Talking Michigan Transportation

Understanding the intricacies of a state's transportation funding can be a daunting task. On this week’s episode of the Talking Michigan Transportation, Bill Hamilton, a policy analyst in the Michigan House Fiscal Agency and transportation luminary, talks about his work. The discussion also includes an overview of Michigan's Transportation Fund (MTF) and the Comprehensive Transportation Fund (CTF), which funds public transportation. Hamilton talks about a report he posted recently that analyzes the CTF in the wake of some additional appropriations. These include a $15 million annual increase in CTF funding for transit and $45 million in federal pandemic relief funds for local bus operations in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. Hamilton explains that most of the public transit funds are appropriated for local bus operating assistance to some 80 agencies across the state. He also discusses the incentives for the agencies to draw down more funds by raising their own revenues through millages or other initiatives. 

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Shane Peck, communications and public involvement director and vice president at WSP, talks about a major study he co-authored examining the most effective way to explain the benefits of transportation.The research identified and tested a broad range of evidence-based themes and presented five key themes:“Transportation that works for everyone improves all our lives.” (Equity)"More reliable transportation makes your commute less stressful.” (Easier Commutes) “Improving transportation means you can get where you need to go - quickly and easily.” (Mobility)“Time spent sitting in traffic is time away from the important things in life.” (Time)“Investing in transportation creates more jobs in your community.” (Jobs)Peck talks about how transportation agencies can capitalize on the research to better explain what they do. 

On Tuesday, Oct. 10, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation enabling Michigan’s first high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on a segment of I-75 in Oakland County. This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with the project manager and an official with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), who offer some national perspective.First, Mark Dubay, the Michigan Department of Transportation project manager on the segment of the Modernize 75 project, which includes the HOV lanes, explains the implementation plans and timeline. Later, Larry Dwyer, program director of operations at AASHTO, talks about the history of managed lanes and successes in other states.Things to know about the I-75 HOV lanes:They will use the left lane in each direction of I-75 between 12 Mile Road and South Boulevard. They will operate as HOV lanes during peak travel times: 6 - 9 a.m. and 3 - 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. During those times, vehicles must have at least two human occupants to legally use the lanes. State and local police will monitor the safe movement of vehicles in the HOV lanes to ensure drivers have the proper number of occupants. Civil infractions will be issued to violators.Motorcycles, transit busses, first responders, and emergency vehicles are exempt from occupant requirements.Outside of those designated weekday hours, the lanes are available for all motorists regardless the number of occupants. Michigan joins more than two dozen other states in opening HOV lanes. This summary of state programs allowing exempt vehicle use of HOV/high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes outlines the various provisions. 

Ryan Mitchell, recently named director of the newly established Office of Major Projects at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), joins the podcast. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) categorizes major projects as those with a price tag of $500 million or more. Mitchell helped establish and refine the alternative delivery and critical project delivery programs of numerous U.S. transportation agencies, including the state transportation departments of Nevada, Texas, Alaska, and Michigan.He explains the various types of alternative delivery of projects and the benefits. Other links and references: Innovative contracting at MDOThttps://www.Michigan.gov/MDOT/Business/Contractors/InnovativeContracting   MDOT’s Modernize 75 projecthttps://www.Modernize75.com/ 

Early in 2022, the Detroit News reported that criminals had taken to the city's freeways to settle arguments with guns and avoid the city's network of high-definition surveillance cameras at gas stations and other locations. Michigan State Police reports show at least two shootings happened every month on Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county freeways in 2021. And that is despite increased police patrols that were launched in response to what officials said was then an unprecedented wave of high-speed violence. First Lt. Michael Shaw of the Michigan State Police joins the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast this week to talk about how license plate readers are being deployed to help. Later, he talks about how excessive speeding continues even as the pandemic subsided and more vehicles returned to the roads. He talked about the increase in speeding and fatal crashes on a previous edition early in the pandemic.  Other relevant links: https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/virginia-supreme-court-sees-through-police-claim-license https://www.dhs.gov/publication/st-automated-license-plate-reader-fact-sheet https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/rise-in-preventable-traffic-crashes-leading-to-spike-in-serious-injuries 

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with John Peracchio, a veteran strategic consultant in the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) sector and automotive industry. Topics include: How concerns about what electric vehicles (EVs) mean to the future of work in the industry. https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1199260328/how-concerns-over-evs-are-driving-the-uaw-towards-a-strikeAnalysts suggesting EV growth cannot be sustained. https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-electric-car-sales-plateau-early-adopters-competition-2023-8 Peracchio’s work with Feonix on technology to provide mobility solutions to all.Movement on legislation to allow for high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in Michigan. After being adopted in the state House in June, a Senate committee heard testimony on Sept. 12, with a vote in the Senate expected next week.

