Transportation

Ypsilanti’s Clean Energy Coalition lands $15M federal grant

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September 3, 2009

The Clean Energy Coalition looks to bring more than a few jobs to Ypsilanti's Depot Town with the help of a $15 million federal grant.Excerpt:The Clean Energy Coalition will take a major step forward this fall now that it has roped in a $15 million federal contract, a hit that is expected to result in an expanded staff at the Ypsilanti-based non-profit."Obviously our staffing could grow significantly from this," says Sean Reed, executive director of the Clean Energy Coalition.Read the rest of the story here.

Latest in Transportation

Downtown Farmington streetscape nears completion

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Arts & Culture

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September 3, 2009

One side of the tracks, errr…, road is finished in the downtown Farmington streetscape project, and the other isn't far behind. Work crews have finished the north side of the road, and are about to finish off the water-and-sewer section of the south side soon. The whole project is expected to wrap up by October, with an Oct. 24 ribbon cutting scheduled."I expect over the next couple of weeks we'll see the real visible parts come in," says Annette Knowles, executive director of the Farmington Downtown Development Authority.The visible parts include the curbs, brick pavers, planters, and trees. Most of that is already installed on the north side of the street.The multi-million dollar project is rebuilding Grand River Avenue between Farmington Road and Warner Street, making the byway friendlier to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. It will expand the sidewalk area, add bump-outs around parallel parking spaces, and install new sidewalks, crosswalks, benches, bike racks, trash cans, and decorative streetlights.The original plan called for doing the same sort of work on Grove Street between Grand River and Orchard Street. That has now been put on hold for at least a year until the city finds financing. Source: Annette Knowles, executive director of the Farmington Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Oakland U starts bike-share, van shuttle services

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Arts & Culture

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August 27, 2009

It's not just the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor that are finding new and innovative ways to get university students, staff, and faculty around. Oakland University and Rochester are getting into the groove, too."It is important to start looking at alternative forms of transportation," Glenn McIntosh, dean and assistant vice president for student affairs at Oakland University, said in a press release.Oakland University plans to start two new alternative transportation programs this fall – a bike-share and van-shuttle programs. These environmentally friendly services will be available to all university patrons for free.The bike-share program is a student-led initiative that will depend on the honor system. It will feature 30 bicycles for on-campus use only at 30 different bike racks across the campus. The bikes will be stored in the winter term.Another seven bike racks will be added to campus to facilitate the program. Student and university officials are also working on plans to make the commuter campus more bike-friendly by adding bike lanes and trails throughout the campus.Shuttle buses, a pilot program, will enable students and staff to travel between campus points without having to worry about losing their parking spaces. The 12-seat vans will run in a loop between Busch's shopping center, Buffalo Wild Wings, the Village of Rochester, and downtown Rochester during weekends. Source: Oakland UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke

SEMCOG looks for input on transit plan

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Arts & Culture

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August 27, 2009

Most of the time a local government body wants public input about transportation and centers of mass transit. That's not necessarily so with the Southeast Michigan Council of Government's latest string of transportation meetings.SEMCOG will host public meetings in September (and one in October) for its Direction2035 plan, the region's next long-range transportation plan. The idea is to figure out in which type of transportation infrastructure to invest."It's not just public transit. It's the whole gamut of things," says Carmine Palombo, director of transportation for SEMCOG.A copy of the plan can be seen here.The meetings will be held on Sept. 23 at 9:30 a.m. and Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. in SEMCOG's offices, 535 Griswold, Suite 300 in Detroit. Another meeting will be held Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. at the ConCorde Inn, 44315 Gratiot in Clinton Township.For information, send an email to Direction2035@semcog.org or call (313) 324-3362 or send a letter to SEMCOG, Attn: Information Center, 535 Griswold, Suite 300, Detroit, MI 48226.Source: Carmine Palombo, director of transportation for SEMCOGWriter: Jon Zemke

Plymouth to finish parking deck work by Sept

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Community Development

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August 20, 2009

Work on downtown Plymouth's central parking structure is gearing up to finish by month end.The city had hoped to complete the $150,000 project earlier this summer, but the discovery of new problems with the deck prevented that. The project includes recoating, redoing seals and joints, and repairing cement. The stair tower also has been painted and the heating pipes insulated to help save energy.The deck, built in 1983, is located behind the commercial storefronts of the square block bordered by Main Street, Penniman Avenue, Ann Arbor Trail, and South Harvey Street, a stone's throw from Kellogg Park.Source: Plymouth Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Green Cruise bikes through Ferndale, Oakland County

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Arts & Culture

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August 6, 2009

Woodward Avenue is internationally known for its Dream Cruise, but a growing band of environmentalists want to make it just as famous for its Green Cruise.The Sierra Club Green Cruise is an annual event where bicyclists pedal up and down Woodward, much like their Dream Cruise counterparts cruise up and downtown Michigan's Main Street in classic cars.It started five years ago, when a couple dozen Ferndale residents decided to make such a statement. Today the Sierra Club has hitched its name along for the ride, which has spread to neighboring southeast Oakland County communities. More than 1,000 riders are expected this year."We would love to see the Dream Cruise expand into some other communities," says Douglas Christie, one of the coordinators for the Sierra Club Green Cruise.This year's Green Cruise is set to begin Saturday morning in downtown Ferndale at 9 Mile Road and Planavon Street. The 20-mile ride stretching as far north as Birmingham begins at 8 a.m. The five-mile ride begins at 9 a.m. The Green Cruise parade will begin at 11 a.m.Much more will be going on beyond the Green Cruise itself. There will be eco-friendly vendors and a rock-climbing wall for kids, among other things. Also available are free bicycle check-ups, a valet bicycle corral to lock up your bike, and educational information on the environment and on pedalling your community.For information, call (248) 549-6213 ext. 3.Source: Douglas Christie, a coordinator for the Sierra Club Green CruiseWriter: Jon Zemke

