Think Regional/Act Local

March 25, 2010

Over the past weeks, there have been a series of newspaper articles that have indicated that the Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail project has been delayed. I want to set the record straight on what is happening. The most important message I want to send is that the project is proceeding – we are leasing locomotives, refurbishing train cars, and improving stations. 

The focus of the project has been to provide four round trips a day during the weekdays and three round trips a day on the weekends by October 2010. SEMCOG, MDOT, and the freight railroads jointly undertook an analysis of the corridor to identify needed improvements to safely provide this level of reliable passenger service while continuing to provide and expand freight service to existing and potential future customers. There is agreement on the capital projects needed to allow passenger and freight service to safely exist in the same corridor. We are working cooperatively with local, state, and congressional leaders to secure the necessary funding to construct the agreed upon projects.

The lack of existing funds for the needed projects has not altered the goal of providing four daily round trips of service throughout the corridor, but it has altered our timeframe for providing the initial service. We are modifying our plan to provide a series of special event trains to begin later this year. These trains will provide passenger service for thousands of people to some of the more popular events that take place in the corridor. A detailed list of events, times, and costs will be available in the near future. Providing event trains will have several positive impacts on the project. It will allow the public to become familiar with the route, parking, and how to buy a ticket. It will also allow us the opportunity to evaluate the experience and make modifications without the pressure of providing four round trips a day.

We thank all of you for being patient as we work out all of the details to allow for future passenger rail service in the corridor. I know that until it happens, there will be skepticism that it will not happen. We are working hard every day to make it happen.

March 18, 2010

Last week, a bill was quietly passed and signed by the governor – a bill that has many positive impacts for those of us using Michigan’s roads. Public Act (PA) 10 amends the Michigan Vehicle Code to require a vehicle be removed from the main-traveled portion of a roadway following an accident, if the vehicle can be operated normally and moved safely. This is a huge change from what most us were taught in drivers training. We were taught that if involved in a crash, we should not move our vehicles until law enforcement arrived and determined who was at fault and wrote up the citations. I don’t know about you, but I had too much personal experience with this situation! We must now educate drivers, especially those of us who were taught differently on the new correct course of action. You may have even noticed that MDOT has placed several crash investigation sites along I-94 so that drivers can safely proceed off the freeway to these sites (if their vehicles can be moved safely) to take care of documenting the crash in a safer location.

Why the change? Well, statistics have shown that there is no more dangerous place to be than out of your car in the freeway right-of-way looking at the damage to your car. Meanwhile, cars are zooming past you at 70 miles per hour or faster. Often, the primary accident location can result in a secondary accident occurring. Better to get the cars off the freeway if possible and avoid additional injury and/or crash.

So, here is hoping that you never have a crash on the freeway – or anywhere else for that matter. By the way – traffic crashes continue to decline. (I’ll blog about that later.) But if it does happen and you can safely drive your car – drive it off the freeway and exchange information in a safer environment. Kudos on a great piece of legislation!

March 11, 2010

Last week, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing was quoted as saying that, “the Jefferson Avenue to New Center line – that is going to happen.” He was referring to the first phase of the Woodward light rail project referred to as M-1. The M-1 project would be entirely privately funded by the business community led by Roger Penske. Construction could begin later this year or early in 2011.

This is fantastic news!

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the City of Detroit, and the M-1 Board have been working together to coordinate the planning of light rail service on Woodward with the M-1 being the first part. The next part – currently being managed by the City of Detroit – would go from the New Center to 8 Mile Road. SEMCOG and MDOT are working to implement commuter rail in the Ann Arbor-Detroit Corridor. SEMCOG and the Regional Transportation Coordinating Council (RTCC) have asked for funding through the federal appropriations process to begin alternatives analysis on Gratiot, M-59, and Woodward to Pontiac – the so called “Golden Triangle.” So, there is a plan and the plan needs to be implemented in an incremental approach, with the M-1 piece key in the process.

