The coalition of groups called on state lawmakers in the joint letter to publicly oppose the I-94 widening project now, before the next phase begins. State and federal agencies are now reviewing a draft environmental impact study and mitigation plan. Other similar-sized cities ranked in the report significantly eased their congestion burden over the same time by investing in transit options. It's a lesson that Michigan's other growing cities would be wise to heed. Public Transit Citizen groups in metropolitan Detroit for years have called for improved transit service to help people out of traffic and on to jobs, doctors' offices, and other places they need to go.
Some new developments show promise.
Metropolitan Detroit's regional planning agency and the Detroit Chamber of Commerce now are actively engaged in developing a regional transit plan and funding options. In addition, passenger rail studies are underway between Detroit and Lansing, and between Detroit and Detroit Metro Airport. We call on state lawmakers to increase transit funding and to order MDOT to hold off on more freeway expansions until public transit initiatives are given a chance to succeed. The Michigan Land Use Institute is an independent, nonprofit research, educational, and service organization founded in 1995. More than 2,200 households, businesses, and organizations have joined the Institute in support of its mission to establish an approach to economic development that strengthens communities, enhances opportunity, and protects Michigan's unmatched natural resources.