County gets RTA grant

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Updated: March 20, 2012 8:17AM

JOLIET — Will County Executive Larry Walsh announced Will County will receive a second Regional Transportation Authority grant of $500,000 to fund the cooperative efforts of county government and local townships in Eastern Will County.

The grant seeks to expand and improve transit services available to the disabled, seniors and low-income residents.

The total project budget is $892,000, which is a combination of federal funds and local match dollars.

“I am very proud to announce that the RTA has awarded Will County another grant to expand services in Eastern Will County and allow us to take our previous planning efforts and put them into action,” Walsh said.

The new funding builds upon a $100,000 RTA-funded Coordinated Paratransit Study begun in 2008 that created an inventory of all the paratransit and dial-a-ride services in Will County, identified gaps in services and the needs that remained unmet, and recommended a number of next steps for the county and its local partners should take to expand and improve transit services.

As part of this previous study, a steering committee comprised of township and municipal leaders, social service agencies, and residents helped guide the effort.

Previously Southland Senior Services in Monee provided transit services with the assistance of PACE. In December 2010, the agency closed its doors abruptly due to financial difficulties.

This resulted in the real possibility that transit services for eastern Will County residents could have stopped. As a result, Will County and Washington, Monee, Crete, Will, Peotone, and Green Garden townships met with PACE and the RTA and mapped out a plan to work more closely together to keep the buses running.