Yesterday, there was a press conference at the Capitol in which Dan Gilmartin (MML CEO & Executive Director) called upon the Legislature to ACT NOW!  It is time for the Legislature to ACT NOW to adequately fund Michigan’s transportation and transit systems.  It is time to ACT NOW to enact necessary reforms and efficiencies so that all road and transit agencies will work together in a cooperative way.  It is time to ACT NOW to reverse the declining funding for our roads, bridges, airports, and transit systems (to the tune of over $600 million over the last two years).

It was one of the most attended press conferences I’ve seen in my time working in the Capitol and it was great to see that we are getting support from a number of Legislators.  We need to thank State Representatives Pam Byrnes (D-Saline), Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), Lee Gonzales (D-Flint), Matthew Lori (R-Constantine). Marie Donigan (D-Royal Oak), Dick Ball (R-Laingsburg), and Andrew Kandrevas (D-Southgate) for being sponsors of some of the bills in this package.

More bills are expected to be introduced next week and we’ll keep you posted on those.  In the meantime, please contact your Legislator and ask them to ACT NOW for transportation funding!

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.”

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:

• 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