Detroit Evening Report: Detroit awarded $25M grant to improve bus safety, accessibility
The City of Dearborn will also receive a $24.8 million SS4A grant to fund a road diet project on Warren Avenue.
Photo of a DDOT bus in Detroit, Mich in 2022.
The City of Detroit received $24.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation this week to improve safety and bus stop accessibility throughout the city.
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Detroit has one of the highest traffic fatality rates in the country. The funding — sourced from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 385 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants — will support road safety and bus stop accessibility projects at 56 high-crash intersections served by the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus service.
Improvements will include building transit islands for safer transfers between routes, sidewalk widening, high-visibility crosswalks, intersection lighting, signal timing improvements and updated curb ramps in compliance with the American Disabilities Act. The funding will also be used to support a Level of Traffic Stress analysis to address gaps in bicyclist/pedestrian networks, as well as to update the city’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, and pilot training for DDOT bus operators to ensure safe operations around people walking and biking.
Mitch Landrieu, senior advisor to the president and infrastructure implementation coordinator, Mitch Landrieu, said this is an important investment in the community.
“I’ll like to start off with a big picture here: the President believes that when we invest in America, when we invest in people, there is literally nothing that we can’t do,” he said. “We are specifically investing in communities to help them build safer infrastructure.”
The City of Dearborn is also receiving a $24.8 million SS4A grant to fund a road diet project on Warren Avenue.
Other headlines for Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023:
- Gov. Whitmer unveiled a “MI Vehicle Rebate” plan this week in an effort to boost vehicle sales in the state and lower vehicle prices.
- Whitmer also recently appointed Bishop Bonnie Perry to represent welcoming religious institutions on the state’s first LGBTQ+ Commission.
- The Fisher Building in Detroit is hosting a pop-up holiday market on Saturday, Dec. 16, along with free tours and performances of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” Friday and Saturday.
- The Blackbird Gallery in Farmington Hills continues its A Fine Arts Holiday Market through Friday, Dec. 15.
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