INTRO: This week, the Republican controlled Senate passed a transportation budget. The bill goes next to the Democratic controlled House. Like most in Michigan history, it puts nearly all the money into roads. It appropriates $3.2 billion for the next fiscal year. That’s out of a total state budget of about $40 billion. Michigan Now’s Chris McCarus compares the advantages of roads and rails.
The legislature doesn’t work on Fridays. So at 5 o’clock Thursday afternoon, Republican Senator Nancy Cassis was like most colleagues. She was getting into her car to drive back to Novi, her district. She helped pass the transportation bill. The vote was 21-17.
“We were successful to utilize existing dollars to provide for the match to get the federal, our federal share, so we’ve done that without raising taxes.”
When asked how her vote will help public transit Senator Cassis said:
“This is for transportation projects in general here in Michigan. For our roads. So that’s about it. Thanks.”
Cassis is term limited. She’s not running for any state wide office this year. But many other people are including democrat Jeff Irwin. He’s now a Washtenaw County Commissioner. He wants to become the state representative from Ann Arbor.
“Yeah well. It’s very disappointing.”
Irwin is siding with transit groups who are sounding alarm bells on the Senate bill now headed to the House. If this bill becomes law…. Michigan will put $84 million dollars in a pot. Washington will say Ok. We see the pot. We’ll put an extra $475 million dollars in it. But some of the Michigan money was taken from a pot for trains and buses. The Michigan Public Transit Association and Transit Riders United are saying reimburse that pot and put an extra $30 million in it. Then Washington will add $120 million. Jeff Irwin would spend some of it on the Ann Arbor to Detroit Amtrak Line.
“The public officials I talk to in my work are all very supportive of the idea. They think it could work. They see it connects all these major nodes of employment, activity and cultural centers. The major employers along here are big boosters of this project. I think long term this is gonna happen. But we need to get over the hurdle here in Southeast Michigan. The hurdle is we don’t have any thing in place already. We’re not used to doing it this way. We turned our back on rail transit 60 or 70 years ago.”
Irwin is still angry at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. Last month they announced the Detroit to Ann Arbor line will not get 4 new trips a day as promise for October this year. And no new stations in Ypsilanti, Dearborn and the airport. SEMCOG said it need $50 million more dollars.
“Here in Michigan, 81% of your population is in metro areas.”
That’s Chris Leinberger who spoke recently at Michigan State University. He’s a real estate developer, U-M professor and fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
“85% of your jobs are in metro areas. 88% of your state GDP is coming from metro areas. However you think of yourself as a rural state. You’re not.”
So therefore trains would be more efficient than cars. Leinberger was speaking to 250 people. He gave them recommendations.
“Number 1- rail transit, rail transit, rail transit. It’s the most important infrastructure investment you will make in the 21st century. Missing this is akin to not building the freeways back in the ‘60′s and 70′s. We have to maintain the roads we’ve already built. We don’t want to throw them away. But really the focus should be on building the second half of the transportation system. Rail transit, bus, biking real key and of course walkability.”
Leinberger says transportation drives development. And rail allows for housing and stores all jammed together close enough that people can walk to them. That’s what young college grads want. And if they can get it in Michigan they’ll help create new industries. Matt Cullen spoke at the same MSU conference. He’s head of the light rail project on Woodward Ave.
“We’re gonna create the infrastructure that ties people together and allows them to interact. While M1 is a transit project it really is to support economic development. If you look around the country, typically and investment in transit generates 4-6 dollars in economic development. If you look at cities like Portland, Denver and others, they’ve leveraged that to have a tremendous impact on other communities.”
The M-1 project appears to be on schedule. But the Ann Arbor to Detroit project was supposed to be first. Transit advocates are urging the public to call their representatives in Lansing.
Interstate Traveler is another transit/high speed maglev rail system created in Michigan that also needs State government support but can’t get it. They do not need construction or operating funding. The just need permission to build within the Right-of-Way of the Interstate Highway system. Check out their website and decide for yourself. They offer tremendous employment potential for Michigan’s skilled and knowledge workers. This is an international economic development opportunity that we are missing.This should also be a priority transportation project with the Michigan Legislature- but it isn’t.