We’ve been falling behind in mass transit in Michigan since 1956, when Detroit (supposedly under pressure from General Motors) sold the city’s street cars to Mexico City and tore up the rails.
Today, Detroit is the only major U.S. city without a rapid transit system, unless you count a patchwork system of inefficient buses.
This remains the case, despite a mountain of research over the years that indicates that every dollar spent on mass transit generates around $8.00 in private investment in the vicinity.
Look, for example, at a 2007 report by the American Public Transportation Association, which cites the case of Portland, Ore., where a light-rail system has led since 1980 to $6 billion in development within walking distance of the city’s rail stations.
Or check out Dallas, where the University of North Texas found that commercial properties located near the Dallas rapid-transit system increased nearly 25 percent in value between 1997 and 2001.
That was more than double the 11.5 percent increase in value of those Dallas-area properties not served by rail.
Then there is the mess that is Michigan. Despite numerous attempts, it’s proven impossible even to integrate the two bus systems in the Detroit metro area, D-DOT and the suburban SMART system. Why is this?
Most people tell me that the Detroit D-DOT unions have been the main problem, fearful of seeing their restricting and inefficient work rules chipped away in the wake of a merger.
As the years have gone on, however, the cry for mass transit in our urban areas has grown and grown.
It’s a way for the poor in the inner city who lack access to reliable transportation to get and keep jobs in the suburbs – the place where the jobs are these days.
Mass transit can be a force to reduce racial segregation. It is well known – and completely deplorable — that the Detroit area is one of the most segregated in the country. The fact that it lacks any real system of mass transit is no coincidence.
Mass transit is highly desired by the young, highly educated “creative class” who want to get around a metro area after relaxing downtown — without having to designate a driver.
Even places like Macomb County, supposedly the home of anti-Detroit feelings are talking about mass transit. Last fall, I sat in on two community conversations held at Macomb Community College.
Those taking part, mostly MCC students in their 20s talked about what kind of Michigan they hoped to see in their lifetimes. Their vision included light rail rapid transit running out Dequindre from downtown Detroit northeast, out into Macomb County.
Most important of all, mass transit is a key part of any economic development strategy for Michigan, where we continue to suffer from the nation’s highest unemployment rate.
So it’s worth noting that a far-reaching plan to develop a mass transit system serving the Detroit metro area was announced last week. Offering both bus and rail, the system would involve hundreds of miles of bus lanes and tracks for light rail and computer trains spread throughout the metro area.
I talked with John Hertel, the CEO of the Regional Transit Coordinating Council, an intergovernmental group reporting directly to Detroit’s mayor and the heads of Oakland, Wayne and Macomb Counties. Hertel was the organizational genius who revived the Michigan State Fair and made it profitable again.
Now, he’s has been working on a regional mass transit plan for two years, something he calls “absolutely essential to revitalizing our cities and, indeed, the entire southeastern Michigan area.”
How would it work?
To start with, hybrid bus routes would be set up along major roads connecting downtown with Metro Airport via Michigan Avenue, with M-59 via Gratiot and with Pontiac via Woodward. Light rail would come later, including the $371 million route along Woodward already approved by the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and now slated to start in 2011.
Eventually, Hertel hopes to link Ann Arbor with downtown Detroit, with a stop at Metro airport, using the existing Amtrak track. Other routes might connect Pontiac and communities in south Oakland County with Detroit, and do the same with Mount Clemens, and other areas and parts of Macomb County.
Recently, Hertel spoke enthusiastically about a privately-funded plan along a 3.4 mile stretch of Woodward Avenue.
“Private sector investment interest is the best proof that mass transit makes economic sense,” he said. “Every program has its pros and cons,” Hertel adds. “Mass transit is nothing less than a job creation machine, and the only con is the cost.” The federal government has money for mass transit, but it requires a one-to-one local match, which is the big sticking point.
My son lives in Denver, which has just finished building an impressive light rail system alongside a new expressway, US-25. The folks in Denver were smart, because they included in the plan service to the rapidly growing suburbs, as well as the downtown. Financing for the system comes from a regional sales tax, and even the anti-tax folks in Denver are impressed with the rapid economic development that has come adjacent to each stop on the line.
Back home, Hertel hopes to unveil a detailed mass transit plan later this year. After 50 years of spinning our wheels, it takes somebody has experienced, politically connected, passionate and far-seeing as Hertel to move mass transit forward.
He deserves lots of help – and a big pat on the back and support from the business, policy and political communities.
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Editor’s Note: Former newspaper publisher and University of Michigan Regent Phil Power is a longtime observer of Michigan politics and economics, and a former chairman of the Michigan chapter of the Nature Conservancy. He is also the founder and president of The Center for Michigan, a centrist think-and-do tank which publishes the Michigan Scorecard. The opinions expressed here are Power’s own and do not represent the official views of The Center. He welcomes your comments at ppower@thecenterformichigan.net.
13 Comments
I don’t disagree that mass transit is a good thing and am in full agreement that we should enthusiastically support it as a region.
But I question your use of development dollars statistics as justification. Comparing development dollars near and away from transit lines does not support the argument that mass transit brings new development to the region. It only means that given a mass transit system exists, businesses prefer to invest near it.
Personally, I think your argument is true.
But I think we need better numbers to justify mass transit as a “job-creation machine.”
The time seems right for a mass transit plan for metro Detroit to gain momentum. Thanks for the good article.
