Comments on: Transit Planning Forum: Saline Edition

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:24:15 +0000

Sorry, I meant to say “citizens outside of Ann Arbor” in the first sentence.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:23:29 +0000

And to expand on that, Washtenaw County government and citizens outside of Washtenaw County do not pay anything for support of AATA, except for the POSA (purchase of service agreements) whereby some areas pay for specific routes. This is a city service bidding to become a regional/county service. If they succeed in a county-wide millage vote, they can become a county-wide service. But the Smart Growth scenario depends on a lavish future Federal and State funding as well. With the current national and state budget and political environments, that seems dubious.

How can the organizers possibly compare Millenium Park (a community-based open space amenity) to a transit proposal? The likelihood of private donations is surely minimal.

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 01:11:24 +0000

Re: [1] “Can anyone tell us what Ann Arbor currently contributes/funds to AATA?”

The roughly 2 mill transportation tax currently levied by the city of Ann Arbor generates about $9 million annually.

By: Faye

Faye — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 22:44:52 +0000

AATA has done an excellent job of seeking input and providing opportunities for interaction. Despite some complaints about service at a previous meeting, I have found it to be the exception rather than the rule when service was not acceptable. I think the drivers do an outstanding job working with the general public and trying to keep us safe.

For Lifeline Plus and Accessible County, the difference of 3 million is relatively small. Based on the presented national averages, the local cost contribution of 16% for either of these is roughly 8 million dollars while the Smart Growth would be on the order of 80 million.

Can anyone tell us what Ann Arbor currently contributes/funds to AATA?

As much as I would love to see and support (yes, even pay more myself to continue to use AATA services), Washtenaw County is looking at a $20 million deficit…are any surrounding counties doing well enough to contribute?

Is there private sector support for this kind of price tag?