Transportation

New VC firm Fontinalis to focus on transportation

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February 4, 2010

Metro Detroit's old money is starting to dabble in a few new economy ventures, now that a group of local financial heavyweights have launched Fontinalis Partners.Bill Ford (yep, that Bill Ford who chairs Ford Motor Co.) is teaming up with Ralph Booth (CEO and chairman of Booth American Company) and Mark Schulz (former president of International Operations at Ford) to launch the Michigan-based venture capital firm. Fontinalis will focus on investing in transportation tech companies around the world.Fontinalis' first investment is in Atlanta-based Parkmobile USA. The nearly two-year-old firm specializes in mobile parking payment systems and integrated transportation technology solutions. Its European counterpart was founded in 1999. Parkmobile's cashless parking system allows motorists to pay for parking through an application on their mobile phone or by making a short call. The idea is to eliminate meter feeding with pocket change and guessing a length of stay. Parkmobile also makes Electronic Parking Permits.Fontinalis has offices in Detroit and Boston. Its mission is to leverage the firm's background in transportation to scale up companies providing the transportation technology solutions of tomorrow. "We take our mission very seriously to invest in and assist firms currently providing transformational ideas and products devoted to solving the world's most pressing environmental and mobility-oriented problems," Bill Ford said in a press release.Source: Fontinalis PartnersWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Transportation

Dearborn, Birmingham stations win federal funds

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Arts & Culture

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February 4, 2010

Dearborn and Birmingham are the big winners when it comes to acquiring federal funds for mass transit projects.The two Metro Detroit suburbs and Battle Creek will split $40 million in federal stimulus funds to build or improve their train stations along the Detroit-Chicago railroad line, commonly known as the Wolverine Line. How that money will be split has not been determined yet."We're hopeful we'll get the full amount," says Barry Murrary, economic and community development director for the city of Dearborn.Dearborn is planning to invest $28 million to move its Amtrak station closer to a new building near The Henry Ford. That facility would facilitate both trains, buses, cars, bicyclists and pedestrians. It is also seen as a key stop in the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line.Birmingham also has similar designs for a new multi-modal transit station. That $7 million project would build a station that can also facilitate train, bus, car, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. It is planned to go up in Birmingham's Rail District, an area that borders Troy and would serve as a stop on the planned northern expansion of the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line into Oakland County.Source: Barry Murrary, economic and community development director for the city of DearbornWriter: Jon Zemke

More Tribute sculptures coming to Woodward Avenue

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Arts & Culture

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February 4, 2010

Detroit and Pontiac are the next cities in line to install tribute sculptures on their section of the famed Woodward Avenue corridor.They are part of the Woodward Avenue Action Association's Tribute Project, which is building the sculptures along Michigan's Main Street to raise awareness about its important place in history. The sculptures are normally a robust column a story or two tall that depict part of Woodward's illustrious history.Detroit's sculpture will be built next to the Spirit of Detroit at the intersection of Woodward and Jefferson avenues in downtown. It will have a theme of labor. The Pontiac sculpture's theme will center on transportation. Its location is still being determined. A combination of federal funds and a local match are paying for the projects. Construction on both is expected to begin late this spring or early this summer."They're going to cost significantly less than the Ferndale one because that was the test case," says Nicole Brown, outreach and promotions coordinator with the Woodward Avenue Action Association.These cities are following the lead of downtown Ferndale, which erected the first column in 2008. The idea is to tell Woodward Avenue's story and increase tourism through 30-foot-high interpretive themed columns made mainly of glass and concrete. The sculptures will be internally illuminated to help depict visual elements of Woodward's past, present and future, such as its history in autos, technology, and music. Portions of these sculptures are being paid for by National Scenic Byway grants.Source: Nicole Brown, outreach and promotions coordinator with the Woodward Avenue Action AssociationWriter: Jon Zemke

