Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit Free Press

A plan to bring regional transportation to southeast Michigan will now go to the voters.

After a near-death experience last month for the plan, it got new life this week when the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan at a special board meeting in Detroit Thursday agreed to place the plan on the November ballot.

After the unanimous vote Thursday, RTA Board Chair Paul Hillegonds said the plan would "change this region forever for the better. ... This is a monumental day for us."

John Waterman, founder of an Ypsilanti-based nonprofit, was one of several people who spoke at the meeting to urge the board's support. Waterman's group, PEAC, helps those with disabilities use transit, and he said after the vote that if the board had failed again to move the measure forward "we might lose transit for another generation."

"Today, we saw a region that's had a history of distrust that's come together at the last minute ... to improve the lives of people with disabilities," Waterman said.

The RTA had failed last month to muster enough votes to put the $4.7-billion, 20-year plan before voters after officials in Oakland and Macomb counties raised concerns. After an outpouring of calls from transit advocates and the business community, regional leaders met on Tuesday and hammered out a deal to save the plan.

The deal set the stage for the creation of a funding allocation committee to review major decisions affecting revenue allocation and changes to the master plan. The committee will include one member from each county — Macomb, Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw — and the City of Detroit. All issues that go before the committee must have unanimous support in order to take affect, meaning it will only take one of the five members to reject any proposed plan. The creation of that committee was also approved at the board meeting.

Other parts of the deal involve pushing the date that the RTA assumes responsibility for Detroit's QLINE rail system from 2024 to 2027, and allowing Oakland County to shift a "substantial" part of its allocation to paratransit and on-demand services in the northern part of the county.

Officials have praised the effort to bring what they call consensus to major board decisions through the formation of the committee, but at least one transit advocate warned that it could have adverse consequences down the road.

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Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United, said a regional transit plan is something the region has needed and she is pleased voters will have the chance to decide on it. But she warned that the structure of the committee might not be in the best interest of the region.

"This change ... is a step backwards, allowing every county and the city to look parochially," she said during a committee meeting before the full board vote. "Every future decision will have to be subject to a veto from any of the bodies."

That concern was echoed by the two Washtenaw County representatives to the 10-member board — Alma Wheeler Smith and Elisabeth Gerber — although both offered their support in order to move the ballot measure forward.

After the vote, Owens focused on what she and other transit advocates consider a significant step for the region.

"The people of this four-county region have never (before) had a chance to say, 'I'm willing to invest in regional transit,'" she said, noting that voters have shown their support for area transit agencies, such as the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation.

The plan, which will include bus rapid transit, expanded standard bus service as well as express routes to Detroit Metro Airport and a commuter rail line connecting Detroit and Ann Arbor, is expected to cost the average homeowner about $95 per year if approved. Despite legal requirements that mandated support from each county before the 1.2-mill property tax measure could go to voters, the decision in November will be based on a majority of the total votes in the four counties as well as the City of Detroit.

RTA CEO Michael Ford noted as he has many times before that the region trails most others in what it spends on transit and that better transit can improve the quality of life for a wide range of people.

"The plan is a solid plan that addresses many components of transportation. Even those who don’t use it will see a benefit from this as well. So we’re excited, and we want to bring it home," Ford said of an effort that will now shift to a focus on seeking voter support.

Others from across the region also weighed in by issuing formal statements:

Michigan Environmental Council President Chris Kolb said that as a Washtenaw County resident he looks forward to voting in favor of the proposal and would encourage his neighbors to do the same.

Gov. Rick Snyder touted the expected benefits of the plan.

“The Regional Transit Authority is about getting people to jobs and making sure seniors and those with disabilities can live independently. It's also about growing our economy to benefit everyone. I had a chance to speak with regional leaders about the importance of the plan and I want to thank them for coming together and reaching an agreement for the good of southeast Michigan. Regional transit is vital to this region and to our entire state. I look forward to future steps being taken to ensure Michiganders have solid access to transportation across the state."

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said the vote moves "our region towards a world-class regional transit system" and residents would get to decide whether their communities deserve a significantly improved transportation system.

"... This is an important decision for the citizens of this region. They will have to ask themselves a question: Should we join virtually every other urban area in the country in recognizing the importance of an efficient and effective public transportation system? Wayne County, along with the City of Detroit and Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties worked together diligently to assure equality and fairness in the services provided by the system and to protect the taxpayers."

In addition to noting the collaboration of other regional leaders, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel praised the work of his county's RTA representatives, Roy Rose and Don Morandini.

“They have helped drive a master plan and solution that is truly regional and a fair structure to put before voters,” Hackel said.

In a reference to the concerns that stalled the RTA's effort last month to approve the ballot measure, the release from Hackel's office said that "after a thorough analysis of the Regional Transit Authority Plan, both Macomb representatives requested a change in how funding decisions were made before putting the issue before voters on the November ballot. This request originated from their concern that the Regional Transit Plan could not be implemented if all communities on the RTA board were not represented in funding allocations."

Despite the movement forward on the ballot measure, neither Hackel nor Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson plan to advocate for it, saying that it will be up to voters to decide its fate.

Hillegonds, the RTA board chair, said after Thursday's meeting that he does not believe their positions would be taken by voters as opposition.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.