Are You Ready for a Regional Transit System?
Yes, I know this is Motown and Detroit is synonymous with the automobile, so why would any self-respecting resident of this region exchange the convenience of a car for public transportation?
Perhaps the answer can be found by looking at other large metropolitan areas, where economic mobility and progress has grown alongside regional transit systems. Metro-Detroit is the only major metropolitan area in the country without a workable, reliable regional transit system. Our inability to make these adjustments has put us behind not only Chicago and New York, but Cleveland, Denver, and Portland, OR. Even Los Angeles, as addicted to the auto as Detroit, realized that an effective transit system was required for future development.
The good news is that we are on the cusp of a new day in this region. Perhaps it won’t be that long before the residents of Troy can get on an express bus and head to midtown Detroit and take in a Tigers game or attend a concert at one of the venues in that part of the city. Or young adults, like my son who plans to transfer to Wayne State next fall, can catch a bus and head down to WSU for classes. Yes, maybe that day isn’t as far off as some might think.
It’s perhaps providential that on the day that the City of Troy broke ground for the new Multi-Modal Transit Center, the State Senate passed a bill (SB909) setting up a Regional Transit Authority. This is a major step in the right direction, because it authorizes the creation of a system that can coordinate mass transit across the region, as well as serve as an agency that can pursue the kind of financial support, both private and public that can create an effective transit system linking the entire region.
One of the groups that has been pushing for access to quality, dependable mass transit is the Metropolitan Coalition of Congregations, an advocacy organization of which I am a founding member. The task force that is focusing on this effort is led by two young women from my congregation. It’s no accident that the leaders of this effort are young adults. That’s because they’re among those most eager to develop systems like this. Many young adults desire to live and work in an urban environment, where the cost of owning and housing autos is difficult. In addition there is a growing trend among youth and younger adults to delay or forgo a driver’s license. Many of these young adults will leave this area for places like Chicago and Washington, DC, which has the kind of transit system that meets their needs. But they’re not the only ones desiring such a system. Thousands of people from across the region depend on mass transit to get to school, to work, to medical treatment. Unfortunately, at this point we don’t have good reliable options. That makes this a justice issue, an equity issue.
One of the co-chairs of this task force, spent several years after graduating from Michigan State, working in the Washington, DC area. She lived with family in Northern Virginia and took the Metro into the city where her job was located. I have another young adult in my church that spent the summer interning in DC, she too took advantage of this transit system to get back and forth from where she and her family was staying. Their testimony is an important one; one that I can echo from my own travels to DC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Portland. If we want to keep young adults in our region, then we must start listening to their voices – whether spoken, written, or demonstrated with their feet.
Again, the good news – the state legislature has authorized the creation of this Regional Transit Authority. Getting there hasn’t been easy. SB 909 was stalled in the State Senate for months, but fortunately it made it out of committee and to the Senate floor, where a positive vote was achieved. The MCC has been active in pursuing this plan. In October we held a forum on Regional Transit that included presentations by the Governor’s point person on regional transit, Dennis Shornack, along with a number of civic and political leaders.
Knowing that SB909 was stalled in committee, the Regional Transit Taskforce next set up a meeting with State Senator John Pappageorge to seek his support for this effort. A sizable group of people, old and young gathered at a local a Deli to meet with the Senator and have a frank heart to heart talk. I want to commend Senator Pappageorge for his willingness to listen and to embrace this project. He was among those who voted yes on Tuesday. But this vote is only the beginning. The outline of a structure is in place, now members need to be appointed and work needs to get started on the project. The two major players – SMART and DDOT need to begin to work together. This RTA doesn’t merge the two entities, but it will seek to coordinate their efforts. There will be need for cooperation. I have faith that this will happen, but only if we work together to bring this to pass.
Why don’t you join me and others in building a coalition to encourage work on this opportunity to build a better future for our region? We’d love to have you join with us in the Metropolitan Coalition of Congregations, an interfaith/ecumenical organization pursuing the common good. For more information you can contact me or Luke Allen, our Organizer at luke.allen@tubmanorganizing.org.
