Regional Transit in Detroit: An Idea Whose Time Has Not Yet Come

Transit supporters in the Detroit region suffered a setback last week, but the hope is that they've only lost a battle, not the war, for regional transit.

1 minute read

July 24, 2018, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Detroit People Mover

Can you make it more regional? | ellenm1 / flickr

"Regional transit for the Detroit area will have to wait," reports Eric. D Lawrence.

"The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan board bowed Thursday to the reality of divisions between leaders in Macomb and Oakland counties and those in Washtenaw and Wayne counties and the City of Detroit and avoided a vote on whether to send a millage request to the ballot this year," adds Lawrence.

Negotiations for a new millage fee are expected to continue after voters consider a property tax for the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART). "Macomb and Oakland leaders raised concerns about confusion between an RTA vote and that 1-mill property tax measure. But transit supporters called that argument a red herring," according to Lawrence.

The article refers to the $5.4 billion, 20-year Connect Southeast Michigan, which grew out of earlier failed attempts at regional transit. Still, the idea of improving regional transit in and around Detroit will wait.  

Monday, July 23, 2018 in Detroit Free Press

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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