Please join the Birmingham-Bloomfield Democratic Club at our next meeting, on Thursday, May 19th at 7:00pm at the Bloomfield Township Public Library, 1099 Lone Pine Road off of Telegraph.
Our guest speaker this month will be Marie Donigan, Transit Projects Coordinator for the Harriet Tubman Center:
Connecting S.E. Michigan: The Need for Modern, Coordinated Regional Transit
Regional transit is an essential element of any region's economy. Improved mass transit in Southeastern Michigan can help the economy by getting people to jobs and college and would eventually succeed in winning a tax increase if the public is shown its true value. One of the most serious challenges to growth in our region is that its job sprawl is among the worst in the top 100 metro regions in the country. More and improved transit options can alter that. With the 2012 creation of the Regional Transit Authority, the pieces are beginning to fall into place, but funding and expansion are crucial.
Marie Donigan has a Masters of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She served three terms (2005 - 2010) in the Michigan House of Representatives where she worked on the development of good transportation policy with a focus on public transit. She formed and chaired the Subcommittee on Public Transit and was recognized by many organizations for her work. As chair of the Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs Committee Ms. Donigan developed and championed legislation to establish a Regional Transit Authority for Southeast Michigan.
Since being term-limited from the Legislature Marie has worked as a consultant and advocate on a variety of projects. Since March, 2014 she has been the Transit Projects Coordinator for the Detroit-based Harriet Tubman Center. Marie spent twenty years in local government as a Royal Oak City Commissioner and a staff member with the Farmington Hills Department of Planning and Community Development.
Candidates for office in the Birmingham-Bloomfield area are also invited to attend to introduce themselves.
Further information is available by phoning Matthew Lund, president of the Birmingham-Bloomfield Democratic Club at 248-359-7300, or through the club’s website at http://bbdems.org. Lund invites the attendance of community residents interested in current issues.