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  #661  
Old Posted Feb 3, 2018, 3:42 PM
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Since this ties in to Detroit (with the recent shuttle demonstrations downtown last fall in partnership with Bedrock) I'll post it here -

Quote:
Ann Arbor autonomous vehicle company sees growth in busy first year
Martin Slagter | MLive
February 02, 2018

ANN ARBOR, MI - As automobile companies across the globe continue the arms race of making advancements in the booming autonomous vehicle market, an Ann Arbor start-up has managed to put its vehicles on the road and ready for customers to use. May Mobility, which began its self-driving micro-transit service operations just 12 months ago, had a busy first year, proving its concept of cutting down wait times in a pilot partnership with Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert's Bedrock real estate firm in October...
The company has a smart business model, in that they are focusing on lower speed travel and limited routes initially, to get actual vehicles on the streets and establish a name / brand. Not a bad strategy I think, and one that has already attracted a lot of investment from local companies and Silicon Valley.
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  #662  
Old Posted Feb 8, 2018, 9:46 AM
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So, suprise, surprise, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has sabotaged getting a millage on the ballot for the RTA. He says he would support something with the 24 communities in the country that opt-in to SMART...but of course the legislature would have to change the law to do this. And the whole point of the RTA was to correct the opt-in/opt-out dysfunction of SMART. I'd be willing to let the other communities go if it meant cutting Patterson out, but I don't even trust he'd stay out of negotiations even with just the more urban communities. Honestly, he needs to go, already. Hackel in Macomb County also doesn't see transit as important for the region. Dude was talking about pot-holes being his most important "transit" issue, which is an obvious red herring since that's a seperate program of services than mass transit and is being addressed with the new road funding.

Meanwhile, DDOT and SMART have been making progress despite all of this, DDOT continuing to add back service and SMART with its new three new high(er)-frequency/fewer stop FAST service.

I'm hearing a lot of "We'll just go with a Washtenaw-Wayne transit district, then." and this may be the only way. But that ultimately can't work. What's maddening is that the kind of legislative manuevers this would take to amend the RTA legislation almost certainly means we won't get a vote this year. But, prove me wrong.
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Last edited by LMich; Feb 8, 2018 at 10:15 AM.
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  #663  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2018, 9:50 PM
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A patch for some patch.. The Pic is of Dequindre Road and the 696 service-drive which was is the scene of my latest flat about a week ago which looks to be around when this pic was taken. They threw down some cold patch so its capable of being driven on safely but with drivers slowing down and repair work traffic is a nightmare along the 696 corridor. But with days like today when it was nearly 70 yesterday and today we get a surprise snowfall this kind of extreme freeze thaw is bound to cause more potholes.

Quote:
Michigan Senate OKs $175 million infusion into roads, bridges
House to vote this afternoon

By Associated Press
Crain's Detroit Business
March 01, 2018





The Michigan Senate has unanimously approved a $175 million infusion into the state's roads, a 7 percent boost over existing spending.

Thursday's vote comes as drivers face numerous potholes and crumbling roads from this winter's extreme freeze-thaw cycle. The House is expected to take a final vote Thursday afternoon.

Gov. Rick Snyder proposed the additional $175 million for the next budget year, but legislators decided it should be spent this year. The money would be split among the state, counties, and cities and villages.

Laws passed in 2015 to spend significantly more to maintain roads are being phased in. Senate Democrats say that Republican-backed plan fell short. They unsuccessfully sought to add another $275 million in immediate spending.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-roads-bridges
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  #664  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2018, 10:18 PM
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^ Wow that photo is embarrassingly bad for that main intersection. There's some big 'holes' to dig out of for sure this spring.

Posted it on the Metro Detroit thread, and will also share it here. A short article discussing public transportation in Royal Oak. The city is considering options for expanding SMART or creating its own branded bus system. Also the city wants to have better connectivity to the newly-launched FAST system - despite the failed RTA millage vote in 2016, the majority of Royal Oak's voting population voted yes on that proposed millage.

