There’s been a lot of transit in the news recently, about rail progress, bus problems and more. Here’s a sampling:
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October 6, Free Press: Michigan to spend $140M to buy 135 miles of train tracks
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October 3, Shelby-Utica Patch: Macomb County Joins Neighbors in Driving Regional Mass Transit
- October 2, Crain’s Detroit Business: DEGC, council agree on outline of rail-building authority
- The Detroit Economic Growth Corp. and the Detroit City Council have informally worked out a framework for the makeup of an authority to manage construction of the city’s $528 million light rail line on Woodward Avenue. . . . Although it hasn’t formally been announced to the public or the council, Bing two weeks ago decided to have the DEGC and its president, George Jackson, handle the light rail effort instead of White, the former city CFO Bing tabbed to basically be his rail czar, and DDOT.
- The Detroit Economic Growth Corp. and the Detroit City Council have informally worked out a framework for the makeup of an authority to manage construction of the city’s $528 million light rail line on Woodward Avenue. . . . Although it hasn’t formally been announced to the public or the council, Bing two weeks ago decided to have the DEGC and its president, George Jackson, handle the light rail effort instead of White, the former city CFO Bing tabbed to basically be his rail czar, and DDOT.
- September 30, Free Press: Metro Detroit leaders to rally for regional transit authority
- Metro Detroit area leaders will work together to advocate for a regional transportation authority and help capture untapped federal money, those attending today’s 2011 Southeast Michigan Regional Summit said. Macomb County Commissioner David Flynn, a member of the advocacy group announced at the summit — Regional Partners Advocating Transit Here or R-PATH — said the group will present a unified front.
- Metro Detroit area leaders will work together to advocate for a regional transportation authority and help capture untapped federal money, those attending today’s 2011 Southeast Michigan Regional Summit said. Macomb County Commissioner David Flynn, a member of the advocacy group announced at the summit — Regional Partners Advocating Transit Here or R-PATH — said the group will present a unified front.
- September 28, annarbor.com: Ann Arbor to benefit as Michigan moves to purchase and rehab NorfolkSouthern rail line
- September 25, Michigan Citizen: Detroit’s mass transit ‘worst in 20 years’
- Half of the city’s buses are in a state of disrepair and riders are waiting hours for buses to arrive. . . . Over 100 bus riders and city residents converged in the Erma Henderson Auditorium to tell their stories. . . .
- Patty Fedewa, of Transportation Riders United, says the city has lost nearly 50 percent of its bus service since 2005. Fedewa says the cuts are only part of the problem.
- “The resources we do have are not being managed efficiently,” Fedewa told the Michigan Citizen. “Blaming everything on the union gets silly after a while. The point is DDOT is in charge. That DDOT does not send out enough buses on any given day, that goes well beyond the current crisis. That’s how DDOT has operated for years.”
- Half of the city’s buses are in a state of disrepair and riders are waiting hours for buses to arrive. . . . Over 100 bus riders and city residents converged in the Erma Henderson Auditorium to tell their stories. . . .
- September 21 – C & G Troy: Council approves contract to release $8 million to fund local transit center :
"Plans for the Troy Multi-Modal Transit Facility chugged ahead after the Troy City Council approved the contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation that allows dispersal of just under $8.5 million in federal grant money to fund the project. The project is on track to be finished by September of 2013.
The project includes a 3,000-square-foot facility, a bridge leading from the facility to the train tracks in Birmingham and improvements to the train platform in the Canadian National Railroad right of way in Birmingham.