Yes, I have faith that if we’re willing to listen to each other and recognize that there is benefit for large numbers of people, people we know and love, young and old alike who would benefit, we’ll get behind this effort. It can be an important economic engine, not only because the system itself will create jobs, but because will allow people from across the region to get to places of employment affordably, reliably, and quickly. Even if you don’t intend to use these expanded transit opportunities, consider the needs and desires of your neighbors from across this region.
John David
4:09 pm on Friday, November 30, 2012
Pastor Cornwall,
A reliable public transit system will benefit many in our south east Michigan communities. Not only will it attract busineses and young workers who use public transit in most cities in the US and who expect viable communities to have good public transit, but it will help the physically and mentally disabled who cannot drive get to work, shopping, social events and schools, and will do the same for the large population of aging citizens who should not or cannot continue to drive. The region has for too long put off creating a viable system.
Dale Murrish
5:33 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
Are you John Kulesz?
John David
5:38 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
No.
ann galen
5:36 pm on Saturday, December 1, 2012
There ought to be a way to force those who wanted the train center, to ride on it - preferably they should be made to ride on it once a week.
Peoplearenuts
9:20 pm on Saturday, December 1, 2012
Great idea. I propose that they have someone drop them off and the transit center, take the train to whereever, and when they get back they have to wait for a bus or call a taxi to take them home. After all, that's what the people who take the train to Troy will have to do - wait for a bus or call a taxi to take them to their destination.
Dale Murrish
9:27 pm on Sunday, December 2, 2012
I hope the leaders are listening to the people who actually use the system and not just looking at some vision from other more crowded cities with high parking prices and traffic problems.
The Detroit area needs to have its crime and education problems solved; then people will want to locate here and visit the city. Dean Kamen’s FLL idea is part of the education solution, creating demand for it through an exciting game:
http://troy.patch.com/blog_posts/first-lego-league-2012-senior-solutions
The people I talked to riding mass transit in DC preferred to drive their own cars. One guy was riding the bus because his car was in the shop getting repairs.
I also know a law student who interned in Chicago who is taking the Georgia bar exam because of the high living expenses in Chicago. She plans to practice intellectual property law in Atlanta.
Building seldom used train stations is questionable and very expensive. “If you build it, they will come” only works for something where there is a demand for the product.
People will still tend to car pool to Red Wings games, DSO concerts etc. rather than taking the train or bus unless it's cheaper and more convenient.
Infrastructure for the buses is already there. Improving bus service is a good thing, as long as they are used. We don't need more empty buses running around town.
Sue Martin
6:57 am on Monday, December 3, 2012
The "people you talked to riding mass transit in DC preferred to drive their own cars"?
What...did you talk to like...two? I've ridden the Metro in DC countless times. It's convenient, quick, CROWDED, and well-used. Clearly, your sample might be...well...inadequate.
John David
12:42 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
Dale,
Your sample is beyond minuscule. Ridership on the DC Metro is very high. I've used it on business and leisure trips to DC and VA. I took the Metro buses to and from DC when I commuted there and they were always crowded. The key was routes that were useful and a unified system. The DC area has grown, particularly the private sector, unrelated to government. The systems are used heavily for sports and other entertainment. The system took years to develop, starting in at least the 60s, and decades to build. While that region has grown and attracted residents and businesses, this area has stagnated and shrunk, and will continue that way with your myopic vision. One other FYI, I have a severely disabled relative who what's been able to live independently and commute because they were able to live near a Metro station and get to work and do shopping. They would not have been able to do that in this region. We need to start.
Mark
10:24 pm on Sunday, December 2, 2012
I read a comment somewhere last week that said something like 'I can't wait to take the train to Ann Arbor for a football game.' I also read a similar comment about going downtown to watch a Tiger game a few months ago.
Out of curiosity I checked Amtrak pricing for Birmingham to Ann Arbor to arrive in Ann Arbor about noon and leave after 5:00pm. Round Trip for one adult & one child is $76.50.
