IL) recently welcomed Illinois Congressman Bill Foster, Will County (IL) Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, and Bolingbrook, IL, Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta to celebrate Community Project Funding, secured by the Congressman, to create a passenger waiting area at the agency’s Old Chicago (Bolingbrook) Park-n-Ride. Riders will now have a more comfortable place to wait for the bus.

“Thanks to Congressman Foster, a new waiting area will take this facility to the next level and make using public transit a much more attractive option for riders,” Pace Executive Director Melinda Metzger said. “Because Pace and our sister agencies in northeastern Illinois are facing a ‘fiscal cliff’ after 2025, we need to take advantage of every opportunity to enhance service within our limited budget. This funding from Congressman Foster does just that: offers benefits to transit riders in this community, and attracts new ones, without a need for new operating funding.”

The new building will shield waiting riders from inclement weather and will be fully accessible to riders of all abilities. The waiting area will include modern amenities, such as restrooms and a vending machine for reloading Ventra Cards. This facility has already seen recent upgrades, including an increase in the number of parking spots and the installation of an electronic bus tracker sign.

“With a growing population in the far suburbs, it’s important that we keep up with the demand for safe and reliable public transportation options—and that’s exactly what Pace’s Park-n-Ride represents,” Congressman Foster said. “I was proud to secure $1.2 million in Community Project Funding to support the construction of this new, fully accessible indoor facility. This project will help connect passengers to work, schools, local businesses, and more, and produce positive economic and environmental impacts for the community.”

The Old Chicago (Bolingbrook) Park-n-Ride is served by Pace’s I-55 bus-on-shoulder service. A change in state law in 2011 made bus-on-shoulder service possible in Chicagoland. In the first eight years since Pace got approval to use the shoulder, bus ridership on the I-55 corridor increased almost 700 percent. Just as importantly, on-time performance—which previously averaged less than 70 percent—is now over 90 percent.

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