Planning and conversation have begun for the potential upgrades and enhancements of the Dune Park Train Station thanks to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA).
The RDA was created in 2006 with the sole goal of supporting and funding major infrastructure projects throughout the Region.
Funded in large part through casino dollars, the RDA has been tasked with supporting one of the largest railroad projects in this area in decades. In fact, planning and work are well underway for the West Lake double-track rail expansion project.
The West Lake project is meant to increase the efficiency and productivity of the rail line from Michigan City to the Illinois border. Work of this magnitude will not only improve transit systems - it will also provide real economic benefits to the community as a whole.
As a key stakeholder, the RDA walks in step with local governments and communities to provide resources, input, and expertise that each community would not have access to on its own.
“In the last 15 years, we've been a key part of some major local projects,” said Dave Wellman, director of communications for the RDA. “Some of these include extending the runway at the Gary Airport and the riverwalk in Portage.”
Building off those successes, the RDA has enlisted experts and community members in one of the next steps in this very important process – improvements to the Dune Park station and its surrounding areas.
“Dune Park is unusual because it is surrounded by the national park and Highway 12,” said Aaron Kowalski from MKSK, RDA’s urban planning partner.
The RDA and the Town of Porter began conversations about the Dune Park work during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Town of Porter was just starting the process of creating a comprehensive strategic plan,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to let that process play out so that we could really learn from what the community wanted.”
Current plans set the boundary to run from the old Splash Down Dunes Water Park to Fremont Road to the end of the national park.
“The main focus here is promoting and providing those strategic links to the station and to the economic drivers around it,” said Kowalski. “This is a tool to achieve economic development that is calibrated specifically based on analysis and opportunities identified by the community.”
A key note is that redevelopment work will not interfere with any currently owned properties.
In fact, supporters of this work are hoping to get a letter of support from the town and the RDA board to take to the state. These steps are needed before any other work can begin.
“We arrived at this qualitative boundary through the information that we've learned from boots on the ground,” Kowalski said.
The RDA hopes to continue to gather community feedback through public hearings and community meetings. Residents can also submit comments directly to the RDA.
Information about the Dune Park project, as well as the times and dates of future public meetings, can be found on the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority’s and the Northwest Indiana Transit Development District’s websites.
