Regional Transit Authority Kicks Off Master Planning Process With Rally (Video)

By Edward Cardenas

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - Representatives from the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan kicked off their master planning process for a regional master transit plan Tuesday with a rally in Campus Martius.

Starting next week, representatives from the authority will begin the planning process by holding a series of meetings in Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties to develop a regional transit plan to link the four counties.

"This is not insurmountable. This something that can be done, but we all need to work together to make it happen," said Michael Ford, chief executive officer for the RTA. "Transportation is a huge issue and we are behind. We need to get caught up and move forward."

The plan, which will be named Building Equitable Sustainable Transit (BEST), will provide details to implement a regional transportation system to coordinate services between the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, the Detroit Department of Transportation, the Detroit People Mover, M-1 Rail and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation which move 48 million people a year.

As part of the planning process, there will be separate studies of three routes:

• Michigan Ave. from downtown Detroit to Ann Arbor, with a connection to Metro Airport,
• Woodward Ave from downtown Detroit to Pontiac and,
• Gratiot Ave. from downtown Detroit to M-59.

In addition to coordinating the systems, a funding task force will also be established to fund the authority. There will be also be a planning and service coordination committee, a citizens advisory committee and a transit providers advisory council.

Megan Owens, of Hazel Park, attended the rally and supports the effort.

"I am so excited to see the RTA get up and running and get out in the community," she said. "We have been talking for years about needing better transit, they are finally going to put together the plan to make it happen."

This effort is important for the region as metro Detroit is one of the only major urban areas in the country without a coordinated transit system, officials stated.

"Those regions who are the fastest growing, that attract talent and jobs, have comprehensive transit systems," said Paul Hillegonds, RTA chair. "And we are behind and have a lot of catching up to do it,"

Regional transportation will help the region compete, said Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber.

"In southeast Michigan we are a region, and if we want to work together as a region and compete and win in the global marketplace as a region, we need to be unified as a region," Baruah said. "Regional transport will help us do that."

The meetings will be held in the coming week in each of the four counties at the following locations:

• 1 - 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Washtenaw County, Eastern Michigan University Student Center, 900 Oakwood St., Ypsilanti,
• 1 - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Wayne County Community College District Northwest Campus, 78200 West Outer Dr., Detroit,
• 1 - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Michigan Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen, Dearborn,
• 1 - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, Community Hall, 44575 Garfield, Clinton Township,
• 1 - 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Royal Oak Detroit Elks Lodge, 2401 E. Fourth St., Royal Oak.

The Regional Transit Authority was created in 2012 to plan and coordinate public transportation in the four-county southeast Michigan region.