The pandemic helped cause a reduction of Metra trains coming through Palos Park and other communities.
Now that more people are riding again, residents are hoping for more services to return.
“We don’t have enough weekday trains and we don’t have weekend service,” Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters said. “The residents have been asking about it.
“I go to a lot of these meetings, and I hear what’s going on and I’m reaching out to a lot of our surrounding communities to ask at the same time and put a little pressure on them.”
During the Aug. 10 village council meeting, Milkovich-Walters said Metra has been listening.
“Metra agrees that the (SouthWest Service) line needs additional service,” she said. “They identified it as a candidate for improvement.
“While infrastructure and funding challenges mean additional trains cannot be added immediately, several major projects are planned to increase capacity to make expanded service possible.”
The Southwest line’s stops also include Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Worth, Palos Heights and three stops in Orland Park.
Milovich-Walters calls the recent communication “a positive step.”
“I look forward to working with Metra and our neighbors to make a strong case for service that our residents deserve.”
Intern coming
Through the American Council of Young Political Leaders’ Taiwan Local Pathfinders Internship program, Palos Park will be getting an intern to work in the village for four weeks starting in October.
“This builds emerging leaders from the United States and all over the world,” Milovich-Walters said. “It’s a non-partisan professional exchange program by connecting rising leaders from across sectors and cultures.”
The American program has been going since 1966 and had more than 9,2000 worldwide alumni in 237 countries. Thirty-three members of Congress and 20 statewide officials are in the ACPYL’s alumni network.