Citylink A Partnership Between The Coeur d’Alene Tribe, The State Of Idaho, The KMPO, and Kootenai County.

Current System  The current Citylink system began in the Rural area in the Fall of 2004 and expanded into the Urban area in November The Urban area is two continuous loops between Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Hayden. With a Link shuttle route that connects the Urban and Rural routes. The Rural route services stops in the Worley, Plummer, Tensed and DeSmet areas. One of the unique features of the system is that it is free to the public.  In March 2007, the Urban area was expanded from 12 to 40 stop locations in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls & Hayden. The Rural area is being reviewed at this time for expansion.  The new locations in the Urban area have been set up in both residential and business areas to allow more access to the general public. These changes have generated approximately 2,000 new riders per month in the first two months.  Rider ship includes: The elderly, persons with disabilities, employees, college and high school students, youth riders, individuals going to & from medical appointments and shopping and those seeking recreational activities and entertainment.  Citylink is nationally distinctive because there has never been a joint cooperative public transit system developed between tribal and county governments.  The Citylink system has transported 246,768 passengers from November 05 to April 07 with 162,887 of those being within the Urban area and 83,881 from the Rural area.

April '06May '06 June '06July '06Aug '06Sept '06Oct '06Nov '06Dec '06Jan '07Feb '07Mar '07Apr '07 CDA1,5841,6021,8261,9472,3411,7811,6461,7041,8872,0231,7862,1292,569 Post Falls1,6431,7971,8512,0782,4152,1301,8091,7521,7452,0171,9062,1832,776 Link5,2805,3935,3675,6295,6945,2105,1675,3266,0596,4435,7826,1325,884 Rural4,1894,6294,4214,7725,2404,5555,0975,0134,9445,6945,6096,7895,998 Totals12,69613,42113,46514,42615,69013,67613,71913,79514,63516,17715,08317,23317,227 The following are ridership totals from November 2005 to the end of April 2007 CDA31313 Post Falls Link98448 Rural Total246768Urban Rider-ship162887

Operational Challenges Our current operation in the Urban area has expanded to cover some additional residential areas and businesses. By doing so, we have noticed a sharp increase in ridership. Sometimes all or almost all available seating is utilized. Each complete loop takes two hours under ideal conditions. The loops are stretched to their limits. The Rural area is currently under review for new stop locations. The demands for additional routes to accommodate the continuing growth of Kootenai County in both the private and commercial sectors cannot be met with the existing number of buses available. Major events such as parades, running and bicycling events, and street fairs disrupt the ability to access all of the current locations. In the Urban area construction on Government way has delayed the start of about 6 of the new stops and the removal of the stops in some of the parking lots which contribute to the time loss. Managing the cleanliness of the stop locations and keeping them accessible under all weather conditions required the addition of a relief shuttle/stop maintenance driver operating approx. 6 hours AM and 4 hours PM.

Objectives (1). Identify potential locations for the use of bus shelters in both the Urban and Rural areas and work with Kootenai Alliance and other local city agencies to acquire and place benches and shelters in key areas. (2). In the Urban area upon completion of the construction on Government Way, move the stops from the parking lots at Hayden Albertson’s, Silver Lake Mall, and the Kmart on Neider Avenue to the Government way side. Customers can still utilize these lots to park, but access the bus on Government way. Add additional stops at Honeysuckle, Dalton, Kathleen, and Appleway. (3). Re-evaluate all current stop locations to determine the best course of action for future stop placement.

Requirements Bring in a qualified outside transit consultant to assist with the routing and operational evaluations. Request assistance from the KMPO, Local city councils, planners and engineers to help identify key business locations and populations centers for stops. Coordinate schedules and service areas with the other local providers. Conduct public forums to solicit comments and support of the current system and the projected changes. Need to add at least 3 buses to the Urban area and change the current 2 loop system to 4 loops to reduce the ride time and allow more seating space. 2 of the new buses for use within the 4 loop system and 1 to use on the link shuttle to depart hourly from Riverstone to the Southern connection of Citylink. Purchase enough signage to mark any new stops that are approved and coordinate with the local city engineers for placement. Begin an aggressive marketing campaign and coordinate the completion of all new schedules and literature prior to the 15 th of September Begin new routes by the end of October 2007.

Objectives (Phase II)  In the Urban area separate the existing routes into two sectors. Create East and West Urban routes with the central link at Riverstone or an alternate location close to I-90 and Ramsey Road.  Develop a plan with the division of the East and West routing to be Ramsey Road.  The Link point could include park and ride spaces, passenger shelter, restrooms, bus parking, supply station, etc…  Possible tie in of Link point location with future site of Urban Transportation Center.  Build East and West routing to increase rider-ship potential from new and existing high density housing areas.  Develop additional service stops to include seasonal tourist attractions, i.e.…Silverwood (Athol turn-around), Cabelas/new retail center (West Post Falls), Triple Play, Wild Waters, Centennial Trail connections, etc…