A few weeks ago, a bunch of us at the Michigan Municipal League came up with an idea that there needs to be more discussion on transit and transportation issues right now. You see, there are many other cities who have great transit systems that cover the various modes (i.e., bus, light rail, commuter rail, et al), but Michigan seems to lack that. As gas prices rise, people will drive less, which will result in less money going into the overall transportation system (funded solely by motor fuel taxes and vehicle registrations), which will lead to crumbling roads and bridges, which will lead to a greater economic downturn.
So, this blog is to spur discussion on how to fix this system. How to increase investment in transit that will help keep the system going. And to help get us started on that discussion - consider the following:
I had a chance to go to Transportation Funding Task Force (TF2) meeting on Monday in Traverse City. The agenda included receiving reports from the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), a group of 19 members that was appointed by Governor Granholm earlier this year to make review the current situation of Michigan’s transportation system. The CAC divided itself into 5 subcommittees (Aviation, Intermodal Freight, Intermodal Passenger, Highways/Roads/Bridges, and Intermodal systems). You can find their reports here: http://michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9623_31969_49303—,00.html.
What are the big lessons to be learned from these reports:
- Michigan is woefully underfunding our transportation system. As a result, all modes of transportation are suffering (i.e. roads are crumbling, public transit is not providing adequate service, businesses are finding it difficult to ship products and materials, et al).
- We are risking losing federal transportation funds because of our lack of state/local investment in the system.
- Just to bring our aviation system up to “good” requires an additional $42 million. This will allow us to bring in $42 million in federal aviation grants
- It will require an additional $507.6 million in state funds to bring public transit up to “good” condition. This will allow us to bring in $150 million in federal transit grants
- We need to double our investment in highways, roads, and bridges to bring them up to “good” condition (total annual investment of $6.1 billion) This will allow us to bring in $750 million in federal road grants
The real scary thing is that the numbers in these lessons will only bring our system up to a “good” status - which frankly is not enough of what we need to drive our economic and urban revitalization efforts.
The TF2 is currently reviewing these reports and will have to come up with recommendation for the Governor and the Legislature. Take a gander at them and share your thoughts about what we need to do.
Dave Worthams
Legislative Associate
Michigan Municipal League
