• Provide an overview of the current events regarding public transit.
• Provide a brief overview of TRU and its mission.
• Allow discussion as to why public transit is good for your business and what actions you and your business can participate in to promote it.
• Have an open question and comment session.
• Cover the next steps regarding how we all can help make regional public transit a reality.   

A light breakfast will be provided and there is no cost to you except your time and input. 

If you want additional information or have questions please email business@detriottransit.org or phone 313 549 2299. 

There are several Transit-Oriented Stakeholder Group meetings scheduled this week. The Stakeholder Group represents and advocates for the needs of three major groups of light rail users: residents, employees, and visitors. Stakeholders actively participate in the transit-oriented design (TOD) process by bringing ideas and feedback to the planning process through stakehoders workshops and public open house events. The ultimate goal of the Stakeholder Group is to help build commuity consensus and support for the vision and direction of the TOD process.

Northend/Six Mile to Seven Mile Road stakeholders - Tues., August 3 at 2:00 - 4:00 pm at DDOT office, 1301 East Warren.

Greater Downtown Stakeholders Group - Entertainment / Midtown South on Wed, Aug. 4 from 8:30 am -12:30 pm at the Gem Theater. Patty had circulated the attached invitation and I plan to attend.

For more information, contact Robert Gregory 313-566-8250 or robert_gregory@downtowndetroit.org

St. Clair Shores residents who are 65 years old or older are invited to participate in a Community Outreach Forum. The forum, which is being hosted by TRU and the Regional Elder Mobility Alliance (REMA) is designed to provide seniors with information about transportation services in their community; better understand seniors' unmet transit and mobility needs; and form a group of senior advocates who will work with their community leaders to improve services to this growing population. Join us if you're a senior, want to volunteer or just want to learn more. Contact Ruth Johnson at 313-303-1119 or Ruth@DetroitTransit.org.

MAKING LEED^® NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT

HAPPEN IN YOUR COMMUNITY   

How Planners Can Leverage Its Advantages

After years of phenomenal success with its LEED^® rating systems for buildings, the USGBC has rolled out the new LEED for Neighborhood Development program (LEED ND).  It's now ready to start bringing the advantages of LEED to the community planning process.  The Detroit Regional Chapter has assembled top experts in the field, putting together an intensive one-day interactive forum packed with practical strategies and tools for planners to begin implementing LEED ND in their communities.

Participants - who will include community planners, consultants, government officials, regional organization representatives, and students and faculty - will come away with a solid foundation on the LEED ND rating system, its underlying principles, and the tremendous advantages it can bring to their local communities.  Effective strategies for encouraging and promoting LEED ND developments and streamlining the project approval process will be explored.  All of this will take place in an interactive, inspirational environment where fellow planning professional can contribute their own perspectives and discover what others have learned.

For questions, please contact  Bob Prud'homme    248-765-1761

In an effort to help companies Go Green! Transportation Choices is  getting ready for their 2011 Commuter Challenge. For the month of May commuters are encouraged to select a Green alternative to commute to and from work. 
Please join Transportation Choices on April 13, 2011 for our annual Commuter Challenge Kick off Breakfast!  Here you will learn about your different commuting options and how the challenge works.  Please RSVP by April 7, 2011.

For details on the Kick-off Breakfast Click here.  If you are unable to attend the breakfast but would like to participate in the Commuter Challenge visit www.semcog.org/commuterchallenge.aspx.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 (two hearings)

Considine Little Rock Family Life Center

8904 Woodward Ave, Detroit

Morning Hearing: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Evening Hearing: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 (two hearings)

Wayne County Community College District - Conner at I-94

5901 Conner St., Detroit

Morning Hearing: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Evening Hearing: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 12, 2011 (one hearing)

Roberta Clemente Recreation Center

2631 Bagley, Detroit

Evening Hearing: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 13, 2011 (two hearings)

Northwest Activity Center

18100 Meyers Rd., Detroit

Morning Hearing: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Evening Hearing: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

The Michigan Rail Summit 2011 will be held on October 31, 2011 at the Lansing Center in downtown Lansing from 11:30AM-5:00PM.  Registration, including lunch, for the event is free and required for admission to the Michigan Rail Summit.

