Tax push for $4.6 billion Detroit area transit plan begins

[marmar]

(The Detroit News) Regional Transit Authority officials on Tuesday are beginning the journey to sell a tax increase to Metro Detroit voters to fund bus rapid transit, a commuter rail line, an airport shuttle service and a universal fare card, among other upgrades to regional transportation options.

The initiatives are part of a $4.6 billion, 20-year master plan to be unveiled at a 10 a.m. news conference at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. RTA officials say the proposed 20-year, 1.2-mill tax to help fund the plan would cost the owner of a $200,000 home about $120 annually.

The plan emphasizes better coordination, reliability and extension of service into unserved areas to supplement the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation and the Detroit Department of Transportation. And it paves the way for the RTA to take over operations of the upcoming QLine streetcar system in 2024.

While acknowledging challenges with tax-fatigued voters who have already approved regional millages for SMART, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Zoo, RTA officials say residents in Washtenaw, Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties will have have better access to jobs and see an economic development boom in return for their investment.

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■ Commuter rail between downtown Ann Arbor and downtown Detroit, with stops in Ypsilanti, Wayne and Dearborn and planned shuttle service to the airport. The 38-mile route would use existing Amtrak lines.

■ Express shuttle service to Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Ann Arbor, downtown Detroit and Macomb and Oakland counties.

■ Region-wide, door-to-door paratransit service for seniors and riders with disabilities.

■ A universal fare card system with state-of-the-art access to all Metro Detroit transit entities.

■ New cross-county connector and commuter express buses providing service across municipal and county lines.

■ New local services for communities with no other transit options, bringing them into the regional network. ..............(more)

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2016/05/31/tax-push-detroit-area-transit-plan-begins/85178220/