Proposal 1: Get the Facts Before You Vote

Why is Proposal 1 critical?

The result? Dangerous potholes, crumbling pavement and plywood on bridges.    The video at the left tells the story but it is no surprise that Michigan's roads are worse than our neighbors when you consider this:  MI spends 70% less per mile or $2 billion less than the Great Lakes average. 1 in 3 MI roads are in poor condition.  1 out of 9 MI bridges is considered "structurally deficient" by the Federal Highway Administration.

Michigan's bad roads aren't just an inconvenience - they threaten the safety of our employees, our families and our businesses.  We all rely on good roads to get to our destinations safely and our products to our customers. The collapsing condition is evident all over the state, whether it's massive potholes in the Upper Peninsula, buckling pavement in Oakland County or crumbling overpasses in Grand Rapids. 

Michigan's bad roads hit our pocketbooks, too. The average Michigan driver pays $539 more in extra costs each year because of damaged rims, tires and struts caused by bad roads.  

So what, specifically, does Proposal 1 do? 

Proposal 1 has three strong guarantees:

Proposal 1 has a broad coalition   

A broad coalition of public safety, business, education and policy leaders believe that Proposal 1 is good for Michigan because these changes add up to safer roads and stronger schools.  

Editorial: Vote Yes on Prop 1

The Detroit News | April 2, 2015

For 30 years Michigan has reneged on its responsibility to maintain its basic infrastructure. Instead of providing adequate funding to keep its roads and bridges in good condition, the state pushed off critical transportation investments to the next generation. The bill is past due. Without a huge infusion of new funds, already dangerous roads and bridges will become deadly. Read more. . .

Vote yes on Proposal 1 for better Michigan roads, schools and cities

Mlive | April 2, 2015 

Michigan needs at least $1.2 billion per year to address its steadily deteriorating roads. Some experts say we need as much as $2 billion per year. The situation requires new revenue, and we need it yesterday. Voters must pass Proposal 1 on May 5. Failure to do so will have harmful consequences for schools, cities and our state's economy -- not to mention your car and yes, potentially your safety. Read more. . .

Editorial: Passing Proposal 1 is best for Michigan

Lansing State Journal | March 28, 2015 

"Taxpayers don't like to hear it, but it's usually true: We get the roads we pay for." Those words appeared in this space on March 1, 2006 and are still true today. Yet the state's gas and diesel taxes remain unchanged from 1997 levels. As for the roads, a December report from The Road Information Project rated 41% of mid-Michigan roads as poor or mediocre. More jarring, TRIP says driving on deteriorated roads costs Michigan motorists $3.8 billion annually - an average of $539 per driver.  So while many are leery of increased taxes and the May 5 vote on Proposal 1, the simple truth is that Michiganders will pay whether they pass Prop 1 or not. Indeed, they likely will pay more by rejecting it, because delayed repairs will mean higher costs.  Proposal 1 is not perfect. But it will move the state forward after years of inertia. Read more. . .

Vote yes on Proposal 1

The  Detroit Free Press | March 15, 2015  

You might imagine that the state legislators who designed Proposal 1 set out to create a road-funding mechanism so complicated that no voter could understand it, much less support it. But when you unpack all its moving parts, there's nothing sinister or scary in the ballot question voters will confront May 5.  

Approval of Proposal 1 could bring extra $5M annually to Ann Arbor streets

The Ann Arbor News | March 16, 2015

The council went on record voicing support for Proposal 1 on the May 5 ballot across Michigan. Passage of the state road funding proposal, when fully implemented in October 2018, would bring an extra $5 million annually to Ann Arbor for city streets and roads, according to the resolution approved by council in a 7-4 vote.That would be an increase from $7.5 million to $12.5 million annually, not counting the city's own local street millage dollars or a new countywide tax generating extra money for roads in 2015.                  Read more. . .

Schools, cities stand to gain under Proposal 1

Livingston Daily Press & Argus | April 1, 2015

Proposal 1 is primarily designed to provide more money for Michigan's roads. The Livingston County Road Commission - which maintains the bulk of county roads -would receive the most should Proposal 1 pass. "We look at it as roughly $3 million the first year and $3 million more each year through 2018, when it's fully funded," Managing Director Mike Craine said. That jump in the commission's current $12 million budget, Craine said, will go a long way toward improving local roads. Read more. . .

Gov. Rick Snyder joins municipal, business leaders to encourage 'yes' vote on Proposal 1 

The Oakland Press |March 19, 2015

Their unified message was clear: Without the passage of Proposal 1 on May 5, Michigan's roads will continue to deteriorate and everyone using them faces significant risk. Leaders from cities, fire departments and business gathered at Dearborn's Fire Station No. 2 to encourage voters across the state to vote yes on a proposal that would pump $1.2 billion in funding to the roads.  "Our roads are getting worse, and so far nothing has materialized (to fix them)," said Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly.  For more than a decade, roads in Michigan have been left to deteriorate. Today, 20 percent to 25 percent of the state's roads are listed as critical because the funding to repair them has not been there.  Read more. . .

Michigan, Kalkaska roads continue to deteriorate as Proposal 1 approaches

The Leader & Kalkaskan | March 13, 2015 

Michigan's roads are falling apart and Kalkaska County is no exception. Although various methods are used across the state to gauge the condition of roadways, including state-funded surveys and local county-level assessments - each one has concluded the same results: our roads could use some work. According to state data obtained through the Transportation Management Asset Council (TAMC), only 10 percent of roads eligible for federal funding in Kalkaska County are categorized as "good." Forty-five percent are listed as fair and another 45 percent are in poor condition. "We are way down, and that's a problem statewide," said Kalkaska County Road Commission Manager John Rogers. "Because of our lack of funding, our roads are deteriorating at a rapid pace."  Read more. . . 

Former Congressman John Dingell Supports Proposal 1 

SafeRoadsYes.com | April 1, 2015 

Former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat and the longest-serving member of Congress in history, today urged Michigan voters to pass Proposal 1 on the May 5 statewide ballot for safer roads and bridges.

Dingell, who served Michigan in Congress for 59 years, joins former Michigan U.S. Sen Carl Levin in endorsing Proposal 1, which also is backed by the state's leading business organizations, county sheriffs, police officers and chiefs, firefighters and chiefs, and leading local elected officials from across the state.  Read more. . .