We are ...
A citizen organization with a vision and a plan for sustainable, transit-oriented development in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
News
$770, or $9,242 annually.
Your save $600 more per year compared to last year at this time, as the cost of gas has increased nearly $1 per gallon. It's the national average calculated by APTA based on AAA's Daily Fuel Guage Report for 2010-01-11. The cost for Southeast Michigan isn't listed, but other Great Lakes metros are: Pittsburgh $680; Cleveland $803; Minneapolis $824; Chicago $946.
Wake Up Washtenaw White Paper
Wake Up Washtenaw's most complete description of goals is contained in the "White Paper", which has gone through several drafts. The final version (1.0) has been released, and is now available in the Plan Overview section of this site, both as a PDF and as a series of Web pages.
Ann Arbor - Detroit Commuter Rail to receive $3.5M
According to and article in the Detroit News (updated 2009-12-13), the federal Omnibus Spending Bill, now approved by both houses of Congress, includes $3.5 million for the Ann Arbor to Detroit commuter rail project.
This is a great boost, given the highly uncertain funding of the project. Carmine Palombo, SEMCOG's point man for the effort, had been saying that funding would be achieved by "passing the hat" to local jurisdictions and businesses that could benefit from the commuter line.
(Aside: ever wonder why transit is so difficult to fund in the US? The same Detroit News article mentions that $38M was allocated for military construction, more than ten times the commuter rail funding; $28.2M will go to control sea lampreys in the Great Lakes.)
Also noted in the Detroit News article: the bill requires the U.S. Department of Transportation to count private funds for Detroit's light rail project as a match for federal funds, overcoming a legal hurdle to that great effort.
High Speed Rail Funding: $2.5B
A Conference Committee recently approved federal funding of $2.5 billion for high speed rail (HSR) in 2010, according to Midwest High Speed Rail Association's Rick Harnish, and other sources. This is up from the expected $1.2B, thanks to efforts by high speed rail and environmental advocates.
As you probably know, the $8B HSR allocation in ARRA was wildly sought after and proved to be only about 1/8 of the funds requested by states and regions. So $2.5B is still only a drop in the bucket for providing true high speed rail for the US, but it's many times more than has previously been allocated in this country's normal (non-emergency) yearly budget.
Michigan is counting on high speed rail funding to improve the Detroit-Chicago line. Not only will this result in higher speeds to Chicago, but a critical component of the Ann Arbor - Detroit commuter rail proposal is at stake. For decades, there has been a bottleneck for Amtrak at the awkward "Detroit Junction" in southwest Detroit, where Norfolk Southern's Michigan Central line crosses Canadian National's Grand Trunk line. Because of tight curves in the track and freight congestion in the area, passenger trains are restricted to 10 MPH and are often delayed by opposing traffic. Michigan's high speed rail proposal includes reconfiguring Detroit Junction to reduce congestion and increase speed (actually restoring a connection that was removed years ago to save maintenance costs). The increased speed and reliability are essential to making the commuter rail route competitive with highway commuting.
Thanks for making this possible goes to all the members of FourBillion.com, including Transportation for America, of which Wake Up Washtenaw is a member.
Upcoming Events
| Date | Day | Time | Organization | Topic | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-01-09 | Tue | 10:00 | Ann Arbor Transportation Authority | Local Advisory Council | AATA Headquarters Board Room, 2700 S. Industrial, Ann Arbor |
| 2010-02-17 | Wed | 09:30 | WATS Policy Committee | Scio Township Meeting Room, 827 North Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor |
|
| 20109-02-17 | Tue | 18:30 | Ann Arbor Transportation Authority | Board of Directors | AATA Headquarters Board Room, 2700 S. Industrial, Ann Arbor |
| 2010-02-09 | Tue | 15:00 | Ann Arbor Transportation Authority | Planning and Development Committee CANCELED | AATA Headquarters Conference Room, 2700 S. Industrial, Ann Arbor |
| 2010-02-09+ | Tue-Thu | Implementing High-Speed Rail in the United States | International Practicum | Hilton, Chicago | |
| 2010-03-27 | Sat | 09:00-15:00 | Midwest High Speed Rail Association | Annual Meeting | Hotel Allegro, Chicago |
| 2010-10-19+ | Tue-Thu | Rail~Volution 2010 | "Building Livable Communities with Transit" | Portland, Oregon |
The vision ...
We seek to bring together people and enterprises to ...
- Develop communities that are attractive,
- Use the most environmentally friendly technologies,
- Provide meaningful alternatives to automobile transportation,
- Offer a range of housing options,
- Let residents walk to shops, schools, transit, worship, and entertainment,
- ...and make a profit doing it.
What is "transit-oriented development"?
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is an area of compact development, incorporating commercial, residential and professional uses, within walking distance of a major transit stop, that facilitates walking and transit use. The urban design focuses on the pedestrian over the automobile.
What is "sustainable development"?
The simplest, most forceful and practical definition of sustainable development is from the World Commission on Environment and Development (The Brundtland Commission report):
The reasons ...
- Housing development will happen in Washtenaw County. The county is projected to grow by 25,000 residents by the year 2020, even though other parts of Michigan are losing population.
- Sprawl development is not sustainable. It is too costly to the environment, and too costly to residents who must drive to work, shop, and play.
- Gen-Xers and Millenials are disenchanted with suburbia, and want real communities - ones that are kind to the environment.
- Boomers are beginning to retire, are fed up with having to drive everywhere, and are increasingly unable to drive as they age.
- The increasing cost of energy makes more efficient transportation a necessity for many Americans. Rail-based transportation is the most efficient per passenger-mile.
- Michigan needs a new approach to meet the challenges of post-industrial era realities.
- And the increasing cost of energy means "green" enterprises will be the ones that profit most.
The plans ...
Encourage sustainable redevelopment
- Wake more Washtenaw County citizens up to the need to focus most of our development into existing urban areas;
- Inform the people of Washtenaw County about the role of transportation in community growth and the benefits of planning communities around public transit;
- Promote investment in public transit rather than increased investment in automobile-oriented facilities such as parking structures;
- Support efforts to turn decaying strip developments into lively communities that incorporate living space in walking distance from shops, offices, and transit.
Show the way for sustainable new development
- Unite citizens, enterprises, and environmental groups, to ...
- Build a demonstration community,
- Using compact, energy-efficient, and attractive design;
- Sited along an existing railroad running through Ann Arbor,
- Connected by frequent, affordable rail transit to Ann Arbor and surrounding areas,
- To serve as a model of what can be done,
- Using only private, for-profit funding; and,
- Develop similar communities when the first has demonstrated its merits.