4/9/2023 0 Comments M1 light rail routeA major debate ensued over whether the streetcar would run in dedicated, center-aligned lanes, maximizing speed and reliability, or in mixed traffic near the curb.ĭespite “extensive outreach,” the authors write, the ultimate decision came down to the whims of the M-1 RAIL committee. Once the streetcar option was finalized, the M-1 committee continued to botch key planning decisions. One interview subject, cited anonymously, told the researchers that while bus service might have greater utility, “Rich, white people don’t ride buses.” The M-1 RAIL committee had different ideas, though, according to sources Lowe and Grengs spoke to.Ĭommittee members didn’t think buses would serve their goal of “economic development” very well. A longer rail route to the city line, for instance, would have connected a more diverse array of neighborhoods to downtown, but the costs were deemed excessive.Ī regional bus rapid transit network would have connected even more people to good transit service, and it had the backing of Governor Rick Snyder. Other transit options surfaced at various points in the planning process but were rejected. Lowe and Grengs interviewed 15 people involved with the planning and development of the project to assess how critical decisions were made, what led Detroit to opt for a low-ridership streetcar, and how the city’s predominantly black transit riders were overlooked. (A fund established by the private donors supports operations.) DOT and another $10 million from the state of Michigan. The QLine eventually received $37 million in capital funds from U.S. They offered to pay for the streetcar not only because Detroit was broke, but to circumvent federal regulations they feared would drag out the process.īut they soon decided not to cover all the costs, and enlisted government support. Many of the key backers - like Gilbert - were also major land owners along the route. Known as the M-1 RAIL committee, they wanted a short downtown circulator to promote economic development. The notion of a Detroit streetcar emerged back in 2006 as the brainchild of regional boosters like Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, the Illitch family (which owns Little Caesar’s Pizza), and the Kresge Foundation. So how and why did this short streetcar segment rise to the top of regional transit priorities? In a new paper published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Kate Lowe and Joe Grengs examine how local government ceded decisions about the project to private benefactors, subordinating public goals to their interests and preferences. Ridership dropped about 40 percent, to 3,000 trips per day, after the streetcar started charging a $1.50 fare in August. It simply doesn’t serve that many people. That left Detroiters with the same threadbare bus network that struggles to provide the basics of transit service, and no immediate prospects for improvement.Įnter the shiny $140 million QLine, serving a few thousand riders each day on a short, 3.3-mile downtown route.īoosters had touted its economic development benefits (they claim it has spurred $7 billion in nearby development), but the Detroit streetcar, like most new streetcars, does little to address the region’s major transit shortcomings. Just a few months prior, voters in the Detroit region had narrowly sided against a ballot measure to fund a cohesive regional transit system. When Detroit’s QLine streetcar opened last year, the timing was awkward to say the least.
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