Belvidere gets Amtrak, City makes a Plan

[spuwho]

It didn't take long.

The State of Illinois announced a plan to provide Amtrak (and future Metra) between Chicago and Rockford.  One town in between hasn't wasted a moment.

Belvidere, Illinois, (pop 25,585) more known for its large Chrysler plant (it made the Dodge Neon, Compass/Caliber and now Dart) is moving quickly to embrace the new route plan.



The Planning Department has already released their multi-modal station plan, ( http://www.boonecountyil.org/sites/default/files/Downtown%20Plan%20Final%20Draft.pdf ) a new city transit plan ( http://www.boonecountyil.org/sites/default/files/Downtown_0_5.pdf ) to support the station and are prepping new TOD zoning in their city center to facilitate higher densities nearby.

The city announced that they already have preliminary plans for the new station to be built and will break ground by the end of the year.



How is it that a city of only 25,000 (2010 Census) is able to pull together a city plan, transit plan and is ready to break ground less than a year after IDOT announces the route with Amtrak? Yet a city with a population of 836,507 in Florida with over 40 years of transit planning can't decide what they are going to do at all?

[JeffreyS]

It is a good way to get in and out of Chicago. My sister in law lives in Naperville and the train to Chicago is about 35 min even at peak easily an hour in the car.  So that town is smart to jump on it.