Mass Transit Inches Forward

Road builders and their friends in the Wayne and Oakland County Road Commissions appear to be the winners in the latest mass-transit funding development as Governor William Milliken and a number of Michigan State legislators signed an agreement last week pledging their support for a SEMTA aid bill which has been stalled in the House since the summer (Sun, Sept. 24).

The bill, which is expected to come before the House for a decisive vote this week, will raise the $12.5 million needed to qualify SEMTA for some $500 million in federal matching funds. SEMTA will then begin to implement a comprehensive mass-transit plan for southeastern Michigan which may or may not include a subway system in the city of Detroit.

The agreement was signed by the governor and the leaders of both parties in the House but has no legal force. It commits the bi-partisan group to support the SEMTA bill and to make "an all-out effort" in behalf of a state-wide "total transportation" package this fall.

The full text of the agreement reads: "We the undersigned agree to move immediately to pass legislation to raise local funds and restructure SEMTA to enable southeastern Michigan to qualify for major federal dollars, and further commit ourselves to make an all-out effort to pass a total transportation package before the end of the 1976 calendar year to meet transportation needs, especially new road and street funding."

The final phrase represents a major victory for the road and highway interests who have been lobbying through the Michigan Forum for Balanced Transportation to insure that any mass-transit system built in southeastern Michigan will continue to focus on street and highway construction.

Signers of the agreement were SEMTA bill sponsors William Ryan (D-Detroit) and David Plawecki (D-Dearborn Heights); House Speaker Bobby Crim (D-Davison); House Minority Leader Dennis Cawthorne (R-Manistee); Senate Majority Leader William Fitzgerald (D-Detroit) and Senate Minority Leader Robert Davis (R-Gaylord) as well as the governor.