Ypsilanti City Council met to discuss the city's transportation plan, resolutions, and more Oct. 19.
The presentation section included a plan for what public transportation in Washtenaw County will look like. The elements of this long-range plan include a fixed route network, regional, park and ride, paratransit, and other services.
TheRide is the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AATA), the public transit provider for the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor areas. Over the last six months, TheRide has been working on its long-range plan for what the next 25 years of transportation will look like. They released a presentation of hypothetical scenarios to understand what the public would like to see more in transportation.
“TheRide 2045 is a long-range plan for the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area,“ Yuval Grinspun, lead consultant for TheRide, said. "It considers the transit network that includes the bus routes and their frequencies, but it will also be looking at new types of transit, infrastructure, technology, and fleet. TheRide would like to increase social equity, access to jobs, education, and housing, help the environment and reduce air pollution, and support existing and new businesses.”
TheRide 2045 long-range plan was started in 2019, but it was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan includes four phases:
- Guidance and establishment of public advisory group
- Analysis of current and future state
- Development of scenarios and public feedback
- Finalization and implementation planning
“The first two phases are done,“ Grinspun said. "Now, we’re in the third phase where we can start to develop auctions or scenarios for the community to react on common thought. The last phase would be to finalize the plan, where we take everything we learn from the third phase... and put it into a realistic, implementable plan."
After the presentation, council members had a chance to address any comments or concerns regarding TheRide 2045 long-range plan. Councilmember Anthony Morgan shares his perceptions on what he has noticed regarding transportation in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.
“I would be remiss if I didn't say this… but to me when I look at the AATA, it's definitely a vessel of transit, but I look at it as a tool that takes resources from Ypsilanti,“ Morgan said. "It appears that Ann Arbor gets the big pot from the services we take into Ann Arbor. It's nice that it appears as the 2045 Plan evolves that the equity is flowing back and forth."
To learn more about TheRide 2045 long-range plan and to take the survey, visit theride.org.
