PARTNERSHIPS
PARK DISTRICTS, FOREST PRESERVES AND RECREATION DEPARTMENTS
WORKING TOGETHER WlTH CIVIC AND BUSINESS LEADERS TO BUILD OUR COMMUNITIES
Free Rides Are Just
the Ticket in Peoria
Peoria youths traveled for free to park programs all summer
long, thanks to one great idea and four local governments
BY STAN BUDZINSKI AND LARRY BETZELBERGER
If you happen to be among the many people who enjoy good old rock'n'roll, you might remember a 1958 song by the "Jamies" that went something like this: "It's summertime, summertime, sum-sum- summertime... "
For many school children the magic words embodied in that song are "summer vacation," or three months of relative freedom from school and studies. That same sense of freedom, however, can quickly turn into a sense of frustration as working parents struggle to balance schedules to try to get their young person to parks, pools and other recreational sites.
The Peoria Park District is a dynamic district administering parks, a zoo, five golf courses, a museum complex, an aquatic center as well as other swimming pools, and it is participating in a riverfront redevelopment effort. But like most cities, Peoria faces many challenging demographic changes.
Peorias average family has at least one parent working full-time, with the other parent working part-time if not full-time, as well. The combination of children on summer vacation and parents' work schedules many times results in the children taking a loss in their mobility. Add to that scenario the complications involved with the high percentage of single-parent households and the problem—getting young people connected with the activities offered by the park district, school district and the city—becomes very pronounced. Transportation to many summer extracurriculars—swimming pools, park district recreational activities, school playgrounds, summer educational programs and other events sponsored by community organization—is a major problem that can be overcome with some creative thinking and intergovernmental cooperation.
As a member of the Peoria Park District board of trustees, I became aware of the problem of transportation in the Peoria area during the traditional summer vacation period. The problem was significant since the city of Peoria encompasses a large metropolitan and suburban area. We have splendid parks, pools, libraries and playgrounds but, as with most cities our size, for a young person in the age range of 8 to 16—without the benefit of a driver 's license—getting transportation from one area of the city to the other falls to parents, grandparents or child care providers.
During a series of neighborhood association meetings, Peoria residents were consistent in observing that while the park district, school district and the city offered excellent summer programs, the parents' schedules of work and other necessary tasks left them unable to get their children to those programs. Clearly, some alternative was needed to solve this transportation problem. From a marketing point of view, Peoria's parks are one of the city's premier attractions. Yet the product is not fully marketable if a large portion of the target customer base is not able to take advantage of the product simply because they are not able to get there.
In January 1997, I engaged in some brainstorming with Peoria area advisors and city officials. The question was simple: How can we get a young person who is old enough to go places by themselves, but too young to drive, to and from recreational opportunities within the greater Peoria area? We assumed that the parent or parents were work-
September/October 1997/ 9
PARTNERSHIPS
| Right: Peoria's SUN & FUN PASS helped increase Greater Peoria Mass Transit District's ridership 62 percent in June of 1997, the first month it was offered. Some 18,000 of the colorful white, red and black passes were distributed to school-age children throughout the Peoria area. |
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ing and unable to provide transportation. The answer that kept surfacing was, "use the bus." Yet, even with low bus fares, there had to be an incentive that would spark young people and parents to realize the potential of using the existing mass transit district. From this thinking, the "SUN & FUN PASS" was born.
Later that January, I began conversations with Eric Turner, a member of the Peoria City Council. I outlined the idea of the SUN & FUN PASS and together we began detailing a plan that would create a free bus pass available to all Peoria area school students in grades three through eleven, in both public and private schools. The pass would be good for the period between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend. Students could catch any Greater Peoria Mass Transit District (or GP Transit) bus at any stop and ride to any other stop.
The plan called for the cost of the SUN & FUN PASS program to be subsidized among three major civic authorities: the Peoria Park District, Peoria School District 150, and the Peoria City Council. GP Transit would administer the program.
The value of the plan was recognized very quickly The city council recognized that such a program is a means of helping young Peorians get around the city. The school district realized that the program would give young people access to learning programs. GP Transit saw the value of tapping into a large potential future market by making the bus available to an age bracket that had not yet become accustomed to riding the bus—18,000 potential future riders. As details of the plan emerged, more of the city's leaders grew familiar with the aims and goals of the SUN &; FUN PASS, and support quickly grew.
