WALLY - Coming to a City near you...

WALLY, the Washtenaw Livingston Line, is a proposed commuter rail service which would link the Michigan cities of Ann Arbor and Howell, with intermediate stops in Genoa Township, Hamburg Township and Whitmore Lake (Northfield Township). The line will also provide commuters an option that would save the substantial amounts of money should they choose to leave their cars at home. The commuter service is proposed as an alternative to adding a third lane to U.S. 23, which would cost approximately $500 million.

Trains would run daily over a 27 mile stretch of existing tracks owned by the Great Lakes Central Railroad, which has also committed to providing ten stainless-steel bi-level passenger cars. The project has garnered a great deal of support within the area, including from senators, representatives, local units of government, downtown development authorities, chambers of commerce, public and private institutions and many more.

Like other commuter rail services around the country, fares alone will not cover the operational costs, making local, state and federal contributions necessary. In several cases the local support has been in the form of financial commitments. Despite these commitments, federal funds would be needed to help cover the cost of the commuter service, and in order to secure those funds, an authority to govern the service needs to be formed. The Livingston County Board has requested that a viability study be conducted before they commit either to contributing money or to being part of that authority.

The Wally Coalition has selected a consultant to conduct the $150,000 feasibility study, with money pledged by the University of Michigan, the Great Lakes Central Railroad, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), and units of government and DDAs in Washtenaw and Livingston Counties. It is expected that the final report will be complete this spring, and will not only solidify the support of the stakeholders, but will also be given to Representative John Dingell for him to seek financial support for the project.

Having a regional public transit system in southeast Michigan is something that has long been discussed as an important role in remaining economically competitive for decades. In addition to providing commuting options and lessening the pressure to expand existing highways, fixed route transit brings substantial private investment to the area nearby the transit stops and corridor. One of many examples is that of Arlington, Virginia. Arlington’s Rosslyn-Ballston Transit Corridor produces 38.2% of the county’s real estate tax revenue from 7.6% of its land area, and the private investment along the corridor has accounted for the local tax base to increase from $5.2 billion to $27.2 billion since 1980, while allowing the residents to maintain the lowest property tax in the metropolitan region. (Reconnecting America, http://www.railvolution.com/)

This Transit Oriented Development (TOD) could do a great deal for Michigan’s local economy, while encouraging sustainable development patterns. The first rail-based example of transit oriented development for the planned U.S. 23 commuter rail line is proposed for The Whitmore Station, WALLY’s stop at Whitmore Lake. The project will involve the redevelopment of 24 acres of industrial land into a commercial and residential mixed use with the proposed station as the propelling element. This form of development near transit is well known throughout the rest of the country. In these economically bleak times seeing the value of public transit and transit oriented development may very well be a necessary investment in southeast Michigan’s future.