File PhotosM1 Rail co-chair Dan Gilbert and Michigan Gov. Rick SnyderA new Crain’s report says that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is leery of efforts to merge a regional bus rapid transit system with the M1 Rail consortium’s plan for a three-mile downtown streetcar.

Feb. 6, Crain’s Detroit Business: Two sources with knowledge of the situation told Crain’s on the condition of anonymity that Snyder is concerned that the investor group known as M1 Rail cannot build its 3.4-mile line between Hart Plaza and New Center on Woodward Avenue for the $125 million it has advertised.

M1′s plan is to finance the system with private money from its wealthy members and with federal tax breaks and eventually turn it over to a regional transit authority.

Crain’s also reports that the M1 train, to be funded by high-profile investors including Dan Gilbert, Mike Ilitch, and the Kresge Foundation, would be a drain on the BRT authority’s operating budget.

There’s an interesting political dynamic here as Republican Snyder and President Obama’s Department of Transportation are seen as BRT champions while local businessmen, including Mitt Romney’s Michigan finance chair Dan Gilbert, and several high-profile local Democrats like Carl Levin and John Conyers want M1’s plan incorporated into the larger transit strategy.

Whether that interesting political dynamic proves to be relevant or just curious remains to be seen. Metro Detroit’s transit discussion has long seemed less about differing political ideologies and more about a conflict of purpose.

Gilbert and M1 believe that their streetcar system will generate a flurry of economic activity as it “circulates” riders through downtown and Midtown. BRT advocates argue the more comprehensive regional plan, while less sexy, would provide great utility to a larger number of metro Detroit commuters.

Is the primary goal of a transit system to generate economic development or to provide good transportation? Obviously, the answer is a good transportation system provides both. These things aren’t mutually exclusive.

It’s a fact that makes the whole thing that much more maddening. There’s a scarce pot of both

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/55R7wBSpRPs/michigan_governor_rick_snyder.html

As if Gov. Martin O’Malley didn’t have enough opposition to his proposal to apply Maryland’s 6 percent sales tax to purchases of gasoline, he now he faces an insurgency within his own party.

Comptroller Peter Franchot, building on his previous objections to a gas tax increase, will hold what he’s calling an “informational roundtable” on the issue Tuesday in Annapolis.

Ostensibly, the noon event at the Louis L. Goldstein Treasury Building will be an opportunity to “clearly lay out how the Maryland tax on gasoline is regulated and administered” and to answer technical questions.

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  Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/43UUUK6AHzs/bs-md-franchot-gas-tax-20120206,0,2242050.story

Chicago will be able to use automatic speed enforcement cameras
to monitor drivers around the city’s parks and schools and issue up
to $100 tickets to motorists under a law signed Monday by Gov. Pat
Quinn.

Starting in July, cameras may operate on school days from 6 a.m.
to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on
Friday. They also can operate near parks from an hour before
opening to an hour after closing.

Those going 6 mph to 10 mph over the speed limit face $50 fines
and those going 11 mph over would face a $100 fine.

“Safety is paramount when it comes to children,” Quinn said at a
high school school on the city’s South Side. “If we can save lives,
children’s lives in particular, I think that’s a worthy goal.”

Critics, however, have argued such cameras don’t improve safety
and are used to generate big revenue for local governments.

Chicago already has red-light cameras at some intersections.
They brought in $69 million in revenue in 2010, according to the
Chicago Tribune, which analyzed federal data on crashes between
2005 and 2009. It found that of the 251 pedestrian deaths in the
city between 2005 and 2009, less than half occurred in the “safety
zones” and less than one-quarter involved speeding.

Quinn dismissed the criticism, saying his decision was based on
safety.

About one-third of the approximately 405,000 students enrolled
in Chicago Public Schools walk to school, according to district
officials.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel had pushed for the legislation and
called it a good day for Chicago.

“All this requires is that drivers obey the law near schools and
parks to ensure the safety of our kids,” he said in a
statement.

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/AR5ZT5aNbRE/article_bc78e475-36bf-5294-9c0d-6de33a4371f3.html

HONOLULU — Honolulu has received federal approval to spend $185 million to begin building the foundation and pillars along the first segment of the city’s planned commuter rail line.

Hawaii’s congressional delegation in Washington announced Monday the Federal Transit Administration granted Honolulu permission to proceed with advanced construction.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye says moving forward with construction gives Oahu residents an alternative to being stuck in traffic on the island’s congested roadways.

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/2cQU_G_zrDs/

With almost 10 million California residents changing their oil every 3,000 miles or less, state officials said motorists need to rethink their habits as auto technology advances allow vehicles to go farther without maintenance.

“Frequent oil changes do not necessarily mean better performance or longer engine life,” said CalRecycle Director Caroll Mortensen.

Toyota now recommends an oil change every 5,000 miles for a 2005 Tacoma pickup, while General Motors suggests 7,500 miles for its 2007 Chevrolet Malibu.

Mark Oldfield, a CalRecycle spokesman, said the 3,000-mile standard has been ingrained in many motorists’ thinking and is further enhanced when mechanics post the 3,000-mile sticker reminder.

“So many of us have been told since we were old enough to drive that we need to change oil every 3,000 miles,” Oldfield said.

Nationally, 51 percent of vehicle owners said they believe that oil should be changed every 3,000 miles

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/qilDsv1yThI/oil-339096-miles-change.html