WHY IS ANN ARBOR HAVING FITS?
Did you know that The City of Ann Arbor is planning to spend more than $10 million to help the University of Michigan build a parking structure in Fuller Park?
What's going on?
In August, City Council approved the initial steps toward constructing the Fuller Intermodal Transit Station project (FITS), also known as the Fuller Road Station. FITS is a 1000 place five-level parking structure to be built on three acres of Fuller Park, designed to last 75 years and to be able in the future to support an 8 story structure and 1600 spaces. Although a rail station is promised in a hypothetical Phase II, what is actually going to be built is a parking garage.
1. How much will FITS cost?
The City has not released any estimates of the cost of the project, but a memorandum given to the UM Regents on January 21 said that the estimated cost of the parking garage is $46 million. UM will pay 78% of the construction cost, and have control of 78% of the parking spaces. The City will pay 22% of the construction cost ($10.3 million) and, in addition, will pay for an environmental impact study and design work. So, the City will be spending nearly $11 million to help build a parking structure whose primary user will be the University of Michigan.
The City has suggested that there will be a future Phase II, which would include a train station for the proposed Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter line. This argument, that the project is actually to benefit mass transit, is being used to defend the construction of the parking deck.
2. In fact, FITS will not include a train station.
We strongly support rail transit in Ann Arbor. But any potential need for a train station on Fuller Road is many years in the future. A little historical background will help to see this:
In 2006 and 2008, the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) sponsored studies of possible commuter rail in Southeast Michigan. They found that the predicted ridership for Ann Arbor- Detroit Commuter Rail was too small to make it eligible for federal funding. SEMCOG then designed the Ann Arbor-Detroit Commuter Rail "demonstration project", to show that ridership could be higher than the studies suggested. The demonstration project was planned to operate four commuter trains a day, with five stops - at Detroit, Dearborn, a new station near Metro Airport with a connecting bus shuttle, Ypsilanti, and Ann Arbor. The project would run for three years, using the existing rail line belonging to the Norfolk-Southern railroad company, and the existing Amtrak stations. If the three year results show sufficient ridership, the project could then seek federal funding.
A serious difficulty for the Commuter Rail Demonstration Project is that the railway between Detroit and Ann Arbor has heavy freight traffic and cannot support this level of passenger use. The Federal stimulus package earmarked $8.62 billion nationally for high-speed rail, and Michigan, in a joint effort with seven other states, requested $800 million from the stimulus for work on the Pontiac-Chicago route, including elimination of a significant number of conflicts between freight trains and passenger trains on the Detroit-Ann Arbor tracks. However, Michigan received only $40 million, the only part coming to the AA-Detroit Railway project for restoring the Dearborn station. SEMCOG hopes that they will be able to run a few trains for special events only, beginning in October. [Details can be found on the SEMCOG web site: [http://www.semcog.org/TransportationBlog. aspx?id=8803
Any commuter service between Detroit and Ann Arbor will require very large Federal support. SEMCOG estimates that even with good ridership the service will require $8 million/year in subsidies. But federal funding will not be granted until the three- year SEMCOG demonstration project (which now has no start date) shows adequate ridership to justify the support. There will be no need for a rail station on Fuller Road for many years, if ever. FITS has NO rail transit component. "It's a parking garage!"
3. Why is the city paying $10 million for parking spaces it doesn't need?
The City will have the use of 200 spaces in the proposed parking structure if it gets built. But right now there is a 250 space ground level City parking lot on the site in Fuller Park where the parking garage will stand. Why is the City planning to spend $10 million for 238 spaces in a structure, when it has 250 ground level spaces now, for free?
4. There will be ongoing financial costs.
In addition to the $10-11 million capital costs, the City will pay 22% of the operating costs for the garage.
5. The City will lose current revenues from parking leases with the UM.
Right now, UM pays the City $69,000 for M-F daytime use of about 600 parking spaces in Fuller Park. If FITS is ever built, these will be vacated, and the University Will pay only $19,000/year for the use of800 parking spaces in FITS, a City- owned garage sitting on City parkland. This is a loss of $42,000 annually in rental income.
6. It Will increase traffic problems.
FITS will be three shifts, 24 hour/day, parking garage for the UM Medical Center. At least 800 autos will be moving in and out of FITS three times every day Automobile traffic and congestion in the area will be greatly increased. It is strange that a 1000 place parking garage is advertised as helping mass transit!
7. FITS sets a dangerous precedent.
The site of the proposed FITS belongs to the City. It's Public Land. The City's Ordinances allow the construction on Public Land belonging to a park only if the structure serves a park use.
Here's Ann Arbor City Code: CHAPTER 55 ZONING 5210.13. PL public land district.
- Intent. This district is designed to classify publicly-owned uses and land and permit the normal principal and incidental uses required to carry out governmental functions and services.
- Permitted principal uses.
- Outdoor public recreational uses, such as: playgrounds, playfields, golf courses, boating areas, fishing sites, camping sites, parkways and parks. No structure shall be erected or maintained upon dedicated park land which is not customarily incidental to the principal use of the land.
If this project is built, it will set the precedent that the City can build whatever it likes in any of its parks.
The City parks belong to the citizens of Ann Arbor. They were not bought or donated to the City to provide acreage for the construction of a parking structure for the use of some other institution.
In 2008, the Ann Arbor electorate overwhelmingly approved a charter amendment (Section 14.3(b) of the City Charter) requiring a vote on sale of any parkland. Since a long term <30 years°) lease to the UM is equivalent to a gift or sale, the project should be subject to voter approval at a regular election.
FITS is a very bad deal for the city.
Ask the City Council to reconsider their $10M commitment to this unnecessary project.
