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Council trims $16M DDOT request to $2M for bus shelters and asks for a deployment plan
Summary
Councilors reduced a proposed $16 million supplemental for DDOT to $2 million for citywide shelter/amenity priorities, approved adding the $2 million to the closing resolution and asked DDOT for an inventory, timeline and equity analysis before further spending.
Detroit City Councilors moved on a reduced request for Detroit Department of Transportation funding after hearing administration and DDOT officials describe implementation constraints.
Council members had discussed an additional $16 million for DDOT to accelerate service improvements and shelters. DDOT Director Scott Kramer told the council that the department's proposed budget already included a large supplemental and that an extra $16 million could not be deployed immediately because buses take years to procure and the agency has a staged service plan. "Buses take about 2 years to be delivered," Kramer said, adding that the budgeted increase would allow hiring drivers and phased service growth.
Council Member Santiago Romero pressed for more shelter funding and accessibility amenities and urged a plan to expand shelters and benches citywide. "If this grant is gonna cover 50% new and replace the other 50, we still have a large gap," Romero said, stressing shelters' role in rider safety and comfort.
After discussion, councilors reduced the $16 million request to $2 million, made the $2 million citywide, and approved adding the reduced item to the closing resolution for follow-up. The reduced amount was described by councilors as seed money to address immediate shelter gaps and to support planning (site inventory, Title VI equity review, and a list of long-wait locations needing benches or shelters).
Council directed DDOT to supply a more detailed inventory of existing shelters and bench amenities, a list of proposed shelter installations covered by existing grants, a timeline for deployment, and an explanation of how federal requirements (including Title VI equity review) shape site selection. Kramer said the city already has funding to add roughly 100 shelters next fiscal year through grant sources and that the department is assembling site-selection materials.
The council also asked the administration to report whether any small, faster-deployable amenities (benches, solar lighting, transit information tablets) could be advanced while larger shelter installations proceed through permitting and accessibility reviews.
Action taken: council reduced the proposed $16 million supplemental request to $2 million for DDOT bus-stop amenities, added the item to the council's closing resolution, and directed DDOT and the CFO to return with an inventory and deployment plan.