Brian Tingley, general manager of the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District, was presented with the plan and lent his support. Tingley, like councilman Turner and myself, saw the immediate benefit to the young people of Peoria, the city, and to the transit district. The approach was a "win-win" situation for everyone concerned.
In the early planning stages in February and March, the logistics of the SUN & FUN PASS began to take shape. In terms of numbers, the volume of bus passes needed was significant. In the greater Peoria area there are 29 public elementary schools, 21 parochial or private schools, 5 high schools, 6 specialized schools and 5 public special program schools. From these schools, projected participation in the bus pass program totaled 18,017 young people.
In February, the Peoria City Council gave approval for its share of the financial support for the project. The costs involved in underwriting the expenses for the rides, producing the passes, marketing and distribution, were estimated at $6,000—a cost that would be shared by each participating governing body.
The Peoria Park District board of trustees committed to contributing their percentage of financial support to the project. Additionally, Cyndy McKone, superintendent of marketing for the Peoria Park District, and her staff, along with GP Transit marketing director Steve Tartar, coordinated publicity and marketing for the plan. School District 150 had the plan under consideration. The GP Transit board had given its official approval. Since the plan called for the use of existing routes, buses and drivers, the board recognized that they would incur no additional costs in operating the program.
By May, all the agreements between the four local governments were in place. The SUN & FUN PASS would be a reality for the summer of 1997. The last details were settled in a series of meetings between representatives from the participating boards and the GP Transit in April and May.
Distribution of the passes was carried on through the school district's central office. Administrators at each school determined the distribution procedure and the number of passes required for their students, They then communicated that information back to the park district
10 / Illinois Parks and Recreation
FREE RIDES ARE JUST THE TICKET IN PEORIA
office. The passes were produced and the appropriate quantities distributed to the schools.
As the end of the school year approached, the Peoria Park District marketing group began to alert the news media of the new program. The Peoria Journal Star picked up on the story in February and carried articles throughout the planning period. A news conference on May 20 was the official introduction of the SUN & FUN PASS to the community.
The test of any new program is in the actual results. It wasn't until July 1997 that the results became clear. GP Transit reported that ridership on its buses had increased 62 percent in the month of June over the same period in 1996. Of that increase, 33,200 rides were attributed to the SUN & FUN PASS. The program continued to show positive success into July and as of this writing, the program is a pronounced success.
The SUN & FUN PASS is achieving its prime goal; it is providing young Peorians access to the recreational sites that would otherwise not be practical or possible for them to get to. Young Peorians are able to have the freedom that summer promises with safe, efficient, reliable transportation from bus stops throughout GP Transit's area.
Moreover, the SUN & FUN PASS demonstrates quite dramatically the fact that once a need is identified within one governing body, the solution to that need can be achieved if, instead of seeing boundaries between those governing groups, we seek avenues of communication.
The Peoria Park District board of trustees, on which I serve, has multiple priorities and budget constraints. Likewise, the city council, the school district, and GP Transit also have their priorities and constraints. The common denominator that links those of us who serve the community is the people of the Peoria area. We who are elected or appointed to serve must use that understanding to achieve solutions that can be shared and can benefit our community.
The SUN & FUN PASS is a prime example of intergovernmental cooperation. As Bonnie Noble, director of the Peoria Park District, noted, "The SUN & FUN PASS allows children from throughout the community to take advantage of recreational opportunities that they might not otherwise have access to. This is another excellent example of intergovernmental cooperation between the park district, the city of Peoria, the school district and GP Mass Transit."
From the germ of an idea, through months of meetings and negotiations, the real lesson to be taken from the experience with the SUN & FUN PASS was summed up in an editorial in the Peoria journal Star on February 8, 1997:
"There's another reason to applaud the SUN & FUN PASS. It's more evidence that Peoria governments recognize the potential of working together. Peorias challenges are too daunting for any one government to tackle alone. It's encouraging that they're finding new ways to address them together."
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Why the Partnership Worked
• The cost for the program was a line-item expense, not requiring park board, school board or city council approval. • The scope of the program required minimal staff rime. • The willingness of the parties working together in a win-win situation — Stan Budzinsk |
STAN BUDZINSKI
is the vice president of the board of trustees of the Peoria Park District.
LARRY BETZELBERGER
is on educator and free-lance writer from Peoria.
September/October 1997/ 11