Great column, Phil. I am happy to say that many of reasons you give are the same reasons the Wayne State Board of Governors (of which I am a member) unanimously voted to join the privately-funded plan you describe for 3.4 mile route up Woodward Ave to the New Center and committed funds to be part of it. John Hertel is doing a great job of pushing everyone to make mass transit a reality in Metro Detroit.
Phil,
Your column is spot on. Every major U.S. city that has embraced public transit in a signficant way in the past 15 years is realizing thousands of new jobs and billions in new development and redevelopment near their transit lines and stations. Minneapolis, Dallas, Charlotte, St. Louis and (a bit earlier) Portland all have demonstrated the economic development power of transit. They also overcame many of the same political, policy and regional obstacles that have stalled transit in Michigan. We can’t afford to wait any longer. John Hertel, Roger Penske, Dan Gilbert, the Michigan Municipal League, Transportation Riders United, the City of Grand Rapids, the City of Ann Arbor, state Rep. Marie Donigan, state Rep. Bert Johnson, and state Sen. Jason Allen all get it and are leading efforts to make it happen here. Thanks for helping move the ball down the field. Please keep a keen eye on this issue. We all expect lots of action on transit in the Legislature and in key cities across the state over the next few years.
How do we move forward with a legislature and major segments of the business community that refuse to take responsbility for these important infrastructure investments. When the Democrat-run House votes 107-0 to slash property taxes (and therefore lay off police and firefighters, cut spending for K-12 education, close parks and local museums etc); and the business community says the business tax should be eliminated, i.e., it has no interest in good education, safe streets, etc., the chances of getting people to take a positive stance for public investment is difficult. We need leaders who will stand up for Michigan’s future — not their narrow re-election or personal pocketbooks. Other states are investing — and are whipping our butts.
This is excellent! I was in Denver over the summer, and saw first-hand people using the light-rail. It was young people, and it was impressive the number of them on it. I have also seen transit work in places like San Francisco, where people don’t have cars. They want walkable communities, and use transit systems to move from place to place.
The Legislature needs to move on this, in partnership with John Hertel. And they need to do this statewide as well. People in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor and everwhere need the benefits of transit-oriented development, with shops and retail surrounding stops.
I grew up on Long Island and would take the train to New York City. A lot. I would go to the train stop, buy the newspaper and a bagel, and relax for the 1.5 hours on the train. It works…for economic development and making it easier to get around!
How can I get more involved with this plan.This is a great thing for Michaigan.
Given budgetary realities is Mass Transit our best investment? We all have stories about good mass transit systems, my favorite is the Metro in Washington DC. Fantastic service, affordable, clean. But, is a mass transit system the best investment?
Alternative sources of energy, battery technology, manufacturing incentives for green manufacturing, improving tourism, local agriculture?
We have many options and few dollars. It is like that in my life, a lot of wants, but after the needs I only have so much left and I have to spend wisely.
To me the real benefit of a community conversation is how to leverage our strengths and have a strategic plan. Can we use our skills at manufacturing to build a ecologically friendly mass transit system and use the resultant skills and products as a product to export around the US and the rest of the world?
The dialog is the key, as long time resident I will pitch in to help no matter what but the conversations have to keep occurring.
Hats of to the Center for Michigan for giving us all that chance
I am glad to see some action from Mr Hertel. But, I am disapointed not to see a comprehensive overall plan to work for.
Livingston County wants to know where is the dedicated double-tracked rail (medium rail) to connect the county with Lansing and downtown Detroit?
Here are the priority steps that I see (this is systems engineering):
1. There are five major corridors out of Detroit, marked by major highways and freeways. Each of these corridors should have dedicated double-tracked rail (medium rail) right-of-way, out to Port Huron, Flint, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Monroe.
2. Build one leg at a time by getting the right-of-way.
3. Figure how much the system is going to cost. How much is each leg going to cost?
4. Figure out how to pay for each leg.
5. Figure out how to manage the system devised.
6. Connect the bus system to service the rapid transit stations with the road system.
7. The most efficient rapid transit car is the Silverliner, self-propelled hybrid diesel-electric, top speed 125 MPH. Typically 1-10 car trains may be coupled together for 24-7 service.
Good column, Phil. The data and conclusions reached based on the data are very positive for the greater Detroit area. Hope it goes through.
Earlier this year you wrote an excellent column on the ever-more increasing need for cooperation between the East side and West side of Michigan. A few years ago, Grand Rapids proposed a study similar to the one currently being done to justify light rail/rapid transit in the greater Grand Rapids area. Detroit area legislators vetoed it. Instead of stopping what should have happened in West Michigan, why didn’t they piggy-back a parallel proposal for the Detroit area, and possibly the Lansing area? We need the cooperation, and it MUST not be one way! When West Michigan needs something, it has to be considered equally with the needs of the East side of the state, or we all lose.
Passing on what my my friends from Ireland have observed: you cannot have a thriving nightclub scene without public transportation.
The purpose of the SMART Property Tax Renewal next August 2010 is to shift over $400 Million from public bus operating subsidies to match federal grants to expand freeways.
This is a regressive tax that replaces state funds to support vast new freeways.
Please vote NO
Learn the facts about SMART and the loss of bus service.
savethefueltax.org
I couldn’t agree more with this article. A mass transportation system is just what this area needs right now. I find it ridiculous that we haven’t come up with anything in all these years.
It would greatly benefit the city of Detroit to have a mass transportation system because not only would it boost the economy, it would give people an alternative to driving everywhere. It would also reduce traffic, which is usually bad in this area.
I see no down sides to mass transit, and I hope this becomes reality soon.