It's back to the drawing board for those who've been working towards a true regional transportation system for Southeast Michigan.
A slim majority of voters across Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties last week rejected the regional transit millage. And it will be two years before the RTA can try again.
Stateside was joined by the President and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, Sandy Baruah, who had been hoping the RTA millage would pass.
“A robust economy requires—it demands—that people have the ability to make money and spend money," said Baruah. "And in order for that to happen, people need to get from point A to point B quickly and efficiently, using multiple modes of transportation.”
And as more people move to dense urban centers, public transit is more often the quick and efficient transportation option: “Allowing the people in dense urban areas to find that mobility access is absolutely critical," said Baruah.
"This is a pretty significant setback," he said of the RTA millage failure.
Listen to the full interview above.
(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)