Join us from 11:30AM-5:00PM as we explore questions and topics related to Michigan’s rail future. Keynote speaker Governor Rick Snyder will discuss the importance of freight and passenger rail in the state’s economy.

US Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari will present a federal perspective on the need for investment in rail transportation and infrastructure.

-The Business Perspective: Freight and Passenger Rail Expanding Access to Markets

-Michigan's Current Rail System

-21st Century Rail: Linking the Country to the Region to Michigan

-Rail Driven Economic Development

Learn the latest about Detroit area transit, hear from the Governor's Special Advisor on Regional Transit Dennis Schornack, and get involved to fix the system.

Refreshments provided; donations welcome.

Please RSVP to 313-963-8872 or TRUmember@DetroitTransit.org. 

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, PIRGIM, in conjunction with Environment Michigan and The Public Interest Network, is sponsoring an Activist Workshop.

Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Run by experienced trainers from The Public Interest Network Training Center, the training will feature sessions how to plan a campaign and develop your goals, strategies, and tactics and how to recruit more volunteers to your group.  TRU Director Megan Owens (a PIRGIM alumna) will be a special guest trainer.  This is not a TRU event but is open to and may be of interest to TRU members and partners.

The 2012 Michigan Summit will be held May 12, 2012 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing, MI.

Energizing ourselves for change and engaging Michiganders to win victories on the things that matter to them is the focus of the 2012 Michigan Summit.

The arena of civic engagement has never been more promising and exciting as citizens from across the state prepare to address issues such as more and better jobs, corporate power and transparency, workplace freedom, and to end the bigotry of discrimination that stresses families and keeps Michigan from being a welcoming place for all.

At this year’s Michigan Summit, we have an ambitious goal in mind: reaching across movements, geography, race and gender to provide people the skills and the ideas they need to make the American Dream a possibility for all of us in 2012.

People are beginning to understand that inequality doesn’t just happen. Rather, it is a result of our state and national policies and what we choose to invest in as a country. The Occupy movement, newly energized and empowered workers, educators, clean energy advocates and an inspired Michigan human rights community—all of us must be citizen managers.

We’re ready to make it happen. Are you?

Register Here

NOT A TRU EVENT.

Join our partners at the Michigan Suburbs Alliance at an evening of celebration as they recognize a decade of shared success - and look toward our shared future.  $50 per person.  More at www.SuburbsAlliance.org. 

NOT A TRU EVENT.

The Michigan Women’s Power Assembly is for activists, volunteers, community leaders, and anyone else who wants to get involved in making Michigan a better place for women to live. From healthcare to economic opportunity; from environmental justice to reproductive rights; from gender-based violence to education – there is plenty to work on, but working together, we can transform dreams of equality and opportunity into reality.

More at http://www.miwomenspowerassembly.com.

NOT A TRU EVENT.

Join our partners at the Michigan Environmental Council for their 14th annual Environmental Awards Celebration, recognizing former U of M SNRE Dean Rosina Bierbaum and trail activist Blair Miller.  $100 donation recommended.  More at www.EnvironmentalCouncil.org.

The Detroit Complete Streets Coalition is participating in a community event with the Mayor on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 7pm at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center (2 Woodward Ave. Detroit, MI) in the 13th floor auditorium. ALL who care about pedestrian and bicycle mobility NEED TO ATTEND!

The Detroit Complete Streets Coalition is working with many other pedestrian and bicycle advocacy organizations to bring safety, health, wellness and environmental improvements to Detroit residents. The group has submitted a complete streets ordinance to the City's Law Department for review. Now is the time for the community to voice its support for the bill directly to the Mayor. 

If you have any questions, please contact Detroit Complete Streets Coalition Coordinator

Myra Marie Tetteh, MPP at 313-402-7822 or mmtetteh@yahoo.com.

Join Transportation Riders United, MOSES, Michigan Suburbs Alliance, and your friends and neighbors in an interactive dialogue on how to make sure our state’s transportation system can help you and your community get where you want to go – now and in the future.

