Title
Resolution to Withdraw from the New Act 196 Public Transportation Authority, to Terminate the 4-Party Agreement between the City, AATA, Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County, and to Continue Discussion of Expanded Transit Among Urban Core Communities
Memorandum
The option of expanding transit service (bus, van, etc.) to an extended area of the County has been discussed by political leaders, business leaders, and community members for many years. In 2009 the Board of Directors of AATA embarked on an effort to engage many different voices in Washtenaw County to determine whether there was support for creating an expanded service area and plan within the county. This effort involved over 100 community (public) meetings, extensive surveys, and meetings with elected and appointed officials from every township and municipality.
Many residents of Washtenaw County supported the of increased mass transit options - options that would be available to all residents from four corners of the County - Augusta to Lyndon, Salem to Manchester townships and all points in between. But there were always questions - how much would this plan cost, who would pay for it, how would it be paid for and - most important in many minds - who would decide.
Those who supported the increased transit plan pointed to the benefits to Washtenaw County’s (and Ann Arbor’s) increasingly aged population. A good transit system could help people stay in their homes and still shop, get to the doctor, and get to entertainment. An improved transit system - one that ran more frequently for longer hours - would allow a variety of county residents the option (and not the necessity) of owning and maintaining a car. The number of jobs in Ann Arbor and the county would continue to increase, but the demands on the infrastructure would decrease (the city and the university, for instance, might be able to avoid building more parking structures).
Voices in opposition spoke to the plan’s framework as developed ...
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