102nd Legislature, Week 7: The Senate Talks Transit
The Laker Line at Grand Valley State University in 2022.
Summary
On Tuesday, February 21st, the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure heard a presentation from Zach Kolodin , Director of the Michigan Infrastructure Office. Following his presentation, Sen. Chang (D-Detroit) asked Kolodin to discuss how federal funding for transit might be accessed.
Of note is the Capital Investment Grants program from the Federal Transit Administration, which provides funding for projects deemed to be of “medium quality” or better. Southeast Michigan hasn’t met this standard, but Grand Rapids has successfully received funding from this program for the construction of the Laker Line , one of Michigan’s only transit routes that approaches the standards of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Kolodin notes we can use their approach as a model.
The recording of the full 40-minute session is available on Senate TV .
Tweets
Correction to original Twitter thread: Senator Geiss no longer represents Van Buren Township. Following the 2022 redistricting efforts, she now represents the 1st Senate District which includes Ecorse, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, River Rouge, and parts of Allen Park, Detroit, and Taylor. Van Buren Township is currently part of the 4th Senate District, represented by Senator Camilleri. Apologies for the error!
Corey (@coreyjrowe)
February 22, 2023 • 5:33 amHouse Appropriations has been cancelled again, likely due to weather. But the Senate presentation sparked a discussion about transit and inter-city rail that was so long I'll have to cut it down. I think the state legislature has finally been bitten by the bug! #MILegTransit
On Tuesday, Senate Transpo/Infra heard a presentation from Zachary Kolodin, Director of the Michigan Infrastructure Office. Senator Chang asked for an explanation of increases in federal funding. +$66B for rail, +34B for buses. Video trimmed for time. View original Tweet
Kolodin also expanded upon a cross-state rail study, mentioning connections to Grand Rapids and Toledo. So far only Grand Rapids has received Capital Investment Grant funds from the FTA, which requires projects of "medium quality" or better. Southeast Michigan hasn't met this standard. View original Tweet
Senator Geiss expressed an interest in exploring transit options outside rail, including buses, in light of the ongoing derailment disaster in Ohio. View original Tweet
State legislators joined TRU for Transit Tuesday!
February 22, 2023 • 7:39 amTransit Riders (TRU) (@DetroitTransit)
February 21, 2023 • 11:12 pmState Representative Regina Weiss joins us.
"Reach out to your own reps and senators and start there." Phone calls, emails, and postcards all help. "It's more about, I would say, quantity."
More contact makes more reps pay attention. 10, 20, 30 people reaching out gets attn