Have your voice heard as we create a statewide transportation vision and discuss the investments needed to make that vision a reality.

This event is part of a series of Community Forums being held throughout Michigan this summer by the Transportation for Michigan coalition - more at www.Trans4M.org.

• Have your say on how better transportation can improve your life and your community
• Discuss the funding needs to make our shared vision a reality
• Take action to improve our transportation system.

Additional events will follow in Detroit, Ypsilanti, Mt. Clemens and elsewhere in Michigan. Attend the event closest to you if possible, but everyone is invited to any event.

Please RSVP and get more information online, on Facebook, or by calling the TRU office at 313-963-8872. Efforts will be made to address needed accommodations 72 hours in advance to ensure everyone can participate.

We in Michigan have long been innovators in transportation. It’s time to mobilize our communities to rebuild the state’s transportation system around today's needs.

Join TRU, MOSES, Michigan Suburbs Alliance, and your neighbors at one of 15 interactive community forums across Michigan to build a new transportation vision for our state:
• Have your say on how better transportation can improve your life and your community
• Discuss the funding needs to make our shared vision a reality
• Take action to improve our transportation system.

Additional events will follow in Ypsilanti, Mt. Clemens and elsewhere in Michigan. Attend the event closest to you if possible, but everyone is invited to any event.

Please RSVP and get more information online, on Facebook, or by calling the TRU office at 313-963-8872. Efforts will be made to address needed accommodations 72 hours in advance to ensure everyone can participate.

Please join us to meet the candidates who are running to represent your community! Candidates will be asked questions about the future of the City of Detroit in the context of Detroit Works Project Long Term Planning.

Doors open at 6:00pm to meet the candidates. Program is from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

We in Michigan have long been innovators in transportation. It’s time to mobilize our communities to rebuild the state’s transportation system around today's needs.

Join TRU, MOSES, Michigan Suburbs Alliance, and your neighbors at one of 15 interactive community forums across Michigan to build a new transportation vision for our state:
• Have your say on how better transportation can improve your life and your community
• Discuss the funding needs to make our shared vision a reality
• Take action to improve our transportation system.

Additional events will follow in Ypsilanti, Mt. Clemens and elsewhere in Michigan. Attend the event closest to you if possible, but everyone is invited to any event.

Please RSVP and get more information online, on Facebook, or by calling the TRU office at 313-963-8872. Efforts will be made to address needed accommodations 72 hours in advance to ensure everyone can participate.

Which roadmap should the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) follow to address our state's transportation needs through 2035? MDOT seeks your input to help revise its long-range plan, "MI Transportation Plan: Moving Michigan Forward".

The 5:00 to 7:00 pm open houses will feature brief presentations at 5:15 and 6:15.

The draft plan will be available at www.michigan.gov/slrp beginning August 1, 2012 and MDOT will seek public comments on the plan through September 1.

Please call 517-373-9534 for more information.

MDOT and FTA to host open house for Woodward Avenue Streetcar Project

WHAT: The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), is hosting a public open house to discuss the current status of the Woodward Avenue Streetcar Project. The purpose of the meeting is to provide information on the initiation of an environmental assessment (to be completed in 2013) that will analyze potential impacts of the proposed project, a 3.3-mile streetcar line along Woodward Avenue between Downtown and the New Center areas of Detroit. Guests can stop by anytime. There is no formal presentation. WHO: MDOT staff, FTA staff, SEMCOG staff, General Public WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, 3 p.m.-7 p.m.  WHERE: MSU Detroit Center, 3408 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48201 This meeting facility is handicapped accessible. With advance notice of seven days, MDOT can make accommodations for persons with disabilities and/or limited English speaking ability, and persons needing auxiliary aids or services of interpreters, signers, readers, or large print. Please contact Bob Parsons, MDOT, at 517-373-9534, to request accommodations. BACKGROUND: The Woodward Avenue Light Rail Transit Project was to build a 9.3-mile light rail system beginning in downtown Detroit, extending northwest along Woodward Avenue and terminating near 8 Mile Road (M-102) in Detroit. Recently, the project partners decided to pursue a shorter version of the project that will still bring transit improvements to the Woodward Avenue Corridor, a 3.3-mile streetcar line along Woodward Avenue between Downtown and the New Center area. The project will serve 11 curbside stations for nearly the entire length of the route, transitioning to center-running at the north and south ends of the system. The project would support possible future extensions north of the project terminus, including future Regional Rapid Transit. More information is available at www.michigan.gov/mdotstudies. FTA and MDOT will begin a supplemental review of the Woodward Avenue Streetcar Project under the National Environmental Policy Act. FTA intends to prepare, in cooperation with MDOT, an environmental assessment (EA) on this version of the project.

