The earmarking of $100 million in this year's federal transportation bill has bolstered a proposal for mass transit service between Ann Arbor and Detroit. The money would fund the preliminary engineering and environmental impact statement for the project.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) recently held a series of public meetings regarding the project, which is currently deep into the Alternatives Analysis phase of the federal New Starts project development process. During this time, SEMCOG will gather public input and information to hopefully identify the single Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). The LPA is to be selected through a screening (currently projected for completion the spring of 2006) and then will advance to the preliminary engineering and Environmental Impact Statement portion funded by the recent federal allocation.

The public meetings, held in mid-September in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Dearborn, allowed SEMCOG and the project consultant, the Parsons Transportation Group, to solicit public input on the 13 different alternatives. The options were recently reduced to five proposals, with two Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes, one Light Rapid Transit (LRT) route and two Commuter Rail Transit (CRT) routes being considered.

The proposals under special consideration were chosen based on five key factors: (1) population within one-half mile of proposed stations; (2) employment within one-half mile of proposed stations; (3) travel times; (4) capital costs; and (5) operating and maintenance costs.

"These evaluation categories were chosen out of a set of 20 that were established at public meetings in 2004," said SEMCOG Transportation Coordinator Alex Bourgeau. "They provided us with the biggest differential in examining obvious flaws in the proposals."

The two bus rapid transit options (BRT 5) under consideration would use dedicated transit lanes to operate along Michigan Avenue from Ypsilanti to downtown Detroit, and along Washtenaw Avenue, Jackson Avenue and Huron Street to serve Ann Arbor. It would offer mass transit service using rubber-tired vehicles and provide flexibility because vehicles can operate in dedicated lanes or in general traffic.

The light rail option (LRT 5) would operate on a double-tracked rail line in the median of Huron Street, Washtenaw Avenue and Jackson Avenue from Ypsilanti to Ann Arbor, and on the same type of line along Michigan Avenue from Ypsilanti to downtown Detroit. The system would be an electrically-powered, high-capacity transit service operating on a fixed-guide system.

The first commuter rail (CRT 1) would operate along the existing Norfolk-Southern Michigan line with shuttle service provided to Metro Airport. The second CRT option (CRT 2) would operate on a dedicated double-tracked railroad along Merriman Road to the existing Norfolk-Southern Michigan line to Detroit, while rapid bus service would connect Metro Detroit to Ann Arbor. The commuter rail option is a regional passenger rail service that typically shares railroad mainline tracks with freight operations. In this case, it could provide a cost-effective alternative through the use of the existing Norfolk-Southern Michigan line.

At the end of the Alternative Analysis phase, currently projected for spring of 2006, SEMCOG will select a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for consideration in the Preliminary Engineering and Final Environmental Impact Statement phases.

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SEMCOG and its consultants, the Parsons Transportation Group, are interested in your comments. They want to ensure the project reflects public input and has public support. The office deadline for public comments was October 7, 2005, but the project group is open to receive comments at any time.

If you want to know more details about the specific routes, vehicle types, project background and timeline, visit: http://www.annarbordetroitrapidtransitstudy.com.
Comments can be registered at the web site or sent by mail to:

Carmine Palombo, Director of Transportation Programs
Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
535 Griswold Street, Suite 300
Detroit, MI 48226-3602
palombo@semcog.org or (313) 961-4266