The mayor’s comments suggest that the parties have a game plan for moving forward on the project. The fact that they all appear to be on the same page is even more exciting news to me than the project itself! There is yet much to do – environmental documents to complete, dollars to find – but the fact that it appears that MDOT, the business leaders, the city, and the governor are all on the same page gives me some confidence that this project is on the way to becoming a reality. It could start other dominos to fall, leading to a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Finally – a small ray of hope for the future of rail transportation in Southeast Michigan – enjoy it!

March 3, 2010 

The U.S. Department of Transportation furloughed nearly 2,000 employees without pay on March 1, temporarily shutting down highway reimbursements to states worth hundreds of millions of dollars, national anti-drunk driving efforts, and multi-million dollar construction projects across the country. The surface transportation authorization lapse was, by some accounts, the first such actual lapse since the Highway Trust Fund was created in 1956.

Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning found himself in the position of being able to shut down the program – and he did. But why? Because of a concern with how the highway money was being spent? Because of a concern that Kentucky wasn’t getting its fair share? Because he was concerned that not enough was being spent on transit? NO, NO, and NO! He was upset with proposed legislation that extends tax credits for COBRA health coverage, unemployment insurance for 400,000 people, as well as the short-term extension of the Highway Trust Fund. He is rightly concerned that our current national deficit is $14 trillion and these pieces of legislation will only add to it. But, is this the right way to fix it? What will the deficit be when this issue is resolved? Is there a more constructive way to address this issue? How much more damage will his action result in? Couldn’t he have done this two weeks ago, a month ago?

Because of the shutdown, federal inspectors were removed from critical construction projects throughout the country. The furloughs also disrupted safety programs that operate in partnership with states and advocacy groups, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). These programs are designed to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities totaling 37,000 a year in areas including distracted driving, child passenger safety, and motorcycle safety.

In order to overcome Bunning’s objection, Senate leaders will schedule procedural and other votes this week. Late Tuesday night, March 2, the Senate acted to break its logjam, extending the Highway Trust Fund for another 30 days. Just think, in 30 days we may get to do this again. Stay tuned for more inaction!  

March 1, 2010 

Greg Johnson, MDOT’s Chief Operating Officer, spoke at SEMCOG Executive Committee last Friday afternoon. Greg told the elected officials on the Executive Committee about the coming financial crisis the Michigan Department of Transportation is facing. MDOT is preparing for the situation beginning in FY 2011 where they will not have enough funding coming from Act 51 to be able to match all available federal aid. Greg told the Executive Committee that if Michigan cannot match federal funds, over $500 million in federal fuel taxes – taxes that we have already paid – will be lost and end up funding improvements in other states. Over 250 projects in the MDOT Five-Year program will be delayed as a result of the decreased program. No one liked hearing that message at all.

Isn’t this great! Our legislature complains about Michigan being a donor state and passes resolutions to bring back more federal funds to Michigan – and then won’t come up with the funds to match those federal funds everyone has been working to get! Why should we work to bring back more federal funds that we can’t use? This situation makes no sense. Whether you are for or against an increase in the fuel tax –you can’t be in favor of our taxes going to improve the roads in other states. 

What can you do? Write the governor. Write your legislators. Write Andy Dillon, Speaker of the House, write Mike Bishop, the Senate Majority leader. Here is the plan:

1. Tell them they have to raise the gas tax and vehicle registration fee in the short term or provide some other form of long-term, reliable funding to prevent the loss of even more federal aid that we are working so hard to obtain.
2. Tell them to find a way to raise $100 million so we can match available federal aid and save our program. This is a short term solution – very short term.
3. At the same time, tell them that a number of ideas were put forth to increase transportation funding as part of the Transportation Funding Task Force work. Many of these ideas have been introduced in various pieces of legislation. These pieces of legislation should be passed.
4. They must find a way to provide for the long-term, continued funding of our transportation system – or we will be improving roads in other states.