Wayne County holds much of the industrial capital of Michigan.   We look forward to helping Wayne County expand it's services to its business and residential communities.

Below is a link to the Economic Development website for Wayne County.

Also, feel free to click here to see our proposed Detroit Loop to serve as a traffic hub in the downtown area.

Click here to see the Organization and Management Grid for a part of the WCED:

According to the published Wayne County Economic Development Goals and Objectives on transportation the following has been recorded:

C. Transportation and Infrastructure
The relationship between transportation and infrastructure and economic development is significant in that development cannot occur without a sufficient transportation and infrastructure network. Transportation and infrastructure serve as essential means to achieve economic development goals and objectives.

Automobile transportation is clearly the preferred source of transportation by the majority of residents in Wayne County, primarily due to the insufficient public transportation system that reinforces auto travel. Reliable mass transit is frequently recommended as a means to encourage greater economic development opportunities, and to transport employees from the city to employment centers located far from the city. Similarly, visitors to the city are restricted unless private transportation can be arranged.

The County will, during the next five years, work to meet the following transportation and infrastructure objectives:

1. Create a transportation system that connects disadvantaged individuals living in urban areas to employment centers in inaccessible suburban areas.

The Detroit Metropolitan Area, similar to most large urban areas, suffers from a spatial, or geographic, mismatch between available jobs and unemployed populations. Integral to reviving the local economy and reducing unemployment is providing resources to remove this gap or mismatch. The reinstituting of jobs in the inner city area is one method, although the provision of transportation programs to bring people to the jobs in another critical method. In a city where public transportation is largely insufficient, more directed transportation alternatives must be established to connect people to jobs in low density suburban areas.

New programs such as the TEA-21 and Access to Jobs provide a major link that can overcome spatial mismatch between the location of unemployed individuals and the available jobs. The purpose of Access to Jobs is to bridge this location gap by providing transportation opportunities for poor, inner-city residents. One example of how this program could be used is in conjunction with the County's Airport Area Development Plan. Thousands of new service and other low-skilled jobs will result from this development Special effort should be made to establish an Access to Jobs program to link unemployed residents of the county's distressed communities to the expanded airport area job center.

2. Fully utilize rail as a tool to facilitate the timely movement of passengers, cargo and freight.

The introduction of light rail into Wayne County along high-density corridors has been consistently identified as a necessary element to generate economic activity and establish a world-class city and county. It is anticipated that a light rail system will uplift the status of the area, and play a vital role as a reliable system to link people with jobs.

The role of heavy rail in facilitating trade opportunities between the US and Canada can also be expanded. With the Greater Detroit Foreign Trade Zones and the proposed Intermodal station in Southwest Detroit, room for growth in this area is certain.

3. Maintain and improve the condition of surface roads to facilitate economic development.

A key factor to business location decisions is the quality of primary and secondary roads within a national or global transportation network. Consistently maintained and improved roads thus serve as a prerequisite to economic development opportunities. A number of road projects have been identified for economic development purposes including the construction of a ring road to serve the Airport Area Development Project. An equally critical economic development issue the County must consider is the importance of protecting neighborhoods from the encroachment of new roads and industry into residential areas. While it is often necessary to make road improvements to clinch new business, actions must be taken to protect neighborhood safety and vitality.

4. Rebuild aging infrastructure in Wayne County to accommodate the expansion of the economic base and to assure the quality provision of public utilities to businesses and residents.

Directly tied to the economic revitalization of distressed communities are the condition and capacity of the infrastructure systems. Older cites and suburbs naturally have older, and usually deteriorated and outdated water and sewerage systems. In addition to upgrading the most deteriorated infrastructure systems, it is imperative to take preventative measures countywide to insure that all systems will meet the needs into the future.

5. Examine and support a Public transportation systems for Southeast Michigan.

The metropolitan area road system continues to become more congested. Each Expansion of the area's road network needs to be examined using public transportation as an alternative. As costs and congestion expand, the public transportation option becomes more feasible.