Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker held a press conference today at the Illinois Bus Garage to award the St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) with a $9.975 million “Rebuild Illinois” Grant. The funding will be used to build a 16,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art Public Safety Center at Emerson Park Transit Center. The facility will house office space for St. Clair County MetroLink Sheriff’s Deputies, the Metro Transit Operational Control Center and CENCOM West, St. Clair County 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch Center – and feature improved rider amenities, including public restrooms for riders and operators of the transit system.
The Public Safety Center at Emerson Park Transit Center will be owned and operated by SCCTD. Construction will commence in early 2022.
“We are grateful for this funding and how it will positively impact public transportation and the community at large,” commented Herb Simmons, Chair of the Board of Trustees of St. Clair County Transit District. “This facility, it’s amenities and the operations within will enable St. Clair County District to better serve riders – not only in St. Clair County but across the entire MetroLink alignment – while helping to bolster communications and security collaboration among Metro Transit, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, Metro Transit Public Safety, the Bureau of Transit Police and other public safety partners.”
This announcement comes on the heels of other investments at the site. In August 2021, Citizens for Modern Transit and AARP in St. Louis, in conjunction with SCCTD and Metro Transit, completed a “Transit Stop Transformation” Project that succeeded at converting the concrete area between the bus bays and MetroLink entrance into an interactive, playful, engaging space that boasts a vibrant-colored jazz theme, spaces to gather, greenery, shaded seating, canopies and a mural inspired by design concepts that were submitted by East St. Louis High School students. In early 2021, SCCTD made parking lot updates and implemented a more than $71,000 LED lighting program to improve security and cost savings.