Think Regional/Act Local

Well, Governor Snyder gave his much awaited infrastructure message last Wednesday. I think it was worth the wait and he got a lot of things right. Now the question is, will the legislature agree with him and pass the legislation needed to bring some of these ideas into the real world? Speaking of getting things right – check my last blog on what I speculated he was going to address, and guess what? I got a lot of it right as well! He did address funding, transit, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), consolidation of county road commissions, sewer funding – and a whole lot more. Governor Snyder’s entire infrastructure message is available on the SEMCOG Web site under Hot Topics.

So, what did he get right?

• The condition of our roads and bridges is bad.
• If we do not find a way to increase our investment in them, they will be getting even worse.
• The current funding mechanism – the gas tax – provides us fewer and fewer dollars each year.
• We need to find a way to increase our investment in roads and bridges.
• We have to find a way to improve our public transit system.
• We need to establish a Regional Transit Authority to help better coordinate existing and future service.

Now, he did propose some solutions to these issues that will be hotly debated. Some of his ideas may never get past the legislature. Remember, all of this is just talk until he and the legislature roll up their sleeves and start the hard work of turning his message into reality. But, a good first step, I believe. In fact, it is better than that. He gets it.

Change is hard and scary – but look at what has happened to our infrastructure. We either make some changes, improve things, and hold agencies more accountable for how dollars are being spent, or things are going to continue get worse. No one wants to raise taxes or fees or whatever other word you want to use that means there are more dollars coming out of your pocket. No, the emphasis should be what are you going to spend them on and am I going to be better off as a result.

The easy part is done – the hard part is left. The governor said it was going to take relentless positive action. I like that. Let’s get it done!

On Wednesday, October 26, Governor Snyder gives his much anticipated message on infrastructure. What is he going to say? Well, there is a lot of speculation about his message.  These are the issues I have heard he is going to address in some way:

1. Regional transit
2. Funding
3. Consolidation of county road commissions
4. Sewer funding

Word is that the governor is going to support the concept of a regional transit authority in Southeast Michigan. This entity would eventually become the face of transit in the region. It could have the authority to coordinate the various bus operations, and run light rail and the proposed Ann Arbor-Detroit train service in the future.

The Federal Transit Administrative has made it clear that you cannot cannibalize funding for busses in order to build/run light rail. In order to do both, additional funding will be needed, or the light rail progress may be stalled. Add the fact that our road and bridges are continuing to deteriorate and I wonder if the governor is going to address the need for additional funding in his message – and if so – how much and through what mechanisms?

MDOT has consolidated its operation in the past months as a result of a 20 percent cut in staffing. There are 83 counties in Michigan – 81 county road commissions with Wayne and Macomb now part of county government. There is speculation that the governor may suggest that this is a good working model for the future.

We don’t know for sure what he is going to say, but there is a lot of discussion about the above issues. Of course, the proposed new crossing to Canada will probably get some mention as well, but he did say the other day that he wanted to have a “cooling off” period before deciding on the next course of action.

On Friday, I will write another column on what the governor actually said and what it could mean for us. I hope he is bold and supports an RTA and additional funding for roads, bridges public transportation, and sewers. The condition of our public infrastructure is bad and getting worse – he has to address it and needs to do it now.

A new international bridge. Light rail on Woodward. A new commuter train running between Detroit and Ann Arbor. Improving I-94 and I-75. Expanding the intermodal yard at Junction Yard. These are just a few of the projects that are included in the adopted SEMCOG Regional Transportation Plan – Direction2035. These projects have been included after going through a rigorous technical and public review process – a process that is becoming more transparent every day. With mounting needs and dwindling resources, many needed projects go unfunded in order to fund the most important of the projects. 

You have helped and need to continue to make your voices heard so the most important projects get selected and built. How do you do that? Well, one way to make your voice heard is through the SEMCOG Public Participation Process.

A key goal of SEMCOG is to improve decision making by providing leadership and consensus building on key plans and policies. One way we achieve this is through the public involvement process, which provides opportunities for interested parties to comment on SEMCOG’s regional plans, programs, and activities. The document that guides the public involvement process is SEMCOG’s Public Participation Plan.

We have recently developed a revised Draft Public Participation Plan and it was recently released for the 45-day public comment period. Now through November 22, 2011, anyone interested may review and comment on the draft (see link below). Your comments will help ensure the ongoing opportunity for effective, broad-based participation in the development and review of regional plans and programs.

SEMCOG’s Public Participation Plan (PDF) 

Please review this document and send us any comments you have, so we can make it better. After reviewing and addressing any comments received on the draft, staff is scheduled to recommend approval and final adoption of SEMCOG’s Public Participation Plan at its Executive Committee meeting on Friday, December 2, 2011, beginning at 1 p.m. in SEMCOG’s office at 535 Griswold Street, Suite 300, Detroit, MI 48226.

One of the things you hear about all of the time is speed limits – and opinions are all over the map on this issue. Many people believe lowering speed limits makes the roads safer. Other people want to see lower speed limits, especially through downtown areas, to allow people to see things they might want to buy in store windows. Others want to see limits increased, especially where they believe speeds are artificially kept low in order to trap unsuspecting drivers. Many people will take the speed limit, add 6-7 mph, and drive at that speed. Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess.
 
Here in Michigan, the speed limit on the freeways is generally 55 within city limits and 70 outside of them. MDOT is in the midst of studying speeds on freeways within corporate limits to see if 55 is still the appropriate speed. There is a specific study that must be done to identify the appropriate speed limit – it isn’t just based on one person’s opinion. Many other states are doing the same thing. Last week, the Maine Department of Transportation started changing the speed limit on a section of I-95 from 65 to 75 miles per hour north of the City of Bangor. This makes Maine the first state east of the Mississippi to have a speed limit as high as 75 mph. Many western states already have speed limits set at 75 miles per hour and two states – Texas and Utah – allow you to legally drive at 80 miles per hour!
 
Nationally, we have been seeing fewer vehicles on the road for several years now. Only recently have we seen volumes increasing. Fewer vehicles on the road may be one reason people are driving faster and feeling more comfortable at higher speeds. Nationally, traffic crashes have also decreased. Wonder if that has anything to do with increasing speed limits and if this is the beginning of a national trend towards higher limits?