Quote:
Royal Oak seeks community feedback on potential for improved public transportation
MJ Galbraith | metromode
Thursday, March 01, 2018

The city of Royal Oak's Transit Task Force wants the opinions of its citizens. As Royal Oak officials seek to improve the city's public transportation options, the newly formed Transit Task Force has released an online survey to better understand the wants and needs of the people...though the metro Detroit region as a whole voted down a 2016 millage to fund a Regional Transit Authority, more than 31,000 Royal Oakers voted yes on the millage, representing a positive vote from more than half of the city's population overall....

Last edited by deja vu; Mar 1, 2018 at 11:10 PM.
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  #665  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2018, 10:40 AM
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The $175 million is a joke, and even more a joke when you consider the gas tax increase was sold as a way to quickly infuse money into the roads...but the GOP did an accounting trick and stopped using general fund money on the roads this fiscal year, probably to steal that money for other places they've cut in the government. So the full effect doesn't kick in until next year at the earliest.



GRAPHIC: Michigan roads projected to continue getting worse even with with 2015 road funding law, via Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council



We needed both general fund money and gas tax revenues.
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Last edited by LMich; Mar 2, 2018 at 2:58 PM.
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  #666  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2018, 11:08 PM
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Quote:
High-speed rail system Hyperloop studies Detroit-Toledo route

By KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business
March 04, 2018


-MDOT has been asked to fund a feasibility study for a new high-speed train system
-California-based organization looking to create an interconnected transit system
-Detroit-to-Chicago route could cost $6 billion to $13.5 billion





The Michigan Department of Transportation has been asked to fund a feasibility study for a new high-speed train system that would link Detroit to Toledo and then the western border of Indiana near Chicago.

The request is revealed in emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Crain's that show MDOT officials corresponding with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, a California-based organization looking to create an interconnected transit system across the country that would travel at speeds up to 760 mph.

....

HTT estimates that one mile of the supersonic system would cost $20 million to $45 million, putting it in the $6 billion to $13.5 billion price range for just a direct route from downtown Detroit to downtown Chicago. Calculating a Detroit-Toledo-western Indiana-Chicago route is more complex, depending on precise locations and routing.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...t-toledo-route
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  #667  
Old Posted Mar 15, 2018, 10:42 PM
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Huge, huge news for Metro Detroit transit.

So, Wayne County Exec Warren Evans was expected to announce a pared-down transit millage to the RTA, and originally it was thought he'd cut out Oakland and Macomb counties altogether, but that was never the case. Well, he flipped it on everyone. He is proposing a system even more expansive than the one that very narrowly failed in 2016. It'll be hard to get it on the ballot, but I like this guy's ambition. The only problem with the last one was the year in which it was on the ballot. It'd have passed in any other year. I like this "go big or go home" approach.

Quote:
New $5.4B regional transit plan costs more, adds more destinations

By Eric D. Lawrence | Detroit Free Press

March 15, 2018

A new 1.5-mill, 20-year metro Detroit regional transit plan Wayne County Executive Warren Evans presented Thursday promises more service for more areas in southeast Michigan than the plan rejected by voters in 2016.

But with potential political opposition from officials in Oakland and Macomb counties and a higher cost than the previous effort, the plan that Evans is presenting to the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan board will have substantial hurdles to overcome if it is to make the November ballot.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...ans/427741002/
Called "Connect Southeast Michigan," the plan does:

Quote:
The latest proposal steps away from the high-level bus rapid transit — sometimes described as light rail on wheels — promised in 2016 on three corridors, replacing it with 15 bus routes at 15-minute frequencies during peak hours on 10 of those and for 14 hours per day on five key corridors (two of those would be at 10-minute frequencies). Commuter rail between Detroit and Ann Arbor remains from 2016, along with airport express and additional services, such as new commuter routes and 15 park-and-ride lots.

In addition to having Woodward, Gratiot and Michigan as key corridors, the proposal adds Grand River and Mound/Van Dyke as the routes with the most premium service, including an additional $1.5 million per mile in infrastructure upgrades.

