Canton planning staff urges regional transit planning after new state law, proposes local assessment ahead of 2026 millage

Canton Township planning staff told the Planning Commission on March 24 that the master plan will be revised to include a regional public-transit assessment and language about the 2026 transit millage after a recent change in state law.

"House Bill 6,088 was signed by Governor Whitmer, late last year, early this year in which Wayne and Oakland County communities can no longer opt out of a regional transit system," Summer Zelaney, planning staff, said. "So while we were going to be discussing opportunities to engage with SMART or other transit networks, the fact that this millage is coming to a vote in 2026 really puts us on a fast track to look at public transit."

Why it matters: the Planning Commission recommended beefing up the transportation section so Canton can identify optimal stop locations and related infrastructure before outside agencies make placement decisions. Staff said the change in law and the upcoming millage compress the planning timetable and create a need to coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions and regional entities.

Staff said the draft master plan already mentions exploring intra-community options and connections between Canton and the Nankin (Westland) transit service. Zelaney said staff will pursue a regional public-transit assessment with potential partners including SMART, SEMCOG and the RTA and will look for ways to link Canton residents to employment and medical centers across the western Wayne County region. "We're looking at opportunities not only to enhance public transit here in our community and make sure that people can get around as, as easily as they need to, but also looking at it in terms of a regional network," Zelaney said.

The Planning Commission discussed the scope of that assessment. Zelaney said the plan will consider both intra-Canton services (for example, shuttles or micro-transit between neighborhood nodes) and connections into the larger Metro Detroit network. She said staff are already talking with neighboring communities and plan to pursue a coordinated assessment that will identify likely stop locations, pedestrian and bicycle connections, and potential multimodal hubs.

Zelaney also emphasized the goal of shaping how regional providers operate within Canton: "If SMART comes into the community, we want to make sure that we can say we've done a plan, we've done public engagement, we know that this would be a good location here and not have an agency come into our community and say, nope, you have to put it there."

Commission discussion emphasized starting with limited, incremental steps. Zelaney called for including language in the master plan that references the 2026 millage, documents the regional assessment work, and preserves existing services — including paratransit and senior services — while expanding options.

Provenance (selected excerpts from the meeting transcript): topicintro — "So related to public transit, people had a lot of comments related to sidewalk connections..."; topfinish — "Are there any other comments related to public transit or related to transportation?".

Votes at a glance: The meeting recorded three procedural motions that passed unanimously: approval of the Feb. 24 minutes (moved by Commissioner Weber; supported by Commissioner Foster), approval of the March 24 agenda (moved by Commissioner Egenberger; supported by Commissioner Lee), and a motion to adjourn (moved by Commissioner Watkins; supported by Commissioner Foster).