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More riders needed to fuel Citilink growth
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FORT WAYNE!
By Whitney Wright For IN|fort wayne
PHOTO BY RAY STEUP
Each year, the University of Saint Francis decorates 100-year-old Brookside Manor on its campus for “Christmas in the Castle.” Highlights include two 12-foot Christmas trees, one in the first-floor parlor and the other in the thirdfloor ballroom.
Environmental focus Riverfront Fort Wayne, IPFW team up to plan environmental stewardship center By Whitney Wright For IN|fort wayne
Riverfront Fort Wayne’s mission to make Fort Wayne’s waterways an iconic part of living and visiting the area not only rests on its ability to provide recreation and economic development, but also sustainability and environmental protection. As a part of this effort, plans for an Environmental Stewardship Center are underway through
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efforts of Environmental Resources Center, at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, and its collaboration with the city and interested residents. The stewardship center was a part of the original vision of Riverfront Fort Wayne and is the first major environment-focused development for the riverfront. To gain additional ideas for what the center may involve, an IPFW student distributed surveys
to various stakeholders. The location of the stewardship center is yet to be determined, though Guldlin Park is in high consideration because it will have access to the river, said Bruce Kingsbury, director of IPFW’s Environmental Resources Center. While plans for the stewardship center are still in the works, Riverfront Fort Wayne provided a handful of programs that are envi-
Increased public transit ridership means increased frequency and better service, one of the founding blocks of any of the thriving metropolises around the world. With Fort Wayne Citilink’s 50-year anniversary coming up next year, managers are excited about the future of the service, especially as downtown Fort Wayne continues to become more populated. At 2 million trips per year, it may seem that the Fort Wayne Citilink bus service is already cruising smoothly on the fares of its riders. However, fares for the bus service only cover about 12 percent of service expenses. To help make ends meet, Citilink rides on local property taxes and also
advocates for continued state funding, as part of its biannual budget. Yet, even with all of the combined funding, the bus service is far from profitable, said Betsy Kachmar, assistant general manager of Citilink. The service also has experienced stagnant ridership since about 2008. During the recession, a surge of people chose to ride the service because of the soaring gas prices and rough economic times. However, usage has not increased since the economy improved and it is now more affordable to own and drive a car due to oil prices falling to historically low levels. Part of the issue in increasing Fort Wayne Citilink’s ridership is the city’s lack of density. Public transportation in larger cities, like New York
and Chicago, thrive on high volumes of ridership and public advocacy for better and more frequent transit service. In larger cities, both those who do not have another choice, as well as those who do not want the stress or inconvenience of driving a car in a city, use the public transportation services. Citilink officials want to create a service more similar to the likes of big cities as Fort Wayne’s downtown population grows. But doing so brings about a bit of a paradox. Citilink needs more people to ride to justify more frequent service but more frequent service is typically what attracts more people to ride. So, Citilink truly needs the cart before the horse, so to speak. “More people would See CITILINK, Page A20
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See RIVERS, Page A19
COURTESY GRAPHIC
Riverfront Fort Wayne recently released updated final renderings for the development along the rivers in downtown Fort Wayne. Here you see a planned canopy trail.
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