The Capital is hopping this spring with transportation and transit issues being brought up on almost a weekly basis.  Just to bring everyone into the loop, last week, the House Transportation committee held a hearing in Ann Arbor to discuss the impact of MDOT’s proposed road project delays.  The committee then heard from a group of municipal officials about the importance of increased funding for the transportation system, as a whole, in renewing Michigan’s communities.  Mayor Paul Schreiber of Ypsilanti talked specifically about the importance of transit in his city and the choices that many communities are facing as they struggle with budget deficits and try to balance budgets, while still funding priorities that are essential for their residents.  The message delivered to the legislators on the committee was unanimous, that they need to act quickly to increase funding for transportation.

Next week, two major events are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 4th…

First, the Michigan Transportation Team, a coalition of local and state road and transit agencies and business groups, is planning a Transportation Funding Rally at the Capital, starting at 10:30 am in the Capitol Rotunda.  Everyone interested in supporting increased funding for transit should try and attend and let the legislature know how important it is that they act quickly to increase funding for transportation in Michigan.  For more details on the event, visit www.mml.org or www.DriveMI.org.

Second, the House Intergovernmental & Regional Affairs and the Senate Commerce committees are planning a joint hearing at 3 pm on May 4th to begin debate on 12 bills that make up the TRAIN package (Transit Revitalization and Investment Act).  These bills focus on expanding a number of existing economic development tools available to communities to include transit-oriented development projects as projects eligible to be considered by those mechanisms.  These bills include changes to things like downtown development authorities, tax increment financing, commercial redevelopment, brownfield, and corridor improvement acts.  The committees will begin consideration of House Bills 5171, 5211, 5212, 5979, 5988, and 5989 and Senate Bills 1233-1238 at 3 pm in room 519 of the House Office Building, in downtown Lansing.

Look for these topics, along with the Regional Transit Authority legislation looking to better coordinate SMART and DDOT transit services in Southeast Michigan, Complete Streets legislation aimed at including transit, bicyclists and pedestrians in the road construction planning process, new federal high-speed rail grant funding, and the state transportation budget, to all be hotly debated in the coming weeks. 

Chris Hackbarth is the transportation policy advisor for the Michigan Municipal League.  Chris can be reached at 517-908-0303, or by email at chackbarth@mml.org.

Attended an open house last night put on by the Michigan/Grand River Avenue Transportation Study group in Meridian Township.  CATA and the affected communities are working together to map out a vision for transit along this important corridor…stretching from the Capitol Building out to the Meridian Mall.  The study group has been look at the various transit systems operating around the country (buses, bus rapid transit, light rail, streetcars, etc) and researching each one to see which type of system and what kind of improvements would be most appropriate to make this corridor a true economic engine for the region.  The study group has been working to educate the public on the various options through the website www.migrtrans.org.  On this site, visitors can answer a survey about their preferences for improvements to the corridor and can actually map out how their preferred system would look, from choosing the kind of transit system, the number of road lanes, bike path and sidewalk locations.  Just a great tool!  Kudos to the study group for their efforts to bring about this vision and their work to reach out and educate the public!

Chris Hackbarth works for the Michigan Municipal League, specializing in transportation policy issues. You can contact him at 517-908-0303 or by e-mail.

Big things are happening in Washington, DC and Lansing right now regarding transit and funding.  US Transportation Secretary LaHood has begun to implement the Obama Adminstration’s vision for mass transit funding by proposing new guidelines for funding major transit projects based upon livability issues like economic development opportunities and environmental and community benefits that a project will provide.  In Lansing, legislators have introduced bills to create a new Regional Transit Authority, responding to Secretary LaHood’s challenge to SE Michigan to develop a more coherent regional system as a precursor to competing for federal mass transit funding.  This new legislation is expected to receive quite a bit of attention in the coming weeks, as swift committee action is anticipated.  To top it all off, a bi-partisan group of legislators, is expected to introduce a package of bills in early February that will greatly expand the ability of local communities to use a number of existing economic development tools to help finance Transit-Oriented Development projects.  Developing buildings and other facilities to help promote bus and rail transit systems.  Stay tuned for an exciting 2010!

Chris Hackbarth works for the Michigan Municipal League, specializing in Transportation issues. You can contact him at 517-908-0303 or by e-mail.

Kudos to MDOT Director Kirk Stuedle for his letter in the Detroit News reminding folks of the importance of high-speed rail to Michigan’s future and the benefits such a system brings.  Read how Michigan is positionining itself, in collaboration with other midwestern states, to receive Recovery Funds for such a project.

Here’s an interesting article from CNN Money on-line about the “cost” of high speed rail.  With most anything, cost can be defined in different ways.  Far too often it is defined in the most stark terms of money, without a real exploration of the cost to society if the policy is implemented or not.  That is why you have to go to the very last few sentences of this article to understand the real cost of not putting in place high speed rail and appropriate public transit in our communities.  I’ll be honest and say it here.., public transit is not a money-maker, but that is not why it has been implemented successfully in ciites across the world.  As noted by University of Pennsylvania Transportation Professor Vukan Vuchic, it has been implemented as a public service to improve quality of life.  The real bottom line according to Vuchic is that “Cities that offer you decent choices in high-speed rail are better than those who only offer you highway”.

