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Transit advocates tell committee: let buses use MDOT park-and-ride lots to improve safety and ridership
Summary
SMART and the bill sponsor told lawmakers that allowing transit agencies to use MDOT park-and-ride lots as bus stops would improve safe boarding, expand connections and leverage existing infrastructure; members pressed for clarity on MDOT standards, site suitability and who would pay for ADA or pavement upgrades.
Representative Colazar introduced House Bill 5726 as a narrowly focused change directing the Michigan Department of Transportation to work with local transit providers to allow transit buses to use MDOT park-and-ride and carpool lots for passenger pickup when local agencies and MDOT region offices agree. "It is a very straightforward bill that, I think is just something that from every conversation I've had is pretty common sense," the sponsor said.
Harmony Lloyd, deputy general manager and COO of SMART and board president of the Michigan Public Transit Association, told the committee the change would improve safety, access and ridership with little or no new cost to the state. Lloyd described a Novi example where SMART worked with MDOT to allow bus access to a park-and-ride, and said the arrangement moved passengers off the shoulder and onto an ADA-accessible pad. "We moved almost 30,000 people over the 3 days of the draft on our buses," Lloyd said, noting the approach used facilities already in place rather than requiring new buses or land acquisition.
Members asked how transit agencies gauge demand; Lloyd said agencies use travel patterns, cell-phone data and travel-demand forecasts, and that SMART currently operates one such agreement in Novi and would expand if the legal framework were clear. Representative Brock asked whether MDOT would require new infrastructure and whether the agency would impose new design standards; Lloyd said transit agencies typically would cover the cost of constructing landing pads and ADA-accessible amenities, and in Novi SMART used federal capital dollars to cover a pavement strip requested by MDOT.
Representative Coutts and others raised concerns that MDOT regions currently respond inconsistently and that administrative requirements could make access difficult in practice. Lloyd said MDOT's stance can vary by region and that the bill aims to clarify the rules so transit agencies know when access is permitted. Members noted some park-and-ride lots are too small to turn a large bus and discussed the potential to use underused roadside parks or rest-area-style lots when appropriate.
Support cards were read from the transit association, the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Michigan Environmental Council and SEMCOG. The committee did not take final action on the bill during the hearing.