Additional money — $30 million per year — for locally designed transit in out-county areas not served by fixed-route services and 15-minute frequency lines during peak hours farther from Detroit, such as on 23 Mile in Oakland and Macomb counties, appears designed to answer critics in those counties who have asked what they would get for their money. The "core area" of the region would get $20 million per year for flexible mobility.
Though this wouldn't include BRT, it would in fact spread more of the money across more routes making transit in general - and not just on the previous BRT corridors - faster. It would do this with traffic signal prioritization for even regular buses. More than this, with taking out the BRT portion it frees up money to increase the frequency of the commuter rail between Detroit and Ann Arbor. Initially proposed at 8 trips per day, money would be put toward it to get it up to 20 trips per day. The biggest change of all would finally be the administrative merging of DDOT, SMART and the RTA. It sounds like they'd still operate as seperate entities as it relates to operations, but would share administration and be under one brand.

I really, really, really like the sound of this. I wasn't ever a big fan of the BRT in the first place. This skips that steps with I believe the ultimate (unsaid) goal of being to get rail once everything is in place and working.



The biggest deal? The Detroit Chamber has come out in full support of sending this to the voters.
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Last edited by LMich; Mar 15, 2018 at 11:09 PM.
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  #668  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2018, 3:41 AM
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That's pretty huge news indeed. The $30 million per year in 'hometown service' is an interesting idea...that would apply to my 'hometown' of Washington Twp, just north of the Shelby Twp / 23-Mile road peak service area. I think this will still face stiff opposition from many though, especially in outlying areas, who might say they don't need / want that $30 million... but it definitely seems like it will sweeten the pot for some.
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  #669  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2018, 7:54 AM
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The "hometown service" was a genius move. Shut them up by giving them more control in these outter-ring suburbs an exurbs, and let the urban area get to business.

I think just given this year's politics versus 2016 that this would be an easy pass. It's why Brooks Patterson came out immediately against it. The presidential election pretty much clouded everything, which is why it only very narrowly failed. Fortunately, the board can place this on the ballot with 7 of the 9 votes on the board. So we can conceivably lose both Oakland County votes and still get this passed, possibly. The only problem is that Hackel over in Macomb has taken a hard-line anti-transit stance since the 2016 vote. It remains to be seen if he has as much influence over his county's board picks as Brooks Patterson has on the Oakland County's members.

The other good news beyond business backing this this go-around is that the board (non-voting) president is in favor of allowing voters to vote on this. There is a lot of pressure for this to be on the ballot this year. I'm really, really glad Evans has taken such a strong and bold stance on this. I honestly did not expect him to become some transit advocate overnight, but that's kind of what happened. I'm glad he didn't listen to those saying reduce the service area to Wayne and Washtenaw, though that may still be an option if Macomb (and Oakland) decides to bail.

I'd really like to see a change in the RTA where the board members are not nominated by the county executives or any county government by that matter. Make them elected officials so you cut out county influence.

BTW, the crazy thing? As expensive as this sounds, the region would still only be spending more on transit than the likes of Indy and Columbus and close to Atlanta, which is a system many of its riders complain about. So this isn't exactly as expensive as it sounds. That said, it's a great start. The traffic signal priority and dedicated lanes for parts of these routes would be HUGE.
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  #670  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2018, 3:37 PM
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Meanwhile, Portland area voters just passed funding for their 6th light rail line for $2.6 billion and have selected its route.

I'm hoping the Detroit plan is approved, or something like it, and this becomes just the first step in a much better system.
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  #671  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2018, 4:46 PM
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A streetcar isn't a viable form of regional transit for five million people and I don't think the M1 rail should be the focus although extensins on Jefferson and Michigan Avenue would be nice.

It seems BRT has been somewhat neutered in this plan, there's the argument that it wasn't necessary for some of the suburbs but were there other reasons you weren't a fan? The commuter rail is definitely big deal though especially with connectivity to the airport.

Patterson and Heckle threatened to hijack the vote last time, I'm not sure how confident I am on Macomb's members. Patterson is a real piece of worthless trash to hijack Oakland like this (a liberal county at this point lets be honest), all of urbanized Oakland County is heavily in favor of transit and those communities benefit greatly with transit investment, of course he doesn't give a damn he just wants Oakland to be as segregated as possible, can't wait for this old reptile to die/retire.
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  #672  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2018, 7:45 AM
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Forgot to mention that the plan not only includes money for the planning of the increase of commuter rail service from the initially planned 8 daily trips to 20 daily trips, but it also includes planning money for a light rail line between Metro and downtown and future expansion of the QLine. It appears they skip the BRT stage altogether.
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  #673  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2018, 9:36 PM
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Yea the hometown service is a pretty great idea, In my mind this is his most brilliant move to head off the typical complaints we hear about transit in Metro Detroit is this. (from crain's)


Quote:
The increased transit spending would generate about $1.3 billion in federal and state funding as well as fares over 20 years, Evans said, resulting in a 105 percent return on the taxes generated in each county.

