Understanding Air Quality in Southeast Michigan

Traffic congestion like this has mostly been on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With so many Michiganders staying home and off the roads in Southeast Michigan, many of you might be wondering, what’s going on with air quality right now? Preliminary data does show that air quality has improved while traffic has decreased, but declines in pollution haven’t been as sharp as initially predicted.

Healthy air quality is vital for communities and ecosystems everywhere. Improving the region’s air quality is a coordinated effort, which requires integrated planning between public and private agencies. SEMCOG works to stay engaged on the latest developments and provide opportunities to participate in air quality improvement.

As part of our work to improve air quality, SEMCOG recently held a webinar to discuss regional activities and how to get involved in SEMCOG’s air quality programming. Here are five takeaways:

• As a whole, Southeast Michigan is seeing positive trends for improved air quality in the region. Currently, however, the SEMCOG region is designated non-attainment for ozone. SEMCOG is working with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, as well as public and private agencies to coordinate a state implementation plan for how our region will attain the ozone standards.
• SEMCOG’s Ozone Action program encourages residents to make changes to their daily routines to prevent increases in ground-level ozone formation.
• A major way we can reduce ozone from a transportation perspective is by managing congestion. SEMCOG’s Congestion Management Process is an eight-step process that identifies areas of congestion. We can also help local communities develop a plan for managing congestion.
• The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program helps fund local projects that reduce vehicle emissions. CMAQ-funded projects generally help decrease vehicle emissions by reducing idling and helping transit agencies update their fleets with lower-emission vehicles. It also funds projects that reduce single-occupancy-vehicle trips.
• SEMCOG’s Commuter Connect Program helps local residents and businesses find alternative commutes to work. Whether it’s biking, walking, carpooling, or taking public transportation, the Commuter Connect program makes switching commutes easy.

SEMCOG will continue to stay up to date on what’s happening with air quality, while also helping to keep people moving safely throughout the region. As we make progress with improving air quality, each stride we take will continue to generate benefits to both residential and ecological health.