SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) is purchasing property that will lead to the replacement of the bus shelters at Junction Circle near MacArthur Boulevard. SMTD Managing Director Steve Schoeffel appeared on the WTAX Morning Newswatch to discuss the plans
Schoeffel says he can’t say where the new bus stops will be built yet, as property is in the process of being bought for $1.5 million, with another $900,000 in land being donated by the property owner
Schueffel says in a way, SMTD knew it was going to outgrow Junction Circle as soon as they opened it.
“When we put that bus stop in place, when we did our big route redesign, that was meant as a proof-of-concept sort of idea,” said Schueffel. “Prior to that, we had a lot of 30-minute-long route. We had some 90-minute-long routes, and the system wasn’t as efficient as I thought it could be, and I was the planner at the time. So, we tried the secondary transfer point as a, as an experiment, and it’s really worked out well for us. We can serve some of the areas west and south a lot more efficiently because we don’t have to go downtown every single trip.”
Schoeffel explains their upcoming plans, nothing is confirmed at the time.
“In our last board meeting, we approved the purchase of some property. I can’t say exactly where it is just yet because the ink isn’t totally dry on the paper,” said Schueffel. “We want to make sure that everything is done and in place before we get it too much out there because there’s a donation involved in part of the land deal. We don’t want somebody to come in and swoop it out from under us with some sort of grand offer.”
Schoeffel says the new bus shelters won’t be open and built for another couple years at least, but does expect to make an announcement in the near future about where they will be located. There also will be a period for public input in the process.
