102nd Legislature, Week 44: Road Funding Alternatives, Reps. McFall and Morgan Talk Transit
Rep. McFall and Rep. Morgan Talk Transit on MIRS Monday
On the March 4th episode of MIRS Monday, Samantha Shriber spoke with Rep. Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) and Rep. McFall (D-Hazel Park) on their decision to co-chair a new public transit caucus within the state legislature. In the podcast, McFall discussed a ride-along with fellow advocate and TRU board alum Dave Gifford from Hazel Park into downtown Detroit. Michigan Advance has published the full list of caucus participants .
“One of the challenges I’ve long-seen in Michigan is that we fund transit just enough to exist, but in many cases not well enough to actually be reliable enough for the people who need it.”
– Rep. Morgan on MIRS Monday. Listen to the full conversation (28:44 to 50:30)
Toll Road Study Redux
On Wednesday, March 6th, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation heard a presentation from HNTB, an infrastructure design firm, on the statewide tolling feasibility study and implementation plan. HNTB presented this same information to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in February 2023. The feasibility study has not changed in the past year and is still accepting public comment. As this is a study which requires legislative action to advance, the earliest Michigan would see operating toll roads would be approximately 2029 if it were to be immediately acted upon.
Tolls on portions of existing expressways were studied alongside a Use Charge and other solutions as a means to address an impending road funding shortfall once the current bond program ends.
Bridge Detroit reported on this discussion .
Road Use Charge: Vehicle Miles Traveled
Baruch Fiegenbaum, Senior Managing Director of Transportation Policy at The Reason Foundation, an LA-based public policy nonprofit, gave a brief presentation on road use charges. As revenue from Michigan’s fuel tax is expected to decline due to increased fuel efficiency and a transition away from ICE vehicles, mileage based user fees (MBUFs), or a road charge, are one alternative revenue source. Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia have permanent road charge programs, and more than 30 other states have conducted pilots. Participants in a Michigan pilot would voluntarily opt-in and would be refunded the fuel tax they would normally pay during the duration of the test period.
Fiegenbaum referenced the ongoing Michigan Mobility Wallet challenge grant during his presentation and notes that the survey used by the project has collected information on public sentiment of a road charge.
The Michigan County Road Association gave a similar presentation in Senate Transpo Approp. on Thursday, March 7th.
I have my criticisms of the Mobility Wallet pilot project, namely that it’s a far less straightforward solution than simply accepting tap credit cards and Apple Pay / Google Pay at the farebox — which The Rapid in Grand Rapids and the CTA in Chicago already do — but that’s another discussion.
Keep Right Except to Pass
House Bill 5304 , introduced just prior to adjournment last November, was discussed in the House Committee on Transportation, Mobility, and Infrastructure on Tuesday, March 5th. This bill intends to clarify an existing law which restricts through traffic to the rightmost lane on a roadway. The amended legislation strikes language which enforced this on surface roads by replacing “roadway” with controlled-access freeway and eliminating a now unnecessary carve-out for the streetcar tracks on Woodward. Additionally, semi trucks, truck tractors, and other trucks over 10,000 pounds are restricted to the rightmost two lanes on an expressway (or the right lane on expressways with only two lanes per direction) except when exiting or avoiding a hazard.
If you’ve ever driven on Woodward, Eight Mile, Big Beaver, or any of our other large boulevards in Metro Detroit that have bridges over intersecting roadways and service roads for local traffic, you know that keeping to the right means you’ll end up stuck at traffic lights you’re meant to bypass (think 696 tunnel north of Ferndale by the zoo). The unwritten rules: Left lane is for access to Michigan Left turnbacks and passing, center lanes are for through traffic, right lane is for right turns and driveways only. That’s what everyone does, even if it goes against what’s written in MCL, as it’s better for both traffic flow and pedestrian/cyclist safety to keep as much traffic out of the rightmost lane as possible on these surface streets. HB 5304 limits “keep right except to pass” to expressways to address this.