Comprehensive Plan - Carbondale, IL

Adopted June 22, 2010City of CarbondaleFigure 3.5 | SALUKI EXPRESSthe Jackson County Mass Transit District.The Saluki Express operates 11 routes thatconsist of one daily route (No. 1), fourroutes (Nos. 3, 9, 10, and 52) that operateon weekdays, three shuttle routes (GrandAvenue, East, and West) around campusand to the east along Grand Avenue, aFriday-Saturday late night route (No. 8),and a Saturday-Sunday mall/cross-townroute (No. 11). These routes operate whileUniversity classes are in session and carry asubstantial number of riders, as depicted inFigure 3.5, Saluki Express. During breaks,there is an individual daily route (BreakRoute) that provides service between SIU,Downtown, Murdale Shopping Center,University Mall, and many points inbetween.Saluki Express provided over 415,000 rides in 2008, The Saluki Express service areawhich equates to 18.68 riders per hour.encompasses the SIU campus, Downtown,Murdale Shopping Center, UniversityMall, areas of student living both onandoff-campus, a route extending to the Jackson County Health Department,Southern Illinois Airport, and the Hickory Ridge Golf Course (see Map 3.3, SalukiExpress Routes). Service is also provided to John A. Logan Community College.The neighborhoods close to campus are served, as are those in northwest andnortheast Carbondale. The areas that are not well served are the southwest, farwest, and northernmost neighborhoods, as well as those around the periphery ofthe community.National rail service also exists for Carbondale on the City of Chicago to City ofNew Orleans Amtrak line. Amtrak currently offers three daily routes to Chicagoand points in between. The Amtrak service allows students and residents toeasily travel north to Chicago and south to New Orleans. Amtrak ridership onthe Carbondale line is up in recent years and there are current opportunities toexamine site improvements at the station. Locating a multi-modal facility at or nearthe existing site is one potential option as it would allow the Amtrak train serviceto link to Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Service, which connects Carbondale to St.Louis. The current Greyhound bus station is in need of a permanent home andmight also be relocated to such a facility.3.4 Plan Focus Areas and StrategicRecommendationsFocus Area 3.1 - Improving Mobility3.8With the amount of development occurring in the extraterritorial jurisdiction,an adopted Thoroughfare Plan and sound thoroughfare planning policies areessential. A Thoroughfare Plan will ensure that adequate rights-of-way arededicated to the City concurrent with development and on general alignmentsthat are consistent with the plan. A complete grid of highways, primary andChapter Three