Education / Outreach
Michigan Land Use Recommendations for Transit
Even though our state’s population is growing very slightly, we continue to consume valuable agricultural and natural land at an ever-increasing rate. In response, Governor Jennifer Granholm, as one of her first acts in office, formed a council to investigate how to improve land use practices in Michigan and to stop our urban sprawl.
The Council met monthly over a period of half a year and took public testimony around the state. The Council finished its work in August 2003 and released its report, which includes recommendations ranging from measures to make it easier for local governments to work together to measures to improve the vitality of our central cities.
One key area discussed throughout the Council’s deliberations was the importance of public transportation. Adequate and comprehensive public transportation throughout Michigan is necessary to support the sustainable pattern of development the Council is working to promote. To bring about the vision of a public transportation system everyone in Michigan can be proud of, the Council came up with a number of specific recommendations, including:
"The state should provide funding sufficient to ensure effective, safe, reliable, and accessible public transit that provides mobility and transportation choices. To help accomplish this, the state should work with members of Michigan's Congressional delegation to seek federal funding legislation that treats investment in bus transit systems and rail transit systems as comparable and equally important types of service that merit equivalent levels of funding. In addition, the state should:
1. Utilize the full ten percent of the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF) to support the Comprehensive Transit Fund (CTF).
2. Direct twenty-five percent of auto-related sales taxes to support the Comprehensive Transportation Fund (CTF).
3. Adopt state and local minimum standards for the level of spending on road repair and for the condition of the highway/road/street network."
The next step is for the Legislature to consider and adopt these recommendations. If it does, it will mean a substantial increase for public transportation funding in Michigan. The proposals are dramatic and it may take some time for Michigan to fully adopt them, but they provide a great vision for the future of public transportation service in our State.
November, 2003