Detroit biggest holdup on regional transportation Crains

[EastsideAl]

When route consolidation potentially leading to full-scale consolidation of service was actually tried under Mayor Archer, it was SMART that killed it off by seeking an exclusive suburb-only funding source, leaving DDOT high and dry.

http://www.detroittransithistory.inf...utes-1994.html

[professorscott]

We have exactly one problem with transit service, and that problem is money.

A typical American region of 4 million to 5 million people spends $240 per capita on transit. We spend $75 per capita.

The other problems are red herrings. We need one system? Sure, it'd be great, but in metro Chicago and metro Toronto [[just for instance) there are multiple transit providers, yet the whole thing seems to work pretty well. SMART did this or DDOT did that, so what? The whole problem is we are only paying enough to get a very thin service that doesn't do much for people, and that is therefore what we are getting.

By the way, our cheapskate local funding also prevents us from being eligible for much in the way of Federal transit dollars. They exist, but we can't get our hands on 'em.

Fix the money, and everything else fixes itself pretty much.

[Bearinabox]

We have exactly one problem with transit service, and that problem is money.

A typical American region of 4 million to 5 million people spends $240 per capita on transit. We spend $75 per capita.

The other problems are red herrings. We need one system? Sure, it'd be great, but in metro Chicago and metro Toronto [[just for instance) there are multiple transit providers, yet the whole thing seems to work pretty well. SMART did this or DDOT did that, so what? The whole problem is we are only paying enough to get a very thin service that doesn't do much for people, and that is therefore what we are getting.

By the way, our cheapskate local funding also prevents us from being eligible for much in the way of Federal transit dollars. They exist, but we can't get our hands on 'em.

Fix the money, and everything else fixes itself pretty much.

What do you think it would take to "fix the money?" People turned out to the public hearings in droves to oppose this round of service cuts, and several of the speakers at the hearing I attended said they would prefer a fare increase. It seems to me that if a dedicated DDOT tax were placed on the ballot, and if DDOT worked with TRU and the unions to sell the public on the idea that this tax was the only way to have a decent transit system that wouldn't be on the chopping block every time the city couldn't balance its books, it would likely pass by a huge margin.

[professorscott]

Well put, Bear. I have often wondered: if the region decided to put to the public a vote to raise the money to pay for an actual, decent transit system, how would that vote go?

Of course, we don't know the answer, because the region has never put such a vote to the public. SMART has its anemic little millage, which pays for the very thin service most of us have, and some of us do not have, opt-in or not. [[People in northern Macomb County pay the same millage as someone along Woodward, and have no fixed-route service whatever.) DDOT has, as you mention, no dedicated source of funding.

For whatever reason, the powers that be have always opted to operate a very bare-bones system, much less than what all other urban areas enjoy, and have never even gone so far as to ask the public what it would be willing to support.

Of course, for road projects, the state just goes ahead and pours money down the drain, and the public be damned. I don't recall, for instance, ever voting on spending hundreds of millions of dollars to widen M59 to where it is shorter to walk the length of a football field than to walk across M59 in Macomb. I also can't remember when I voted to create an M53 freeway from somewhere near the middle of nowhere [[18 Mile and Van Dyke) to somewhere absolutely in the middle of nowhere [[34 Mile and Van Dyke). And on and on.

But for transit projects, not only does the state [[or the "region", or whoever) not spend the money without us voting on it, they don't even have the courtesy to take a vote to see what we'd prefer. We don't count.

So here we sit, high and dry, losing population and jobs, sending our tax dollars to Washington so the federal government can take our money and use it to fund transit projects everywhere else.

[lilpup]

If it were a regional vote it would never pass. Most suburbanites don't have transportation problems.

[Bearinabox]

If it were a regional vote it would never pass. Most suburbanites don't have transportation problems.

If we had adequately-funded transit in the city limits, that would be an excellent start.

[Todd_Scott]

If it were a regional vote it would never pass. Most suburbanites don't have transportation problems.

I think that comment highlights the funding problem. Suburbanites either don't recognize the transportation problems this region has or simply accepts these problems as normal.

Here are some thoughts on our current transportaiton system --

* It requires significant energy which is located outside of the state and at a volatile price, causing Michigan's economy to bleed billions of dollars to other states and countries.
* We've allowed road agencies to expand the road network to the point where it is financially unsustainable. Have you read about the plans to raise fuel taxes and double registration fees?
* Transportation costs are the second highest budget item for Metro Detroit families and above the national average.
* Our transportation system is the leading cause of death for our youth. It's a major cause of death for adults.
* Michigan suffers from high obesity rates, which costs everyone in increased health care costs. Studies show our transportation options and built environment are a primary reason why, especially among kids. In many suburban communities kids can't walk or bike to school.
* The lack of transportation options is also a big issue for many of our area seniors.
* In terms of attracting businesses and jobs, Southeast Michigan is not competitive with other regions that have effective mass transit and other transportation options. It's no coincidence that Google's two Michigan offices are located in Ann Arbor and Birmingham, which have good density, walkabilty and bikeability. Unfortunately most of the region is unlike these two cities.

[lilpup]

Suburbanites don't give a shit about other people's transport problems. If anything, it's just another filter in an extraordinarily competitive job market.

All of these arguments are chicken/egg, but realistically no one's going to put out money for anything until there's an improved sense of prosperity and financial security.