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Residents urge more funding for DDOT as committee hears public comment
Summary
Public commenters told the Public Health and Safety Committee that the council should deliver more money and usable plans for Detroit Department of Transportation service; committee leaders said $16,000,000 was placed in the budget but DDOT told the city it could not use that allocation.
Public commenters at the Detroit Public Health and Safety Committee’s meeting pressed elected members to restore funding and service for the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), arguing the city must invest more to make transit usable for seniors, people with disabilities and other residents.
Madam Chair (name not specified), chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee, told callers and the committee that “we did put $16,000,000 in the budget, and we were told by DDOT that they could not use it.” The chair said the DDOT public hearing occurred on 03/17 and that the committee will continue to press for quarterly updates on service.
Why it matters: Commenters said better transit affects residents’ daily access to jobs, medical care and social services. If DDOT cannot accept or use funds the council allocates, advocates said the city needs clearer plans so budgeted money leads to service improvements.
Several callers urged the committee to act. Betty A. Varner, president of the DeSoto Ellsworth Black Association, asked the administration to expand the city’s senior accessibility and repair programs so more seniors and people with disabilities can qualify. “There’s a lot of seniors and people with disabilities that are left out,” she said.
Renard Reshevsky, a District 6 resident and member of Detroit People’s Platform, said the council’s vote to support expanded DDOT funding had not translated into service. “How is it that we had a commitment for nearly 16,000,000 … but when it gets down to the wire, the city council gets cold feet, and then this culture of giving transit as minimal money as possible and expecting the best performance out of it is absolutely insane,” Reshevsky said.
A different caller who identified himself as Mr. Washington (committee staff) disputed the account that council declined to fund DDOT. “The department refused to take the money. Okay? That’s how that went down,” he told the committee, saying the department told the council it did not know how to use the additional $16 million.
Other callers urged more shelters at bus stops, criticized police conduct during a separate incident and pressed for better landlord compliance data. Marguerite Maddox, a caller, emphasized the personal reliance some residents have on transit: “It is the only way that I can get along the city.”
Committee response and next steps: The chair acknowledged the frustration of callers and said the committee will press DDOT for quarterly performance updates. The chair also said the committee will seek at least an additional $2 million to fund shelters at bus stops and will publish the DDOT public hearing recording from 03/17 for residents to review the testimony and departmental responses.
The meeting record shows public comment but no formal committee vote related to DDOT funding during this session. Committee members asked staff to follow up on whether DDOT can accept or deploy the budgeted $16 million and to provide the data the department used to justify its position.
Ending: Residents and advocates told the committee they will continue to press for a “world-class” transit system; the committee said it will continue oversight and quarterly reporting to track whether budgeted dollars are translated into improved service.
