The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan’s new transportation plan needs money. On the November ballot, voters in Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties will be asked to approve a 20-year property tax millage. Its estimated cost for the average homeowner is about $95 a year.
The millage will pay for new bus rapid transit lines and rail service between Detroit and Ann Arbor. It would also fix what has been a dysfunctional transit system that never really connected the suburban SMART buses with the Detroit Department of Transportation bus system.
Some people in the suburbs, mostly older, are not happy for a variety of reasons, chief of which seems to be not wanting to pay for a bus system they’ll never use. Many younger voters feel differently.
But there are some people who oppose the Regional Transit Authority tax for a very different reason.
Michael Jackman with Metro Times says the RTA doesn’t go far enough, and that it’s short-sighted in its dependence on a Bus Rapid Transit system.
He joined us today.
(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)