"There's no subsidizing anybody," Evans said.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...r-transit-plan


There's an Oakland county exec who in the article moaning about if I live in Brandon Twp where's the benefit for me? (even though he lives in Birmingham) Where there it is a projected 105% return for each county.
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  #674  
Old Posted Mar 18, 2018, 2:04 PM
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I'm curious about have far they will stretch the definition of "locally designed transit" in order to achieve more support. Example, does that mean a township can use the money towards bike trails, bike racks, and the like, or does it have to be used to directly tie-in to the greater metro bus system somehow?
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  #675  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2018, 4:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subterranean View Post
Meanwhile, Portland area voters just passed funding for their 6th light rail line for $2.6 billion and have selected its route.

I'm hoping the Detroit plan is approved, or something like it, and this becomes just the first step in a much better system.
That's how it works... gotta crawl before you can run. Too many cities put the cart before the horse and spent billions on flashy rail systems that are poorly utilized.

Portland, of course, has had a grid of frequent bus service for decades, even predating the MAX light rail system by 4 years. Chicago has had one for over a century.

Of course, this new grid for Detroit is really more about providing service to the suburbs, so it'll be interesting to see if the grid model can deliver strong ridership in environments that are, um, *hostile* to the pedestrian.
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  #676  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2018, 1:22 PM
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This would go a long way in the informal talks between MDOT and the Morouns to return Amtrak service to MCS.

Quote:
[Sources: Ford pursues deal to buy, redevelop Michigan Central Station

By Kirk Pinho | Crain's Detroit Business

March 19, 2018

Ford Motor Co. is in discussions to purchase the dilapidated Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood just outside of downtown, Crain's has learned from multiple sources familiar with the negotiations.

The exact status of negotiations is unknown. But two sources familiar with the matter said a deal for the Dearborn-based automaker to redevelop the 500,000-square-foot former train station off of Michigan Avenue owned for decades by the Moroun family could come as soon as next month.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...entral-station
I can't really imagine Ford not wanting to reuse part of it for its former use, particularly since there is a direction rail connection between the station and Dearborn and given the RTA's plans have always included commuter rail along this corridor.
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  #677  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2018, 6:26 PM
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Michigan Central Station is a monument to Detroit's failure as a city in recent years. Refurbishing this grand building (can it be saved?) will confirm that the city is on its way back to prosperity. It is shocking that the same family owns this building that has been trying to prevent the construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge. At times, old money can be used to prevent the resurgence of a city.
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  #678  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2018, 6:28 PM
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The 2010s and 2020s will go down in history. Sort of funny how Detroit's current boom is just about 100 years after its last.
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  #679  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2018, 11:08 AM
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This is weird, but I guess it's good to be thinking big?

Quote:
Duggan: Underground railway tunnel way of future for Detroit Metro

By Breanna Noble, The Detroit News

June 12, 2018

Detroit — Mayor Mike Duggan said Tuesday that connecting the Detroit Metropolitan Airport to a railway could happen in the future ... if it's underground.

Duggan said at the Downtown Detroit Partnership summer stakeholder meeting that airplane runways make such a link unfeasible above ground. Connecting to the airport underground, however, might be possible in light of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's work in building underground transportation tunnels in Los Angeles

"As soon as I hear from the mayor of Los Angeles that this thing really works, then we're going to be pursuing it," Duggan said during a conversation with DPP CEO Eric Larson on stage at the Gem and Century Theatre.
I'd be happy with just a conventional line and an underground station or two in the vicinity of the airport, really.
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  #680  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2018, 1:33 PM
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I still don't understand how Musk's companies tunnels are constructed any differently than literally any other modern bored tunnel.
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