Think Regional/Act Local

This week I want to talk about some good news for a change – instead of deteriorating roads, inadequate transit systems, and a legislature that will not increase revenues so that important projects can be funded. I want to say a few things about the Mackinac Bridge, which just recently was recognized by the American

Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Growing up in the 6 Mile and Schafer area of Detroit, I lived next door to Bart Mitchell and his wife Mae. Bart and Mae spent each summer in Calumet, Michigan. I can remember him telling me how things changed for him on his annual trek once the Mackinac Bridge opened. It made the trip so much shorter and easier.

The Mackinac Bridge, at just under five miles in length, is the third largest suspension bridge in the world and it's the largest in the Western Hemisphere. I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t know that! Did you?

It took three-and-a-half years to build the bridge; the first car crossed it on November 1, 1957. The bridge joins over 200 other engineering feats including the Hoover Dam and the Washington Monument that have been honored with the designation.

It is a good story and good stories are hard to find today. It took someone with vision and leadership that wasn’t afraid to do something unthinkable at the time and build something that we take for granted today, nearly 53 years later. I think Michigan needs some of that leadership again – now!

August 20, 2010

As you know, we have been trying for years to make the case to the Michigan legislature that we need more dollars to improve our transportation system. Their response has been that people are not in favor of tax increases and legislators fear losing their jobs if they were in support of increasing the gas tax. Well, guess what happened in August 3 election? The people across the state spoke and they spoke in a rather convincing manner. With the opportunity to lower their taxes, voters instead opted to continue or increase taxes specifically to improve roads and public transit.

According to a Center for Michigan report, voters across the state approved 86 percent of the 623 ballot proposals affecting how much they would pay in taxes. Most surprising is that they supported 69 percent of the proposals that were out-and-out tax increases! Next to requests for fire services support, local governments went to the voters most often for dollars for roads – and voters overwhelmingly said yes. In the area of transportation funding, 85 percent of 136 requests passed, according to the Center for Michigan, including 60 percent of 48 requests to increase taxes. In Southeast Michigan, the renewal of the SMART millage passed overwhelmingly.

So, where is the outrage? Where is the revolt? Who is losing their job over this? It is time to stop hiding behind the mantra that people will not support tax increases and learn something from this information. Voters are not likely to support general tax increases, but if we concentrate on asking for dollars to improve specific things, like roads and transit systems, it appears that people will be supportive for the most part. Let’s stop saying no and start concentrating on developing programs that will have people saying yes. Every month we wait, the costs of improving our roads and transit systems goes up. The time to act is now.

August 16, 2010

Well, I think this was bound to happen sooner rather than later. As I have previously written, revenues in the federal Highway Trust Fund are not keeping pace with the growing demands for needed highway, transit, bridge, and safety needs. We have discussed several alternative ways of raising additional revenues to fund these needed improvements. Well, just recently, the Reason Foundation, a free market think tank, has weighed in on the problem. They recently released a report arguing that the funds in the federal Highway Trust Fund should be limited to the construction and rehabilitation of just the Interstate Highway System.

Here is where it gets really good. What about all of the other improvements that are currently funded out of the trust fund – like transit and improvements to the non-interstate roads? The report contends that these programs do not generate significant user revenues, and they should be paid for by other means, such as by state and local governments or by federal general fund revenues. Another way of saying this is that we should continue to pay the 18.4-cent federal gas tax to improve only the interstate system and if we think the rest of the road system is important, if we think transit is important, pay for it ourselves. The report is particularly hard on transit. It says: “We don’t think there is any national interest or benefit from local transit systems, or reason for the federal government to fund them.”

It was only a matter of time before someone came up with this idea. If we can’t fix the problem, redefine the problem, redirect the funding to fix only a portion of the problem, and let someone else worry about the rest of it. Lansing may try the same approach to solving our transportation problems here in Michigan. We need to be watching for this!

Can’t wait to see the next report out of the Reason Foundation on how the interstate system is in such great shape and the rest of us should do something about the all of the other crappy roads and transit systems! Thanks for solving the problem.

August 6, 2010

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced this week that the Woodward Avenue light rail project is starting the required environment study process needed to qualify for federal funding. The Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact study was placed in the July 30, 2010 Federal Register. This is the first step in the environmental impact statement process, just one of several requirements needed to qualify the project for federal funding.

The environmental impact study is expected to take 12-18 months. It will identify alternatives, costs, and issues with the proposed 9.3-mile rail line that would start in Hart Plaza and extend to the city limit at Eight Mile Road. The Detroit Department of Transportation will be the lead agency.

The project can be broken into two sections – what has been called the M1 project – from the riverfront to New Center and then New Center to Eight Mile Road. The M-1 portion is important for several reasons. For starters, the private sector has raised about $125 million to build the first section of the project. Those dollars can also be used as soft match for the federal dollars needed to build the rest of the system.

Let’s be clear, there are still several hurdles to clear. Legislation to form a Regional Transit Authority has stalled in Lansing. This is important because we are ultimately trying to build a system – the first leg of it may be to Eight Mile, but it needs to go beyond Eight Mile and an RTA is needed to ensure the implementation of the overall plan.  Funding is also going to be important – both to cover the rest of the match for anticipated federal funds and to cover the operating deficit. But, with everyone pitching in, the help of the federal and, hopefully, state government, and the business community all working together – we can do this! We have to do it and the time is now.

As I was starting my career at SEMCOG in 1975, SEMTA, the regional transit authority was in the final months of designing and engineering a light rail system down Woodward. This is as close as we have come to building the first part of a system since those days in 1975. Here we are again. The time is now – we may never get another chance.