Transportation

U-M, WSU lead new transportation consortium

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March 11, 2010

Transportation has been getting people to their jobs in Michigan for a century, and a new University Research Consortium program wants to reinvent that business model so people in Metro Detroit have better ways to access paying opportunities.Excerpt:If there is one thing Ann Arbor knows, it's research. And if there's one thing Metro Detroit knows, it's transportation. The two areas are combining these two strengths to create Transforming Transportation: Economies & Communities.The University Research Corridor's new program promotes multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research that supports industry, community, and government policy-making and planning. The University of Michigan and Wayne State University will lead the charge with this new effort that hopes to serve as a nerve center for transportation innovation in the regional, state, national, and global economies."It's an idea whose time has come," says Allen Batteau, an anthropologist who heads Wayne State's Institute for Information Technology and Culture.Read the rest of the story here.

Latest in Transportation

$21M in stimulus cash for Ann Arbor, Detroit transit

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Community Development

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March 11, 2010

And now it's time for a little love for the buses, the hardworking behemoths chugging away for the Detroit Dept of Transportation and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.The two transit agencies received about $21 million in federal stimulus funds last week, with most of that money going toward both areas' bus systems. DDOT received $18.9 million for operating expenses.It will also facilitate the purchase of the agency's first hybrid buses (four), along with another 42 diesel buses. All 44 are the normal 40-foot long buses.AATA received about $1 million to upgrade its bus storage area and another $700,000 to redevelop the University of Michigan's Central Campus transit center, which serves buses. The agency used federal stimulus funding last year to purchase four more hybrid buses, which should come online in May.The entire state of Michigan received a total of $34.6 million in federal stimulus funds for mass transit improvements last week.Source: U.S. Dept of TransportationWriter: Jon Zemke

Utica plans pedestrian bridge over Clinton River

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Economic Development

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February 25, 2010

Getting to downtown Utica is about to become much easier, as the Macomb County suburb plans to build a pedestrian bridge over the Clinton River.The city recently received $303,192 in federal Transportation Enhancement funding to fill the financing gap for the $452,525 project. Work is expected to begin this spring and wrap up by the end of September. The bridge will connect the Macomb Orchard Trail to downtown Utica as well as the Clinton River Trail in Oakland County. It will provide pedestrians and bicyclists with a safe place to cross the river without having to navigate the busy Van Dyke/M-59 intersection. Utica Mayor Jacqueline Noonan expects the bridge will have a big impact on several fronts."It's nature. It's economic. It's community," Noonan says. "We're just so excited and proud."The project is one of the final pieces of the Macomb County Bike/Hike Master Plan. Utica and other Macomb County communities have been working on building that series of bike trails and paths for 22 years. This bridge will connect Utica to the Huron Clinton Metroparks at Metro Beach and Stoney Creek.Source: Jacqueline Noonan, mayor of UticaWriter: Jon Zemke

Mass transit scores more federal funds for rail, bikes

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Arts & Culture

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February 25, 2010

A pocketful of money is creating big changes to mass transit in Metro Detroit.First, SMART is installing $20,000 worth of bike racks away from its bus routes across the metro area. Of that, $16,000 is coming from federal Transportation Enhancement funds. The idea is to provide another amenity for bicyclists who ride its buses so they have a safe place to lock up their bike at their final destination."A place a rider might take their bike off the bus and ride it to a specific location," says Beth Dryden, director of external affairs marketing and communications for SMART. Some of those locations could vary between big-name destinations like Comerica Park in Detroit or smaller, every-day use places like the Wal-Mart/Meijer commercial center on Maple Road in Troy. SMART expects to spend about $500 per bike rack, which could mean about 40 new places for bicyclists to lock up their bikes across the metro area.That's on top of $25 million in federal stimulus funds the M-1 Rail project received from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. That money is expected to go a long way towards bringing light rail to Woodward Avenue between the Detroit River and New Center. The funds will be primarily used for road improvements along the corridor.Transportation Riders United is also teaming up with the chambers of commerce from Troy, Birmingham, and Bloomfield to host a transit conference on Friday morning. The idea is to spread the gospel that improving mass transit will pay big dividends for economic development to the local business leaders, owners, and key stakeholders in the community. Friday's meeting will be held between 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. at the Troy Chamber Office, 4555 Investment Dr., in the Lower Level Meeting Room. For information, click here or contact TRU's Business Outreach Team leader Kevin Smith at business@DetroitTransit.org or 313 549 2299.Source: Transportation Riders United and Beth Dryden, director of external affairs marketing and communications for SMARTWriter: Jon Zemke

