Mass transit poised to take big step forward in 2009

Thursday, January 29, 2009 | Source: metromode
After years of laying groundwork, mass transit advocates are gearing up to start doing some building in 2009.

The projects include the long-awaited Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line and the Woodward streetcar line. Both of those are set to come online by October 2010, according to Metro Detroit Transit Czar John Hertel. He also added that a regional transit authority covering the entire tri-county area could be up and running by June.

He spoke at Transportation Riders United annual meeting in Detroit on Tuesday. There he laid out the long-range plan for regional mass transit that Metro Detroit’s Big 4 leaders unanimously approved in December. He expects the Big 4 to again unanimously approve a regional transit authority soon and then have the state legislature approve it, too, all before June.

Once that is done, a funding system, a.k.a. tax, needs to be determined. The regional authority also needs to be established for the projects to have a shot at the President Obama stimulus package money.

Source: John Hertel, transit czar for Metro Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke
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