Passenger Link – April 2022
New Construction Project Update
The new paint/body shop is nearing completion! Below is the latest update.
Phase A – Rear Building (Paint/Body Shop):
- River City Construction installed the skylights.
- PIPCO installing ductwork and insulating. They are also working on the controls for the paint booth.
- A.N.J Electric running conduit, wiring and working on electrical panels.
- Dragoo Painting completed painting and will be back to work on touch up over the next few weeks.
- Stonehard completed the resinous flooring install the week of March 7.
- They came back on March 14 & completed the sealed concrete for the storage, office, restroom and mezzanine.
- River City Construction protected the new resinous flooring so contractors could get the lifts back in to work on the mechanical installations.
- Roof hatch up on the mezzanine has been painted safety yellow.
The paint/body shop is expected to be fully completed on April 19, 2022. As construction continues with future phases of this project, updates will be made on the progress through our website and YouTube channel.
Real-Time City Link Bus Tracking Available
CityLink Receives Grant from IDOT
CityLink was awarded $11 million in grants from IDOT as part of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois Capital Program, which provides capital grants to downstate public transit agencies. It was awarded $8 million to use for the current rebuild and renovation of the bus maintenance and operations facilities. It was awarded another $3 million to use for exterior upgrades to the Transit Center facility.
CityLink’s original maintenance facility was built in 1978, and according to IDOT, it is one of the oldest bus maintenance facilities in the State of Illinois. Other funding CityLink has received for upgrading its facilities includes: $10.4 million grant (2020) from IDOT as part of the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program with an additional $6 million from IDOT as local match support funding; $10 million grant (2020) and $3.6 million grant (2018) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as part of Buses and Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program.
Phase A of the maintenance and operations facilities project, a new rear paint/body shop, is currently in progress and it is expected to be completed in April 2022. Phase B of the project will begin once Phase A concludes, and it includes the demolition of the 1978 garage facility, the construction of a new three story maintenance, operations and administrative building and new visitor parking.
Future upgrades planned for the Transit Center facility include new benches, striping and installing new wayfinding signage.
CityLink Honors Rosa Parks and Celebrates Black History Month
CityLink has a long-standing tradition of honoring Rosa Parks on February 4 by reserving a seat on each of its fixed route buses. This year was no different, and it included the continued tradition of installing a special Rosa Parks seat on bus 2238 for the entire month of February (see photo on right). Bus 2238 also featured a Rosa Parks curb/passenger side exterior sign.
Born in Alabama on February 4, 1913, Rosa Parks would have been 109 years old on February 4, 2022. She famously refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955, which became one of the most infamous symbols of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Parks passed away in Detroit at the age of 92 in 2005.
Additionally, new exterior signs were installed on 10 CityLink buses to celebrate Black History Month. CityLink was pleased to continue the tradition of honoring Rosa Parks and celebrating Black History Month with these new bus signs. New to this year’s signage were two buses that featured Peoria native Richard Pryor (see photo on left).
Jerome Lilly Passenger Appreciation Day 2022
CityLink is celebrating its Passenger Appreciation Day on Wednesday April 20, 2022 to honor Jerome Lilly by providing free rides to passengers all day on all CityLink fixed routes, CityLift paratransit vehicles, and CountyLink rural transportation vehicles. This is the 13th annual celebration of Jerome Lilly Passenger Appreciation Day, and the inaugural inclusion of CityLift and CountyLink passengers.
Lilly, a beloved General Manager of CityLink, passed away unexpectedly in 2007. Passenger Appreciation Day is observed on April 20 (or a nearby date if it falls on a weekend) in honor of Lilly’s birthday anniversary. He began his career at CityLink as a bus operator in 1986 and worked his way up to supervisor and Assistant General Manager, and then eventually to General Manager. Lilly had been employed at CityLink for over 19 years at the time of his passing. April 20 was chosen as the date for Passenger Appreciation Day because it was Lilly’s birthday.
The downtown CityLink Transit Center was dedicated in Jerome Lilly’s honor on April 19, 2009.
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