SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, announces the appointment of Scott Benson, Detroit City Councilmember, as Chair of the newly formed Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force. Melissa Johnson, Mayor of Chelsea, will serve as Vice Chair. In making the appointments, SEMCOG Chair Phil Weipert, Oakland County Commissioner, noted, “The availability of safe and coordinated walking and biking facilities is an important placemaking and quality-of-life issue in Southeast Michigan. These chairs are personally passionate about safe and connected biking and walking. We’ll look for them to bring that passion to this task force.” In 2019, SEMCOG will update the Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel Plan for Southeast Michigan. A recent SEMCOG video highlights the region’s recent accomplishments. The charge of the task force is to ensure that Southeast Michigan’s bicycle and pedestrian system meets the transportation, quality-of-life, health, and accessibility needs of its residents and visitors, as well as the economic development priorities and goals of the region and local communities. This will be accomplished by: Analyzing the region’s bicycle and pedestrian system – identifying priorities and assessing needs for connectivity, safety, accessibility, health, education and encouragement, and economic impacts.

Establishing interactive maps, benchmarks, and metrics for the region’s bicycle and pedestrian system. These will help prioritize improvements at the local level and measure their impact at a regional scale.

Developing regional context-sensitive planning tools to assist in local implementation.

Developing regional policies and priority actions to be implemented at the local level. A 74-member task force will oversee this process. The task force is comprised of representatives from SEMCOG member counties, communities, and intermediate school districts; road commissions; Michigan Department of Transportation; parks, recreation, and bicycling partners; and citizens. We anticipate up to five task force meetings over the next 12 months, with the first meeting held on February 27. Scott Benson is currently serving his second term as the Councilmember for the City of Detroit’s 3rd District. In the 3rd District, he activates social support resources for more than 97,000 residents. As a member of City Council, he approves the city’s annual $1 billion budget, contracts, and writes and approves city ordinances. He chairs the Public Health and Safety Committee, is vice chair of the Planning and Economic Development Committee, and trustee for the General Retirement System. He established the Senior Task Force to advocate for and identify senior issues. Melissa Johnson has been the Mayor of Chelsea (western Washtenaw County) since 2017, a community of 5,000. Before that, from 2012-2017, she served on the Chelsea City Council. She manages a city budget of $17 million and is striving to collaborate with neighboring communities on quality-of-life issues like parks and greenways. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 2008. She serves on the board of the Chelsea Area Friends for Recreation. -##- SEMCOG is the only organization in Southeast Michigan that brings together all governments to solve

regional challenges and enhance the quality of life for the seven-county region’s 4.7 million people.

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