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Comment period for amendments to long-range transportation plan announced SEMCOG announces the public comment period for projects being considered for amendment to the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan for Southeast Michigan (RTP).
The 2030 RTP was adopted by SEMCOG's General Assembly in November 2004 and serves as a guide for developing a transportation system that is accessible, safe, and reliable. This long-range plan enables about $1.5 billion to be spent annually in the Southeast Michigan region to improve roads, bridges, and nonmotorized systems, and to maintain transit services. The proposed amendments will take advantage of new project funding. The amendment process requires all proposed projects to undergo the same evaluation as the original RTP — identification of financial resources, analysis of air quality conformity, an environmental justice analysis, and a public comment process. With the addition of these four projects, the plan continues to be fiscally constrained, meets air quality standards, and results in balanced project impacts. Results of these analyses are available at www.semcog.org or from SEMCOG Information Services. Comments on projects should be mailed, phoned, or faxed to SEMCOG Information Services; contact information is available in the box on the reverse side. Address e-mail comments to infoservices@semcog.org. Comments can be made in person at the following meetings:
Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
CDBG is focus of MCDDA Conference, Sept 20-22 The Michigan Community Development Directors Association's (MCDDA) annual fall conference is scheduled for Wednesday-Friday, September 20-22, 2006, in Ann Arbor. The theme of the conference is Building Stronger Communities CDBG (Community Development Block Grants) in Michigan. Sessions will cover a wide array of topics, focusing on issues that are important to local communities. As federal housing and community development programs continue to face challenges, it is vital for every community to share the impact and value of these programs with state and federal decision makers. A session on effective advocacy for community development programs is planned, with speakers from Lansing and Washington, D.C. Other sessions include addressing homelessness and continuum-of-care provisions, identifying nontraditional housing development models, and community-development success stories involving intergovernmental collaboration and public/private partnerships. MCDDA conferences are coordinated by SEMCOG on behalf of MCDDA, in cooperation with the Michigan office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Contact: Clarinda Barnett-Harrison, Planner, SEMCOG Community and Economic Development.
SEMCOG University presents an FHWA workshop on pedestrian safety SEMCOG University will host a Federal Highway Administration hands-on workshop to provide community safety professionals with practical steps to reduce Michigan's overall pedestrian crash incidents. Designing Streets for Pedestrian Safety 2006 is a two-day workshop that will be held twice in Southeast Michigan September 11-12, 2006, in the Ambassador Room of SEMCOG's downtown Detroit office (third floor of Buhl Building, 535 Griswold, Detroit) and September 13-14, 2006, at the Troy Community Center (3179 Livernois, Troy). Workshops begin at 8:30 a.m. each day (registration begins at 8 a.m.). The first day will focus on planning, design, and engineering strategies; the second day will focus on field observation and application. Attendees will learn about planning factors that impact pedestrian safety; sidewalk design elements that impact pedestrian safety; integrating pedestrian crossings with transit stops; principals of human behavior while crossing the street; popular countermeasures and enhancements; intersection design and signalization; and performing a field audit. Presenters are Peter Lagerway, Pedestrian/Bicycle Coordinator, Transportation Department, Seattle, WA; and Paul Zykofsky, Director, Land Use and Transportation Programs, Local Government Commission, Sacramento, CA. This workshop is free of charge. Seating is limited, so please reserve a seat by September 1, 2006. Lunch will be provided both days. To RSVP, e-mail Melinda Ball, Michigan Department of Transportation, at ballm@michigan.gov. Please indicate workshop location and date preference in your e-mail. Include "Workshop Registration" in the subject line. If you require a vegetarian lunch, please indicate such in the e-mail. Contact: Josh Debruyn, MDOT, (517) 335-2918, or e-mail debruynj@michigan.gov.
Freeway Courtesy Patrol statistics released Southeast Michigan roads were a little safer in 2005, thanks to the Michigan Department of Transportation's Freeway Courtesy Patrol. With 34 vehicles patrolling 12 Metro Detroit freeways, Freeway Courtesy Patrol drivers helped 28,359 stranded motorists in 2005. Seventy percent of the Freeway Courtesy Patrol's 40,830 stops on metro Detroit freeways were to assist stranded motorists. Of the 28,359 stops to assist stranded motorists, 8,489 were to change flat tires; 8,180 were to assist in mechanical failure; 4,038 were for no gas; and 2,424 were to assist in accidents. In addition, 10,700 stops were made to attend to unoccupied vehicles and 1,771 were to move debris off the roadway. On average, it took Freeway Courtesy Patrol drivers less than 15 minutes to clear an incident. In 2005, the Freeway Courtesy Patrol saved an estimated 9.2 million hours of delay on freeways in the coverage area. Based on the hours of delay, there were also significant reductions in air pollution, benefiting everyone in Southeast Michigan. Since its inception in 1994, the Freeway Courtesy Patrol has assisted 132,385 stranded motorists, made 68,649 unoccupied vehicle stops, and stopped to clear debris 7,058 times. Copies of the report released by SEMCOG, MDOT Freeway Courtesy Patrol in Southeast Michigan: 2005 Evaluation Report, are available from SEMCOG Information Services, or can be downloaded from SEMCOG's Web site. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
SEMCOG Web hits increase Hits on SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org — for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, totalled 2.1 million. This is a 21 percent increase from the previous fiscal year. Contact: Sue Stetler, SEMCOG Communications Director.
SEMPeople SEMCOG was honored on July 19, 2006, with an innovative award from the Michigan Association of Regions, in recognition of our work on cleaner fuels.
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