Beaumont links Troy, Sterling Heights with pedestrian bridge

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Arts & Culture

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February 4, 2010

There is a new place for anyone who wants to have a foot in both Oakland and Macomb counties.Beaumont Hospital has opened an elevated pedestrian bridge between two of its buildings at its Troy campus. One of the buildings stands on the Troy side of Dequindre Road, while the other sits on the Sterling Heights side. It's a structure that hospital officials will help bridge the two communities in more ways than one."The bridge serves as a symbol that we serve both Oakland and Macomb counties," says Tom Brisse, senior vice president and hospital director for Beaumont Hospital Troy. He adds that getting two cities, two counties, the state, and a road commission to work together is never an easy task, but that everyone not only played nicely but worked effectively together.The $19.2 million bridge connects Beaumont Hospital Troy with its new outpatient facilities at the Beaumont Medical Center located in Sterling Heights. The 600-foot walkway features 15,000 square feet of pedestrian space, including two multi-level atrium reception areas on each end of the bridge. It's finished with brushed aluminum and lightly tinted glass.Beaumont Hospital Troy opened in 1977 and now features a 361-bed, acute care community teaching hospital that ranks among the nation's highest-volume community hospitals for admissions and surgeries.Source: Tom Brisse, senior vice president and hospital director for Beaumont Hospital TroyWriter: Jon Zemke

GREEN SPACE: Transit Action Conference lands in Detroit on Jan. 30, TRU hiring

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Economic Development

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January 28, 2010

This Saturday, January 30, transit advocates will spend an afternoon hunkering down and working towards moving ahead with regional transit goals in the coming year. Hosted by none other than Transportation Riders United (TRU), the 1 to 6 p.m. session includes training workshops as well as organizational business like TRU board elections. Workshop options include improving the existing bus systems, SMART millage renewal, advancing rapid transit, outreach, and leadership development. The conference takes place at the new MSU Detroit Center, located at 3408 Woodward, south of Mack. Register here. While on the subject of TRU, we'd be remiss not to mention that the organization is currently hiring a new assistant director. Job description and application instructions can be found here. The application deadline is Monday, Feb. 1, so get cracking! Source: Megan Owens, TRU (Read her Metromode blog here.) Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Mass transit speeds up in Metro Detroit

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Arts & Culture

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January 28, 2010

Mass transit is gaining speed in Metro Detroit. This time it's about the possible expansion of SMART and the progress of the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line.The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments still expects to launch the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line by this October. It has reached an agreement with the railroads that own the tracks and is working out further details for the project. It also has nailed down $3.5 million in federal funding and hopes to get more soon.At the same time, the Oakland County suburb of Keego Harbor is considering joining the SMART transit system for the first time. A local group of residents is pushing for the municipality's inclusion so bus services can be expanded to the small town. Local officials are considering the proposal. Oakland County has an opt-out clause that allows communities that don't want to be involved in SMART to opt out."There is a chance for a community to join or leave," says Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United. Earlier this month Farmington Hills toyed with the idea of leaving SMART but instead city officials decided to let voters make the decision in the election this August.The mass transit advocate is also holding a Transit Action Conference between 1-6 p.m. Saturday at the Michigan State University Detroit Center, 3408 Woodward, south of Mack. The event will feature transit updates, TRU Board elections, and opportunities to get involved in making comprehensive transportation options a reality for Metro Detroit.TRU is also looking for an Organizer/Assistant Director. Potential candidates should have a passion for mass transit and motivation to help improve the mass transit options in southeast Michigan. For information, click here. Source: Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders UnitedWriter: Jon Zemke

