Woodward Light Rail

[Saturnalia]

DETROIT – Detroit's M-1 Rail streetcar has lost one of its leaders, just 10 months after she joined the project. Heather Carmona, chief administrative officer for the project, is leaving at the end of the week, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Full story:
http://trn.trains.com/en/Railroad%20New ... onths.aspx

[Ypsi]

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/02/18/ ... in-spring/

Expected to break ground in the spring and be done in 2 years.

[j_c1987]

Just trying to make the city look better and more modern. I use to live in the Detroit area about seventeen years ago. My parents thought Detroit was bad then. I went to Detroit two years ago and about cried. Its bad when your grand central station is a crack house, west side police station abandoned, one of the city librarys abandoned, 80% of the churches on Woodward Ave abandoned. