2007 Year in Review

The close of another year is a good time to look back on the progress we’ve made towards achieving quality regional rapid transit in greater Detroit. And we have seen significant progress in the tough but vital work of creating a new transportation and development pattern for this region.

TRU set out four major goals for 2007:

• Ensure consistent progress on rapid transit plans,
• Continue to educate the people and leaders of greater Detroit about transit’s economic benefits,
• Facilitate additional improvements in bus service, and
• Grow and expand our capacity to make a difference.

All four have gone very well, with the help of many wonderful partners.

Greater Detroit is taking slow critical steps towards rapid transit.

John Hertel developed a broad ambitious regional transit vision, a critical step towards creating a comprehensive regional transit plan. He was hired in the fall of 2006 by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, and Macomb County Commission Chair Robert Crouchman to bring the region together around a transit plan and start implementing it. Over the past year, he has gathered input from hundreds of municipal officials, other regional leaders, and advocates like TRU to create his broad regional transit vision, which has been supported by the four regional executives. (More from the Oakland Press and Macomb Daily)

Now he is working to turn that general vision into a detailed plan of how greater Detroit will both improve its bus services and invest in regional rapid transit. Over the next year, his team will develop that detailed plan and gather support for it from across the region. Stay tuned!

 

DDOT is also making great progress on developing rapid transit in Detroit through their Detroit Transit Options for Growth Study. Over the past year, DDOT and their expert consultants URS have carefully evaluated many potential rapid transit routes within Detroit, Dearborn, Highland Park and Hamtramck (pdf). They gathered significant public input and analyzed bus ridership, population density, job density and other important data to narrow the options of the first rapid transit route (pdf) to three. Based on in-depth analysis of estimated ridership, costs, engineering needs and other factors, they will be proposing the route and mode of the first rapid transit line in early 2008.

Once they have strong public consensus around the "locally preferred alternative," DDOT will begin the engineering and design of the line and start developing funding from the federal, state, regional and local levels.  They are moving hastily through the steps needed to garner major federal funding and ensure the best possible rapid transit line.  We could we riding within five years. More at DTOGS.com.

Efforts also continue on Detroit-Airport-Ann Arbor and Washtenaw-Livingston commuter trains.  On Ann Arbor-Detroit, SEMCOG is working with the freight railroad companies and Amtrak to evaluate the track capacity and appropriate ticket pricing.  Wally is working on funding and coordinated governance.  Both could be opperating within the next two years if efforts continue to progress successfully. 

 

 

TRU and our partners are building the case for major investment in rapid transit.

All across the country, investments in rapid transit have resulted in enormous economic development benefits, including billions of dollars in new development, tens of thousands of jobs, huge leaps in property value, increased retails sales and more.  Greater Detroit could achieve the same, yet few people see transit as economic development.  That’s why we’ve been working to reframe the public understanding of transit benefits.

We held a design conest on the potential of transit stations and transit-oriented neighborhoods in greater Detroit in the future for our “Detroit In Transit” event.  At right is the winning neighborhood design.  See this and all the top designs at our design contest  webpage.

We joined the Golden Spike Coalition with the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, the Michigan Environmental Council and the Woodward Avenue Action Association to demonstrate to the region the benefits of transit-oriented development (TOD). Our excellent Americorps member from U of M’s Urban Planning program, Tim Parham, developed an in-depth, visually-striking presentation explaining TOD and its benefits. Our coalition presented it to several municipalities, along with a CD chock-full of helpful resources, that are now incorporating it into their master plans.

I testified before the Michigan Legislature twice, at the request of House Public Transit Subcommittee Chair Marie Donigan (D-Royal Oak).  Her committee is working to develop policies to help improve and promote transit.  I’ve also helped educate the next generation of planners by presenting to urban planning classes at U of M and UD-Mercy.