Birmingham-Troy transit center nets another $250K in stimulus funds

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Arts & Culture

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January 28, 2010

Money is starting to pile up for the Birmingham-Troy transit center now that backers for it have netted another $250,000 in federal stimulus dollars.That brings the total raised to a little more than $1.5 million for the $7 million project that will serve as the transit hub on the border between the two cities for rail, bus, auto, bike and pedestrian transportation systems. And much more funding is potentially on the way.Organizers behind the project are trying to dip into two large pots of government money from the federal stimulus program. That includes the TIGER program, which represents $1.5 billion in discretionary spending for mass transit and the high-speed rail funds for Michigan. Competition for both funds is fierce and is at the discretion of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, but local organizers are optimistic that either one of these could fit the rest of the transit center's bill."There is a huge national competition for these funds but we feel we have a credible application for both programs," says Dan Beattie, director of federal affairs for Clark Hill, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm representing Troy and Birmingham in the project.The two cities plan to create the transit center on the Birmingham side of the border between the cities. About $4 million would be set aside for the center, while the rest would be used to build a pedestrian tunnel underneath the tracks. The center will facilitate traffic from pedestrians, bicyclists, automobiles, buses, and the planned northern extension of the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line. There has also been talk of creating an east-west streetcar line to connect the station to Birmingham's downtown and Troy's Somerset Collection mall.The proposed site is in Birmingham's emerging Rail District. The cities plan to create a transit oriented development district around the station that would roughly be bordered by Crooks, Adams, and Maple Roads and Lincoln Street.Source: Dan Beattie, director of federal affairs for Clark HillWriter: Jon Zemke

Plans surface for rail trail in Oakland County

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Arts & Culture

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January 28, 2010

Another road between Royal Oak and Birmingham is about to surface, but the problem is that this one is less traveled.Jim Rasor and his fellow city commissioners in Royal Oak are trying to change that. The legislative body is now formally pushing to turn a lightly used road for railroad maintenance vehicles adjacent to the tracks that run through downtown Royal Oak into a rail trail for everyone."This is a rail with trail, not a rail to trail," Rasor says.The trail would go from downtown Royal Oak north to the Birmingham border. Rasor hopes it could go even farther north if the other local municipalities pick up the cause. The space is already used illegally by pedestrians and bicyclists who routinely travel its length.The railroad corridor, which is owned by Canadian National, has two sets of tracks and a maintenance road running alongside it. Rasor and other backers of the plan want to build a barrier or fencing and shrubs between the tracks and road so the road can be opened up to everyone."There is a lot of space there," Rasor says. "All of the bridges are wide enough for the road. The rail was designed for four tracks but only two were installed."He admits that local municipalities like Royal Oak are too cash-strapped to tackle such a project, but thinks the Oakland County Parks System could do so. He points out that most of the parks in that system are on the outskirts of the county because the urbanized southeast section was already built out before parkland was being acquired. Rasor also likes to make the point that this will enhance the quality of life for young people and help attract young families. He compares Metro Detroit unfavorably to other vibrant urban areas that our brain drain funnels to that have well established non-motorized transportation options, like Chicago and Toronto. In Metro Detroit commuters are mostly chained to their cars."There are a great many groups that would like to see this happen," Rasor says.Source: Jim Rasor, city commissioner with Royal OakWriter: Jon Zemke

Trails in Southeast Michigan getting bigger, bolder

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Community Development

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January 28, 2010

While some developments and construction are jumping in the back seat because of the economic slowdown, the Metro Detroit non-motorized trail system is pushing forward.Excerpt:Most local and state funding has dried up for trails, but the federal government and private foundations still fund new trails in southeast Michigan, said Detroit Greenways coordinator Todd Scott with the nonprofit Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance."The feds realize they shouldn't just be funding people in cars. We need a transportation system," Scott said Wednesday.He wants to catch up metro Detroit with towns like Seattle and Ann Arbor, where cycling and jogging paths crisscross built-up areas.In Detroit, seven non-motorized paths are to open this summer, including 16 miles of bike lanes in Corktown and a link from riverfront trails to the Dequindre Cut path to Eastern Market, he said.Read the entire article here.

St. Clair firm forms partnership to build electric autos

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Economic Development

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January 21, 2010

St. Clair-based EnVironmental Transportation Solutions has struck a deal with Energy Components Group to build its electric car, the EcoV.The subcompact car is built for low speeds and to be used for short distances. Think a car made for puttering around an urban neighborhood or as part of a fleet of municipal vehicles. It's recharged through a wall outlet.The EcoV, which retails for $12,000, has a 25-40 mile range. That can be extended to 65 miles. The vehicle is eligible for a $5,000 federal tax credit because it's a zero-emission vehicle. The founder of the company, Richard Marks, helped produce General Motors EV1 electric car.Source: Energy Components GroupWriter: Jon Zemke