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Novi could be getting onboard with SMART transit.
At the last city council meeting, the mayor said he wants the city to explore the idea of adding service from the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation.
“Oh my gosh, it’s like a headache,” explained Kelly Ammons.
She doesn't live in Novi, but she works there.
Getting to work has been a challenge that could be fixed with a transit system.
“It’s hard to get out here.”
The city of Novi opted out of SMART in 1995.
But recently Wayne County Executive Warren Evans put out a video showing the struggles of taking a bus to a store in Novi.
It took him two and half hours, using two different buses and two mile walk.
“We got a lot of people commuting from Detroit and other areas it would be helpful if they had a ride,” explained Ammons.
Evans is in favor of a Regional Transit Authority plan that could be on the November ballot.
But Novi Mayor Bob Gatt spoke out against the RTA plan at a city council meeting earlier this week and instead showed his support for SMART.
Gatt explained, “I do believe Novi has changed and is poised to have a transportation system in the city that will allow those coming to Novi to get here and those leaving the city to do so.”
He asked city officials to look into the system and come up with a recommendation in two months.
He added, “SMART management can and will design a system just for Novi.”
Novi resident Nick Zuke agreed.
“I think it would be pretty cool,” he said. “Oh, it will totally alleviate traffic, I think it would be a really nice idea. Just this intersection right here is really cluttered.”
We talked with city officials about this, and they said they are still in the very early stages in their planning and research.
