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Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit
Top regional leaders reached a deal Tuesday afternoon to salvage the $4.7 billion proposal for an expanded mass regional transit plan across southeast Michigan, officials told the Free Press.
The agreement reopens the door for a proposed 1.2-mill, 20-year transit proposal to go before voters in November.
"I do believe we have something that's going to be satisfactory to all parties," Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said, according to Matt Helms of the Freep. "I do believe we have come up with a legitimate document for voters to decide on."
"It's a huge breakthrough," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson tells The Detroit News.
The two counties' officials had rejected an earlier deal, saying their constituents weren't getting enough services to justify paying for an added transportation tax.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans issued a statement Tuesday night:
After meeting with regional leaders today, I remain hopeful that our citizens will have the opportunity to vote on the RTA millage in November. While there are still minor concerns that must be addressed, our goal is to improve the public transit system in southeast Michigan. The improved public transportation system that the RTA is proposing will build upon the progress that Detroit and Wayne County have made in the past few years, progress that has strengthening our region. With this plan everybody wins. I remain committed to work with regional leaders over the next several days to ensure we get this important issue across the finish line and to the ballot for a November vote.