Last week, before tornadoes devastated communities across Michigan, record rainfall overwhelmed drainage systems and tributaries in Wayne County. The highest total was nearly 7.4 inches reported at a station in Belleville, a 24-hour total nearly all of which fell during this event.The deluge also flooded the tunnels at Detroit Metro Airport and closed the McNamara Terminal for several hours. The National Weather Service reported that a record 3.5 inches of rain fell during that period at the airport, the most ever recorded on Aug. 24.On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Hugh McDiarmid Jr., communications director at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, talks about how the combination climate change of more frequent extreme weather events and a loss of wetlands has disrupted the watersheds.Some references:Definition of wetlandshttps://www.epa.gov/wetlands/what-wetlandSoutheast Michigan watershedhttps://therouge.org/about-us/our-watershed/Examining the link between wetland loss and flood damagehttps://www.wisconsinwetlands.org/updates/making-a-case-for-wetlands/Freeways and flooding elsewhere in the countryhttps://fox59.com/news/hundreds-of-drivers-stranded-on-houston-highways-due-to-flooding/ 

Jason Gutting joins the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast this week to talk about his new role as director of MDOT’s Bureau of Field Services. He talks about standards and specifications for paving materials and how MDOT engineers confer with counterparts from across the country; innovations in road building, winter maintenance and operations; and ongoing challenges because of inflation and supply chain pressures since the pandemic began.Gutting was previously the administrator of the Construction Field Services (CFS) division. He also worked in operations and was the construction contracts engineer for CFS as well as the construction engineer and an assistant construction engineer at the MDOT Lansing Transportation Service Center (TSC).Other references in the podcast:Iowa State University’s National Concrete Pavement Technology Centerhttps://cptechcenter.org/Inflation in road buildinghttps://enotrans.org/article/highway-construction-costs-have-risen-50-in-two-years/ MDOT winter road maintenance https://www.Michigan.gov/MDOT/Travel/Safety/Road-Users/Winter-Safety 

On this week’s podcast, Michael J. Coren, the Washington Post’s climate advice columnist, talks about his recent reporting (subscription) on the cost of filling a vehicle’s fuel tank versus charging an electric vehicle (EV) battery. The answer, he explains, is less straightforward than it seems. He writes, “Just calculating the cost of gasoline versus electricity is misleading. Prices vary by charger (and state). Everyone charges differently. Road taxes, rebates and battery efficiency all affect the final calculation.” Other references and links: Finding on tailpipe emissions and EVshttps://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2023/08/07/new_epa_tailpipe_standards_call_electric_vehicle_promises_into_question_970708.html Pew research on Americans’ perceptions of EVshttps://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/13/how-americans-view-electric-vehicles/ Energy Innovation study of the cost to fill uphttps://energyinnovation.org/publication/how-much-does-it-cost-to-fill-up-an-electric-vehicle-vs-a-gas-powered-car/  The early adopter era is over for EVshttps://www.axios.com/2023/08/09/electric-cars-adoption-rates 

This week on the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with two people committed to equity in transportation and access for all. First, Valerie Lefler, founder and executive director of Feonix - Mobility Rising (pronounced like "Phoenix"), talks about what inspires her work and this week’s launch of the Mobility Wallet Pilot Program for veterans. Later, David Bulkowski, executive director of Disability Advocates of Kent County (DAKC), talks about his long career working on the same goals and DAKC’s partnership in the program. Some references in this week's show: News release announcing the Mobility Wallet Pilot Programhttps://www.michigan.gov/mdot/news-outreach/pressreleases/2023/08/03/michigan-mobility-wallet-pilot-program-for-veterans-launches-on-purple-heart-dayDisability Advocates of Kent Countyhttps://www.dakc.us/Feonix - Mobility Risinghttps://feonix.org/team/