Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Receives Transit Master Plan Update

Board also elects new officers

TheRide’s Transit Master Plan project coordinator Michael Benham and master plan consultant Juliet Edmondson of Steer Davies Gleave provided a detailed description of the planning process, which will last from June through February 2011 and include at least 40 public meetings and 24 additional meetings with community organizations representing key interests groups in the county. Meetings will be held throughout Washtenaw County during all stages of the planning process.

“Public transportation is critical to our quality of life and economic well being,” said Michael Ford, CEO of TheRide. “By creating a Transit Master Plan for Washtenaw County, TheRide will help to ensure that our region remains an attractive place to live, work and play – both now and into the future.”

In addition to the feedback received from citizens, the final Transit Master Plan will take into consideration previously developed land-use and transportation plans from local governments throughout Washtenaw County.

Through public visioning meetings and discussion, the plan will set the priorities for transportation services moving forward for the next 30 years and provide strategies to guide the implementation of recommended changes to our current transportation systems.

“This planning process is part of an on-going cycle of continuous improvement that TheRide is committed to,” said Transit Master Plan Project Coordinator Michael Benham. “This plan will be a living, breathing document that will be monitored and adjusted as necessary to ensure that it continues to represent the vision of the community and delivers real benefits.”

The development of the Transit Master Plan will be broken down into the following distinct phases:

I. Vision, Objectives and Evaluation Criteria: The general public and community leaders will be asked to share their vision of what the County should look like in 30 years in terms of the economy, environment and the general quality of life. This helps set the stage for what needs the transit system must address.

II. Transit Audit and Needs Assessment: This phase examines existing transit services and answers the question “How well does the existing system serve today’s transit needs, and how will it help achieve the vision for the future?”

III: Option Sifting, Packaging and Scenario Development: During this phase, ideas for options for improving the system are gathered from plan stakeholders, evaluated, and assembled into “scenarios”, i.e. sets of options that logically belong together.

IV. Developing the Emerging Preferred Scenario: The intent of this phase is to arrive at the “best” scenario, based on technical analysis and the expressed preferences of community leaders and citizens involved in the planning process.

V. Transit Master Plan: The Transit Master Plan is created based on public input during the previous phase. The plan may be based on a selected “preferred” scenario, or it may be a “hybrid” based on more than one scenario.

VI. Funding Opportunities and Implementation Plan: In this phase, the options for funding the preferred scenario are identified and analyzed. In addition, the detailed steps needed to implement plan recommendations are also described.

To help provide up-to-date information about the Transit Master Plan, TheRide has created a separate website for the initiative – MovingYouForward.org – where the public will be able to learn about upcoming meetings, take a survey or learn about different modes of public transit.

TheRide’s board of directors also took time at their meeting to elect its new officers. The board selected Jesse Bernstein to serve as board chair and Sue McCormick as its treasurer. Each will serve a one year term.

“With the Transit Master Plan kicking off, it’s truly an honor to serve as TheRide’s chairman of the board in such a pivotal time,” said Bernstein. “I look forward to maintaining TheRide’s outstanding reputation as Washtenaw County’s leading public transportation provider.”

Outgoing board members Paul Ajegba and Ted Annis were also recognized during the meeting. Ajegba was appointed to the AATA board of directors in 2004, while Annis was appointed to the board in 2005. During their terms both served in various leadership capacities. Ajegba held roles as board chair, treasurer, chair of the Executive Search Committee and guided the restructuring of the AATA board committees. Annis served as treasurer, chair of the Planning and Development Committee and chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.

“On behalf of the AATA board of directors, I would like to thank former board members Ajegba and Annis for their leadership and service to AATA and the community,” said acting board chair Charles Griffith. “They should feel pride in knowing that their countless hours of devotion have left this organization in better standing than when they first joined this board.”

The latest information on AATA routes, schedules and detours is available at 734.996.0400 and on the AATA Routes and Schedules page.