Would you pay that? Taking a family of 4? $153.
Let's take a ride down to the Tiger's game for a weeknight game. (This is, if the December schedule is similar to the Apr-Sept schedule). Well, getting to the game isn't a problem, but getting home from the game might be tough with the latest departure being 7:13pm from Detroit. $33 if you can get the times to work out for one adult and one child. Maybe it would work out better for a Sunday game.
Obviously this is just looking at it from the comments I read (sports related). I'd really like to see the transit center work out but I don't see the ridership. IF, I worked downtown near the train station, I still wouldn't ride it. There is no way I would be able to work around the hours offered by Amtrak. And a family emergency back in Troy?
Time will tell if it was money well spent, but I think this is going to be a flop.
Bob Cornwall
8:45 am on Monday, December 3, 2012
I find it interesting that the focus here is on the narrow issue of Amtrak ridership and not the bigger picture of regional transit. The pieces are not yet in place. Of course taking Amtrak to work from Troy to Detroit makes no economic sense. It's not designed for that purpose. But remember this is multi-modal. There will be other components to this. Besides that if train ridership increases the number of trains will increase. I've taken the train to Chicago quite a number of times and by the end of the ride the train is full. As the train speeds increase, and they are increasing, it will make more sense to take the train to downtown Chicago and back than to fly to Chicago. It takes about 5.5 to 6 hours to take the train. If that drops as planned to about 3.5, then you can see the difference.
But folks, let's start thinking longer term. And remember that our young adults will vote with their feet to other urban areas with this kind of transportation option if Detroit doesn't have it.
Oh, and yesterday's Free Press had a a great article on the future of transit, and shows why the governor is all in!
Sue Martin
9:18 am on Monday, December 3, 2012
That's been my observation as well, Bob. Opponents seem only to focus on NOW, not the future. The transit center and regional transit in general is a way to build for later. It's an exciting time, and I'm so glad Troy is getting to be a part of it.
Bob Cornwall
11:23 am on Monday, December 3, 2012
On Craig Fahle this morning there was conversation about the work on the Woodward Corridor Project, which is likely going to be a Bus Rapid Transit System. We are putting ourselves in position to tap into this system. See -- http://wdet.org/shows/craig-fahle-show/
Dale Murrish
5:40 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
Detroit and Washington DC are completely different cities. You can drive downtown from Troy in a half hour and park for $5-10 at a sporting event. Rush hour takes perhaps 45 minutes. All day parking is supplied by employers or costs $5-15.
Washington, DC is very congested and expensive even as a tourist. Parking is very expensive. Commuting to work downtown by car makes no sense, so people ride the train and read the paper or a book.
I didn’t have a large sample size, but the people I talked to on mass transit in DC all preferred to drive their own cars when it was cheaper and more convenient.
Dale Murrish
5:49 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
Same goes for the Detroit area. I know a guy who doesn’t own a car (he said improving the service would help) and have talked to a few people who ride the bus. One guy getting off the bus at Woodward and Square Lake had never heard of the Troy Transit Center controversy and said building it wouldn’t help him anyway.
My point was that leaders should survey riders and others who use the system and not listen to someone’s grand vision of what might be possible, copying other more crowded cities. Detroit has steadily lost population and needs redevelopment. Solving the crime and education problems (key reasons for the population loss) are needed first, in my opinion. The solutions for these are simple, but not easy.
Getting people where they want to go quickly without a car won’t help if there are no jobs and no one wants to live here. A transit system does not attract workers.
I agree that regional cooperation would have helped the rider I talked to at Woodward and Square Lake who was riding to work from Detroit to Waterford, I think. But you don’t need a lot of expensive infrastructure like bus and train stations to make it happen. We already have roads and bus stops. And lots of large empty buses.
Transportation is about personal freedom: getting where you want to go, when you want to go at the most reasonable cost. People will make their choices on price and convenience, as Mark described. Everything else is nice-to-haves and “visionary.”