This message is getting out. U of M and the Urban Land Institute focused their annual conference on TOD. Regional leaders and media have been discussing the importance of creating vibrant, walkable urban areas to attract knowledge workers and revitalize the region. Next year we’ll work to ensure this information becomes common knowledge.

Our public education extended beyond TOD as well. We started off the year strong with an overflowing Annual Meeting on Detroit's transit f, thanks to our great speakers (right) - Detroit Chamber CEO Dick Blouse, John Hertel, Wayne County Commission Chair Jewel Ware and Washtenaw County Commission Chair Jeff Irwin. 

We shared transit information at our overflowing Annual Meeting, during National Transportation Week, in dozens of presentations, at summer festivals and in the media. We have continued to be the media spokespeople on transit, appearing on WDET’s Detroit Today program and in area media many times.

To further expand our outreach and education, we have launched a Speakers Bureau, training volunteers to present transit information to community groups throughout the region. Let us know if you’d like a speaker at your next event!

 

SMART and DDOT are making important incremental improvements.

Buses are the backbone of every transit system. While not deluxe, DDOT and SMART buses provide an important transportation alternative. Ridership continues to rise because of both gas prices and improved service quality.

Both DDOT and SMART are testing new bus stop signs that provide route information – critical for new riders. DDOT installed new fare boxes and SMART tested new bus pass technology. Timeliness and reliability are improving as well.

Next year will be a critical opportunity for both agencies to make significant improvements. Both will have new leadership, with DDOT Director Norman White moving on and new management at SMART.  Hayes Jones is SMART’s new General Manager, Steven Brown is Assistant General Manager and Elizabeth Dryden is Director of External Affairs, Marketing and Communications. SMART’s new leaders are dedicated to high quality service and will be creating a new strategic plan to prioritize the most important improvements. DDOT has pledged to continue their path of improvement as well. We are excited to continue to work closely with both agencies in this new year.

TRU is growing with new partners and expanded support.

As Detroit’s transit advocate, TRU is excited to be a leader in these efforts. We’re growing as well. Our membership is on the rise. We’ve got more volunteers and more volunteer opportunities. We’re excited to welcome our first official business and associate members: 

• PVS Chemicals 
• The City of Ferndale 
• NORR LLC 
• The Bureau of Urban Living 
• The Detroit Regional Chamber

Several additional businesses sponsored our “Detroit In Transit” event:

• Olympia Development
• Centaur Bar
• Utrecht’s Art Supply
• Larson Realty Group
• Sterling Group
• Goodwill Printing
• Bodman LLP
• Corradino Group
• Comerica

Please thank them and our foundation supporters: 

• The Barbara C. Van Dusen Family Fund
• The Mead Witter Foundation
• The Windmill Fund
• The Clannad Foundation
• Friends of the Earth.

We couldn’t have done this all without the partnership of many other organizations. In addition to the TOD coalition, we’re also working with: 

• Let’s Get Moving, a statewide coalition of transit providers and supporters, on state transit policy; 
• Motown’s Downtown, including the Cities of Detroit, Ferndale, Hamtramck and Royal Oak and CityConnect Detroit, to promote buses; 
• The Sierra Club and Detroit Synergy on fun ways to try transit; 
• MOSES to engage the religious community and hasten SEMCOG's work; and 
• Senior organizations to improve senior mobility.

These and many other groups understand the need for quality rapid transit and are working with us to make it happen. A huge thanks to all of you!!

2008 will be a productive, exciting year for Detroit transit.

The prospects for 2008 are looking quite good. But it won’t be easy. Active regional coordination is still spotty. Some people still question whether we can afford to invest in transit. (I ask whether we can afford not to!) The discussion of funding is always tough.

Yet with momentum from 2007, huge public support, so many strong partners, and TRU working full time to make sure it happens, 2008 will be another great year, in moving us towards the quality regional rapid transit system we all know greater Detroit needs.

Thank you for your support and involvement in making this year great. We look forward to working with you in 2008. Have a very Happy New Year! 

And for updates throughout the year on these topics and more, join our email list.