Canton Township residents heading to the polls Tuesday, Aug. 4 face a decision that could bring fixed-route bus service to the community for the first time.
On Monday, Aug. 3, the township posted a recording of its July 28 town hall on the Western Wayne County Transit Strategy, giving voters a final chance to review the plan before voters head to the polls.
The millage would be levied at a maximum rate of 0.9831 mills for 10 years, starting with the 2026 tax year and running through 2035. For a Canton home with a taxable value of $100,000, that works out to about $8 per month, according to the Detroit Free Press. Unlike 26 Wayne County communities where the millage is a renewal, Canton is one of 17 communities that would be paying this tax for the first time. The township has long opted out of SMART bus service.
That opt-out option no longer exists. The Michigan Legislature removed the long-standing rule in 2024, meaning all 43 Wayne County communities must vote on the millage, Michigan Public reported. If it passes, the levy is estimated to generate roughly $57.6 million countywide in its first year.
What the town hall covered
Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak opened the July 28 meeting at Canton Public Library. Trustees Tania Ganguly and Ammara Ansari moderated, with Treasurer Dian Slavens, Senior Planner Erin Schlutow, and consultant Adrianna Jordan of OHM Advisors serving as panelists. Attendees heard an update on the Public Transit and Implementation Plan and a summary of community feedback gathered during the planning process.
Canton initiated the regional transit strategy in response to Public Act 236 of 2024, partnering with surrounding municipalities and retaining OHM Advisors to develop the plan.
What bus service could look like
A SMART Wayne County Transit Evaluation identified Canton as one of the communities with the strongest potential for fixed-route service. The Ford Road corridor connecting Canton, Westland, and Dearborn Heights was flagged as a high-demand route currently lacking transit, according to a joint board packet from Plymouth Township.
Proposed routes that would serve Canton include a Ford Road extension (Route 250, 11.1 miles west into Canton), a Plymouth route connecting Detroit through Redford, Livonia, and Plymouth Township into Canton (Route 295), and a Haggerty corridor route serving Canton, Plymouth, Northville, and Novi (Route 345). If approved, new services would phase in through 2029.
As we reported July 23, the town hall was organized to brief residents ahead of the vote.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said at a July news conference in Dearborn that the region can't keep routing transit around opt-out communities. "We can't really have opt out communities and have our transportation system going up, over and around opt out communities, to get people to where they need to go," Evans said.
The town hall recording is available here. Polls open Tuesday, Aug. 4.
