In the next budget DOT will recommend the funding of Grand Rapid's Silverline BRT service.
http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/MI_...le_FY_2013.pdf
The nearly 10 mile long transit line will link city with suburb and cost just over $35 million. During peak hours, service will be based on 10 minute headways and off-peak on 15 minute ones. The region has come together and passed a tax increase to help pay for this added service that will be fed by important E-W buslines such as 28th Street.
What can our region learn from our smaller region to the West? We need to work as one region to solve our problems. No us against them.
We need to be able to demonstrate support for transit or we are going to continuously be fighting an exercise in futility if we want buy in from federal leaders.
Republicans are not the enemy of public transit. This area is about as republican as it gets in the USA. Divisiveness is the enemy of public transit. Trying to bite off more than you can chew is the enemy of public transit. No willingness to provide matching or operating dollars are the enemy of public transit.
I am posting this as an example of how not being divisive allows processes to work towards achieving goals. I could care less about mode, only that the system shows improvements and that the improvements are sustainable based upon funding.
We can learn a lot from this.
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