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Executive Committee meets September 16 SEMCOG's Executive Committee will meet on Friday, September 16, 2005, in SEMCOG's downtown Detroit office. Action items under consideration include:
Highlights of the recently enacted federal transportation legislation will be presented, including details on how the state and region will fare under the $286.4 billion bill. Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.
Public meetings on Ann Arbor to Detroit transit study scheduled Public meetings to discuss the findings of an initial analysis of transit options in the Ann Arbor-Metro Airport-Downtown Detroit corridor are scheduled as follows:
This project is following the formal planning process established by federal procedures to identify and evaluate the transit service expected to have the greatest potential for success. Successful completion of this federal process renders this project eligible for federal transit funding. Public involvement is fundamental throughout this process. Additional information can be found at www.annarbordetroitrapidtransitstudy.com. Comments can also be sent to Carmine Palombo at SEMCOG or by calling 888-963-3362. The deadline for comments is October 7, 2005. Contact: Carmine Palombo, SEMCOG Director of Transportation Programs.
SEMCOG hosts discussion of eminent domain issues on October 7 Local elected officials and administrators are invited to a dialogue on the power of eminent domain on Friday, October 7, 2005, at 9:30 a.m., in SEMCOG's downtown Detroit office. A speaker will lead the discussion that will answer the following questions:
This featured discussion will be part of the regularly scheduled Community and Economic Development Advisory Council meeting; normal advisory council business will occur following the eminent domain discussion. Contact: Robert McMahon, Manager, SEMCOG Community and Economic Development.
SEMCOG's RideShare program is a solution to high gas prices As gas prices continue to rise in Southeast Michigan, SEMCOG suggests sharing a ride to work as one way for consumers to keep commuting costs lower. SEMCOG's RideShare program is a free, computerized service that matches car and vanpool partners for the daily work commute. Users will be matched with others who share common neighborhoods, work locations, and hours. While many commuters may choose a more informal ride share, whose who register as carpool or vanpool participants in SEMCOG's RideShare program are also eligible for RideShare's Guaranteed Ride Home Program, which offers taxi fare reimbursement should an emergency arise during the workday and there is a need to get home in a hurry. Communities and others are urged to add a link to SEMCOG's Web site (www.semcog.org) on their Web sites. Following the RideShare link will take users to a calculator that will show how much money can be saved. Sharing a ride with just one person on a short commute with gas at $3.00 a gallon can save $1,500 annually. SEMCOG also has a display that describes the RideShare program for use in public buildings; please contact us to borrow it. Contact: Anita Blasius, SEMCOG Manager of Public Outreach.
Red-light running is still a significant factor in fatal traffic crashes More than 5,200 crashes that occurred at signalized intersections in 2004 in Southeast Michigan could have been avoided by one simple action — stopping when the traffic light was red. Twenty of those crashes were fatal. "We at SEMCOG believe that these statistics drive home the fact that there are serious problems at lighted intersections," notes Paul Tait, SEMCOG Executive Director. "We're all in a hurry these days, and there's lots of construction and congestion to test our patience, but please remember to stop when the light is red. " In 2004, 43,378 traffic crashes (or nearly 120 every day) took place at signalized intersections in Southeast Michigan. Of the 63 crashes that resulted in fatalities at signalized intersections, red-light runners were involved nearly 21 percent of the time. Nationally in 2003, red-light running crashes accounted for nearly 206,000 crashes (or 564 every day), nearly 176,000 injuries, and 934 deaths. Public costs exceed $14 billion per year. Contact: Tom Bruff, SEMCOG Transportation Coordinator.
SEMCOG hosts DWSD meetings with communities on 2006-2007 water and sewer rates Beginning in October, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) will hold a series of monthly meetings with its wholesale customers (communities) on the 2006-2007 water and sewer rates. Structured similar to last year's customer meetings, preliminary budget data will be presented as it becomes available throughout the process, culminating with the proposed rates in advance of the public meetings. Communities who are wholesale water and/or sewer customers are encouraged to attend all four meetings. The meeting schedule is as follows; all will be held in the Ambassador Room of SEMCOG's office in the Buhl Building:
Please refer to the DWSD Web site — www.dwsd.org — for the final meeting schedule and times, agendas, and background materials. Proposed rates for 2006-2007 will be in place prior to the public hearing scheduled for January 25, 2006. Contact: Ted Starbuck, Senior Planner, SEMCOG Environmental Programs.
SEMNotes The City of Saline was named 43rd in a list of the top 100 cities in which to live by Money magazine and CNN Money.
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