Detroit Zoo goes green with solar hybrid golf carts

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Arts & Culture

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July 30, 2009

The Detroit Zoo is upgrading its fleet of golf carts, getting rid of the traditional gas powered vehicles and replacing them with solar-elecric hybrids.The golf carts, 40 in all, are used by staff for everything from maintenance to landscaping to park safety at the 125-acre Zoo just west of downtown Royal Oak. Making the switch is expected to save 450 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.The solar-electric hybrid golf carts use a regenerative braking system that recycles power in the cart each time someone hits the brakes, and are equipped with solar panels for battery charging.Source: Detroit ZooWriter: Jon Zemke

High-speed hydrogen rail between Grand Rapids and Detroit and learning from the ‘Simpsons’

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Economic Development

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July 30, 2009

It's a bit Jetsons-y, an elevated high-speed rail that's powered by hydrogen. But, what the heck, right? Let's get a little futuristic. The trip from Grand Rapids to Detroit is expected to take 40 minutes. If it comes to fruition, it should be a nice economic bump to the city, bringing in people from Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Ann Arbor for the games and festivals Detroit has to offer.Excerpt:The project was proposed by the privately owned Interstate Traveler Company, located just north of Ann Arbor. Company officials are asking the state to provide free use of the right-of-way along Michigan's interstate freeway system.The railway's cars would levitate on top of an elevated hydrogen-based track and be propelled by energy from magnets. Cars holding people, freight and vehicles would cycle at high speeds, stopping in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor and Detroit.Local business leaders say the concept has the potential to create a new manufacturing base in Michigan and spur economic development."Clearly this would bring a competitive advantage to our state if we could move people and freight and cars and vehicles from Grand Rapid to Detroit, and eventually to other Midwestern states," said Jared Rodriguez, a lobbyist with the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.Read the entire article here.Additional piece from the Grand Rapids Press that links this high-rail plan to The Simpsons. Complete with hilarious clips. Check it out here.

Detroit’s rail projects are working together to maximize funds

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Community Development

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June 25, 2009

It's usually a good sign when you see organizations -- both private and public -- or regions working together. And it's a good sign when you see both the privately backed rail line and the public rail line project working together to maximize their funding. Excerpt: "We're in full commitment. We're working together," White said. He's the city's lead on the Detroit Department of Transportation's Detroit Options for Growth Study, a $371 million plan to run light rail from downtown to the state fairgrounds at Eight Mile Road. The M1 plan is a 3.4-mile, 12-stop curbside line, with 12-18 months of construction starting by year-end. It will operate as a nonprofit and eventually be turned over to a regional system. Backers include Penske Corp. founder Roger Penske, chairman of the project; Peter Karmanos Jr., founder of Detroit-based software maker Compuware Corp.; Mike Ilitch, owner of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings and co-founder of Little Caesar Enterprises Inc.; and Quicken Loans/Rock Financial founder Dan Gilbert, the project's co-chairman. DDOT's study calls for a center-of-street rail service from downtown to the state fairgrounds at Eight Mile Road. The project now calls for the M1 Rail plan to replace a portion of its route, and needs money spent on M1 Rail to act as the required local match for federal funding. Read the entire article here.

Could Detroit be the man-on-the-moon for the nation’s high speed rail?

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Economic Development

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June 18, 2009

There's going to be a lot of talk about high-speed rail now that Biden and Obama are talking stimulus for really fast trains. So, The Atlantic asks, why not start this project here in Michigan?Except: Instead of scattering nickels and dimes across dozens of states, a better idea would be to increase the train fund at least tenfold so America can have at least one legitimate high-speed rail line like Spain's Madrid-to-Seville train, which runs at 186 mph (Amtrak averages only 79 nationwide). And let this man-on-the-moon project start in Detroit. Yes, Detroit. The city that was once part of FDR’s "Arsenal of Democracy," for its part in retooling auto plants to make World War II tanks and bombers, has easily a dozen empty auto plants that could be making train engines and train cars. In Flint, Michigan, United Auto Workers Local 651 President Art Reyes says Plant Six at the Delphi Flint East site, which once made air filters and has been idle since September 2008, offers 500,000 square feet, 45-foot ceilings, 26-inch-thick concrete floors, fiber-optic wiring, and, conveniently, a rail line. "I have a workforce of 900 that's been downsized from 9,000," says Reyes, "but every one of them is computer-literate and ready for cutting-edge, green-technology stuff, whether it's wind turbines, next-generation auto batteries, or rail. We're hungry for work."Read the entire article here.Read a piece here by Michigan Public Radio about the future of Michigan train travel that asks "Is the future of train travel in Michigan?"