The Ride - Ann Arbor Transportation Authority

PRESS RELEASE

May 10, 2010

TheRide holds Ribbon-Cutting for Grand Opening of Plymouth Road Park & Ride

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (TheRide) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to celebrate the grand opening of its Plymouth Road Park & Ride Lot.

Congressman John Dingell, Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje, TheRide CEO Michael Ford and getDowntown Director Nancy Shore attended and spoke during the ceremony. The lot is located within the US-23/Plymouth Road interchange in Northeast Ann Arbor.

“This new lot allows TheRide to continue its effort to expand transit options for those who commute to and from Ann Arbor while also reducing congestion along the heavily-traveled Plymouth Road corridor. Public transit is about more than just buses; it’s about how we can help people access the services they need,” said Michael Ford, CEO of TheRide.

TheRide’s Route 2 serves the Plymouth Road Park & Ride on weekdays, with trips as frequent as every 10 minutes during peak times.

The lot represents TheRide’s first independently constructed Park & Ride facility and is located on the public right of way owned by the Michigan Department of Transportation. The lot was developed in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the city of Ann Arbor and the Federal Highway Administration.

Construction of the lot was funded entirely through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The total estimated cost was $1.5 million. The Park & Ride lot was designed and constructed by several Michigan-based companies, including D&R Earthmoving of Howell, OHM Engineering of Livonia, Beckett & Raeder of Ann Arbor, Nagle Paving Company of Novi, Rauhorn Electric of Macomb, Goretski Construction Company, Inc. of Milford, Cut-N-Care, Inc. of Wixom, and Huron Sign Company of Ypsilanti.

“This capital project was in the works for AATA before the ARRA, but when the stimulus passed, AATA was able to use roughly $1.5 million in funding to construct the lot. This had a three-fold benefit: It saved $1.2 million in federal formula funds that TheRide will be using to purchase new buses; it freed up the State 20 percent match, or $300,000, to provide matching funds for other transit projects; and most importantly, it allowed local Michigan businesses to save jobs and hire needed workers,” Congressman Dingell said.

The Plymouth Park & Ride Lot will help reduce the impact on our environment, ease congestion in the city of Ann Arbor and more importantly, add to the quality of life for residents in our community,” said John Hieftje, Mayor of Ann Arbor. “Beyond saving on the cost of adding downtown parking, public transit options like this are an increasingly important factor in our quality of life, which is essential to attracting businesses and jobs to the Ann Arbor region.”

Commuters can access the lot directly from Plymouth Road. The lot features 260 free, paved parking spaces and other amenities, including a passenger shelter, lighting, security cameras to provide digital video surveillance, a signalized entrance and exit, and designated areas for passenger drop-off and carpool/vanpool parking, as well as a covered parking area for 20 bicycles.

The lot also features enhanced storm water detention, Ford said, noting that special attention was paid to make sure that the impact of storm water runoff to Fleming Creek would be reduced after the construction of the lot.

“Last year TheRide’s existing park and ride facilities reduced automobile travel on local roads by nearly 1000 vehicles daily. With the opening of the Plymouth Road Park & Ride Lot, commuters have yet another option to make their trips more sustainable and hassle-free,” said Shore.

The latest information on AATA routes, schedules and detours is available at 734.996.0400 and on the AATA Routes and Schedules page.

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority was chartered in 1969 by the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a special-purpose unit of government. TheRide is supported through local, state and federal funds and farebox revenues. TheRide operates 27 public transit routes, paratransit services, carpool/vanpool matching services and other transportation services to facilitate mobility throughout the urban areas of Washtenaw County.

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