Which roadmap should the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) follow to address our state's transportation needs through 2035? MDOT seeks your input to help revise its long-range plan, "MI Transportation Plan: Moving Michigan Forward".

The 5:00 to 7:00 pm open houses will feature brief presentations at 5:15 and 6:15.

The draft plan will be available at www.michigan.gov/slrp beginning August 1, 2012 and MDOT will seek public comments on the plan through September 1.

Please call 517-373-9534 for more information.

Please join State Rep. Rudy Hobbs (D-Southfield) for a town hall meeting on transportation at the Southfield Public Library, 26300 Evergreen Road in Southfield on Thursday, Aug. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. Experts from the Michigan Department of Transportation, Oakland County Road Commission and Students Reinventing Michigan will answer questions, address concerns and give up-to-date information on what the state is doing to improve infrastructure. Discussion topics include:

·         Misconceptions about roads and road funding

·         How Michigan is different from other states on transportation issues

·         The transportation package and what it means for Southeast Michigan

“Michigan needs to invest in transportation to attract new business and downtown development, compete on a global scale, improve public safety, improve quality of life and save constituents money in the long-run,” Hobbs said. “We invite you to come and learn more about how these issues affect you and your community, as well as what the state is doing to address your concerns and move us into a 21st century economy.”

A brief informational presentation will begin the evening, followed by a question-and-answer session and conversation with the audience.

WHO: State Rep. Rudy Hobbs (D-Southfield); representatives from the Michigan Department of Transportation, Oakland County Road Commission and Students Reinventing Michigan

WHERE: Southfield Public Library
26300 Evergreen Road
Southfield

WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Governor Snyder will be discussing transportation funding in his State of the State address this Wednesday. Learn what the Governor's address really means for Michigan and how transportation funding will play out in 2013. Speakers include Timothy Fischer, Michigan Environmental Council (Trans4M Member) and Dusty Fancher, Midwest Strategy Group.  

Email dans@trans4m.org to register.

Mark your calendar for this exciting and important meeting!

Learn how the RTA was passed and help thank those that made it happen.

Find out what is actually in the new RTA and get your questions answered.

Hear from newly appointed RTA Board members and those who will appoint the rest.

The leadership planning meetings of TRU.  Open to the public, but not designed for public.

The first official RTA Board meeting will be on Wednesday, April 10, at 3:00pm at the SEMCOG offices.

Help us provide a big, public welcome!!  Join friends and allies from across the region in an RTA march and "Birthday Party" to welcome them!

1:30 pm: Meet at Rosa Parks Transit Center, downtown Detroit
2:00 pm: March down Michigan Ave. with banners, balloons and more
2:15 pm: "Birthday Party" press conference, at Michigan and Woodward
3-5 pm: RTA meeting, at the SEMCOG offices, 1001 Woodward Bldg., 14th floor, with public comment opportunity

Get details and RSVP on Facebook.

Join our partners at Trans4M for an exciting day in Lansing meeting with our legislators!

Transportation for Michigan (Trans4M) members and supporters will meet with legislators to educate them on the transportation funding reform and other Trans4M priorities. Legislative background and talking points will be provided.

Join a preview conference call to learn more about the issues and prepare:  Monday, April 15 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at 517.999.0409, code 497786#.

RSVP by April 5!!!