Now that I’m finally getting the hang of Twitter, I’ve been following the “tweets” of someone named GreatLakesGuy.  He often has interesting items of note related to transit.

Yesterday, he shared this video on the Grand Rapids Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project that is coming up for a millage in May.  This video is about Cleveland’s BR project, which is the geographically the closest BRT project to our state.  As you’ll see in the video, BRT works and is revitalizing parts of Cleveland that need help.

If it can work there, it should work here, right?

Michigan Speaker Andy Dillion recently talked with the Michigan Municipal League about what it will take to increase support for transportation and transit in Michigan.  It’s clear that he understands the problem.

New MSU Land Policy Institute Report Suggests Prosperity for Michigan Hinges, In Part, On Attracting Key Populations:

Michigan’s metropolitan areas must do a better job of attracting and keeping young workers, retirees and well-educated immigrants in order for its job market to improve, according to a national study to be released by the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University (MSU).

Michigan lags far behind most other states in attracting and retaining residents in all three of those categories, which MSU researchers say is critical to restoring Michigan’s prosperity in the new knowledge-based economy.

“In the Old Economy, people moved somewhere new or lived somewhere for 30 years because that was where their jobs were,” said Dr. Soji Adelaja, the report’s lead author, John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy and Director of the Institute. “Not anymore. People who create the most jobs directly and indirectly are also those people moving to those places in the country that have the best amenities and quality of life. They are seeking places first, not jobs first.”

Policy makers should consider a new model for economic development that is less focused on tax incentives and more focused on increasing Michigan’s population of “knowledge workers” who “look for interesting places to live, move there and enable economic activity to follow them, including job creation for themselves,” Dr. Adelaja said. . . .

According to Dr. Adelaja, the winners will be those regions that build strategies and bolster vibrant urban cores, green recreation opportunities and diverse, entrepreneurial populations, among other assets. . . .

The Land Policy Institute’s Executive Summary was formally presented today, Wednesday, February 25, 2009, to the State House Committee on “New Economy and Quality of Life.”

The final report will be available in early March at www.landpolicy.msu.edu.

I was sent a great article today, written by former Michigan State Senator David Honigman.  He suggests that, much like buildings that ignored with windows that are broken, our transportation system is sending negative signals about how we truly feel about the possibility of our economic turnaround.

It’s a great read and one that gets you thinking.

The Signaling Function of Transportation Infrastructure: the Theory of the Broken Window

I had the opportunity to give some comments at the October 27, 2008 meeting of Michigan’s Transportation Funding Task Force (TF2).  Not to be a braggart, but I thought they were pretty good and figured I’d share them with you here:

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  Earlier in today’s session you heard from SMART in regards to a number of transit efficiencies that they’ve undertaken and you’ve also heard about the importance of public transit.  Throughout your work this year, you’ve heard many comments to that effect, both form your own membership and from the Citizens Advisory Committee.  As you move forward to the final steps of drafting and adopting your preliminary report, the Michigan Municipal League would like to share the following thoughts for your consideration.

“I’ll begin by sharing a quote from someone with you.  The First Mayor that history records was a guy by the name of Pericles.  He was the Mayor of Athens and 2500 years ago or so he said, ‘All things good on this Earth flow into the city because of the city’s greatness.’

“Our urban cores can be the engine that drives our economic turnaround.  Using the current economic doldrums as an opportunity to truly promote redevelopment and future development based around transit.  Promoting the use of a transit-oriented development philosophy in our economic and planning efforts will provide outstanding benefits.  If it is true, that on average, there is a $6 return for every $1 spent or invested in transit systems, then imagine what will happen when the Detroit Mass Transit project gets Michigan moving?  Building that project and using it a the foundation for a regional system will enable folks within 70 miles of Detroit to come into the city (avoiding NFL blackouts) because much of what is good flows into the city.  If we do this, if we commit ourselves to making this happen, then our cities can be great again!!!

“In your recommendations to come, we ask that you call on the Legislature and our Governor to adopt policies that will empower regional transit of all modes to work in a coordinated way.  The proposed Regional Transit Coordinating Council (RTCC) plan can accomplish this, as they work with SMART and DDOT and other entities.  Adoption of local planning and funding tools that will allow for the growth of a regional system throughout the state will also be helpful to areas outside of SE Michigan as well, such as Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Cadillac, Traverse City, and elsewhere.

“In the end, a system that crosses all modes and empowers all regions leads to our future economic success.  That is why the League has and will continue to push those policies that lead to the creation of that system.  We join our friends in Transportation Riders United, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, and other in that call.

“It does appear that many of those needed policies exist in your draft report and we urge you to keep those in the report.  We urge you to call on the Governor and the Legislature to find the leadership necessary on this issue to enact these policies sooner rather than later.  We suggest that all citizens call on the Governor to make this a priority in her next State of the State address.  We ask that you call on all us to lead.

“The MML stands ready to assist you in your endeavours and if there are any questions that I can answer, I am glad to do so.”