Belleville streetscape project gets green light

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Community Development

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February 25, 2010

It's been a long journey, but the roads of downtown Belleville are about to be streetscaped this summer.The city received $458,314 in federal Transportation Enhancement funds for part of a $5.8 million streetscape plan. The project includes a complete revamping of the streets, including below the surface. It will be tackled in two phases this summer.All of the sewer and water lines and other underground infrastructure will be replaced in the downtown. Sidewalks will be enhanced with decorative brick pavers, benches, trash cans, bike racks, and new landscaping."It's definitely time to do an update," says Carol Thompson, administrator for the Belleville Downtown Development Authority.No improvements have been made to the downtown streetscape since the early 1990s. Many trees have also been lost to the emerald ash borer in recent years. The first phase of the project will include South Street from Huron River Drive to the railroad tracks and the Fourth Street Square. The second phase, set to begin after the Strawberry Festival in June, will replace Main Street from the Bridge to Huron River Drive.This is not the first time plans for the streetscape have been broached. An initiative to have the work done via a bond proposal was defeated last year. This new project is coming mainly from the city's coffers.Source: Carol Thompson, administrator for the Belleville Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Clawson to begin streetscape project in spring

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Arts & Culture

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February 25, 2010

Clawson continues to steadily create a city center in the otherwise suburban suburb. Its latest step is a streetscape project that promises to recreate the sleepy little intersection at Main Street and 14 Mile Road.The project will revamp the two main streets of Clawson's downtown, including Main between Wolper and Phillips, and 14 Mile between Washington and Bellevue. That involves installing decorative lighting, replacing worn out sidewalks, and installing new landscaping, planters, trees, and bike racks. Brick pavers will also be installed along with the new sidewalks."It's a first step," says Joan Horton, director of the Clawson Downtown Development Authority. "This is one of our first brick-and-mortar projects that we have had in a long time."Previous projects including putting Main on a diet a few years ago. That consisted of shrinking the five-lane road to three lanes and creating two lanes of parallel parking. This resulted in more parking spaces for local businesses, slower traffic, protection for pedestrians, and making the downtown more walkable in general. Clawson plans to also put 14 Mile on a diet in the downtown section soon, too."That's very important for us as a downtown and a city," Horton says. "The road needs to be for all sorts of traffic."The $1.2 million project is being funded in part by $760,398 in recently awarded federal Transportation Enhancement funding. Work is expected to begin this spring and wrap up later in the summer.Source: Joan Horton, director of the Clawson Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

It’s almost spring, and transit centers are sprouting in Ann Arbor

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Community Development

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February 25, 2010

Ann Arbor is known for flowers and trees sprouting up in the spring, but you can add transit centers to that list now that U-M is joining AATA, SEMCOG, and the city in making plans for a new transit center.Excerpt:Transit centers are now development du jour in Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan recently unveiled plans to develop its own student-transit center. This plan joins others in the works for the Blake Transit Center, Fuller Road Station, and the new stop for the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line."Having these stations really transforms our community," says Nancy Shore, executive director of the getDowntown program. "It's really changing the environment so people can be more comfortable when they use these other forms of transportation."Read the rest of the story here.

SMART makes rider-centric upgrades to bus service

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Community Development

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February 11, 2010

SMART is cashing in some federal stimulus checks now that it is installing some upgrades to its bus fleet."All of the improvements we are making will make things easier for our customers," says Beth Dryden, director of external affairs marketing and communications for SMART.Among the improvements are:$20.2 million of new fare boxes to be installed this month. SMART will convert the rest of its buses to bio-diesel. That means all 275 fixed-route buses and 110 para-transit buses will run on bio-diesel, making them an average of 17 percent more fuel efficient, saving $250,000.New shelters will be built throughout the SMART system SMART's new Automatic Vehicle Location system will be updated within the next 18 months, which will help passengers to receive next bus arrival information on their smart phones. Source: Beth Dryden, director of external affairs marketing and communications for SMARTWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor nationally recognized for Green Fleets program

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Community Development

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February 11, 2010

Gas!? Who needs it? Well, OK, we do... at least for the time being. But Ann Arbor doesn't need so much of it these days. The city was nationally recognized recently for its cut backs in car juice.Excerpt:Those hybrid vehicles cruising around town are getting noticed.The city of Ann Arbor's success in using alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles to keep its fleet green is the focus of a new report today.Government-Fleet.com reports the city's Green Fleets program is the focus of this week's MotorWeek Clean Cities Success Story. It says the city, which set a goal in 2004 of reducing its fleet's petroleum usage by 10 percent by 2012, has a new goal of 30 percent by the end of 2010.Read the entire article here.

The New Economy Initiative pumps cash into local programs

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Community Development

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February 11, 2010

The new economy just got a nice little boost here in Southeast Michigan. The New Economy Initiative -- which is fairly self explanatory -- just pumped in nearly three-quarts of a million clams into the local programs promoting these new economy companies. Excerpt: The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan has approved another round of grants totaling more than $716,000. The largest grant of $356,250 was made to the Detroit-based Michigan Opportunities and Resources for Entrepreneurs Program to index resources for entrepreneurs and design a Web service to allow the information to be easily accessed. The New Economy Initiative also has made two grants to expand opportunities in the defense and homeland security industries. The largest grant of $300,000 is to the Royal Oak-based Michigan Security Network and follows a $153,000 grant the initiative made last year to the Detroit Regional Chamber to support the network. With the previous grant, the network already has made significant inroads towards establishing Michigan as a national leader in cyber security technology and training, the New Economy Initiative said in a release. Read the entire article here.