Here is the state supplemental bill (summarized by the Senate Fiscal Agency). [link to .pdf] Please note that the amount is $215 million, not $250 million, for the “road budget”. Only $100 million is for winter damage (not for any other purpose like resurfacing, etc.) and $115 million is for special projects to be determined by Senate and House leadership.

Also, these amounts are not added to the CTF but are standalone allocations to be distributed to road agencies by the existing formula in Act 51.

Perhaps talks about increasing flow to the CTF are happening around some tables but nothing is official. Also, transit funding is limited to 10% of the CTF by the Michigan Constitution. I’m not sure that Mr. Cooper’s comments reflect that reality.

At another level, it illustrates a truth about public transit: one of its purposes is to get OTHER people off the road, so that Big Shooters’ car commutes are easier.

I disagree with the premise of the question. The bus system succeeds when it gives people transportation choices. Later nights and more frequent service will put a dent in the need to drive, but it won’t eliminate it. For me, being able to get home from downtown late at night is the big plus and that will save me maybe 30-50 car trips a year.

Yes, AAATA provides an alternative transportation service for those who don’t have access to a private car, whether by accident or by choice. But does the system in Ann Arbor make it possible to use it continuously and thereby eliminate the car? The expanded system does not really increase that possibility for Ann Arbor users. It primarily extends hours on existing routes while adding more opportunities to commute into the city.

I don’t agree that the state of the roads and transit are tradeoffs for one another. The deficit for the CTF affects all forms of transportation. The Michigan Legislature only just now approved a supplemental bill that failed to do much more than an emergency patch. We need a long-term transportation funding revision, not just in the state, but in the country.

The pothole hotline is 99-HOLES or email to customerservice@a2gov.org.

[link]

The AAATA buses weigh, unloaded, well in excess of 10,000 lbs., but continue to run year-round with no consideration given to the effect this has on the roads. That joke is at the expense of those of us who have had damage-causing collisions with potholes. I just experienced one, in a giant pothole in front of a bus stop on Traver just west of Nixon. What is giant? How about 30″ wide x 65″ long by 8″ deep. This series of pothole lined up exactly with the front and back stop position of the wheels of an AAATA bus stopped at the stop. Cost to me to repair the front-end damage to my truck? $700. There is nothing funny about that, and the lack of concern exhibited by AAATA Staff and Board for the quality of life of others is no laughing matter, either.

Contact me for a picture of the offending pothole, it is really quite remarkable. It was so big as to be indistinguishable from the gravel-strewn roadway, until I went over the edge, that is.