After several weeks of sustained public pressure directed toward city planning commission, city council and the DDOT leadership, the Detroit People’s Platform Transit Justice Team WON a public hearing and equity analysis for the proposed relocation of the State Fairgrounds Transit Center, as required by Title VI Civil Rights law.
Title VI is intended to protect Black and people of color riders from service changes and changes to transit infrastructure like locations and facility changes that may appear to be neutral in nature but may in fact have a disparate impact on transit services to the community.
The public hearing scheduled for November 13th will allow bus riders to review the plans for the proposed new transit center and give input. The equity analysis will determine if the relocation and service changes will have a disparate impact on the city’s nearly 30K bus riders who according to DDOT travel thru the current State Fairground transit center on a weekly basis.
Jacqueline Austin, a long time member of the Detroit People’ Platform Transit Justice, team raised concerns at a recent city council committee meeting advocating that the needs of bus riders and especially those of the ADA community be taken into account. Renard Monczunski, organizer for the Transit Justice team, is calling on DDOT bus riders who utilize that center to attend the upcoming public hearing. “ It’s time we essential bus riders, those who depend on DDOT as our primary means of transportation, to have our voices heard. We use the system and we have the knowledge and experience to provide useful and critical input in this process.”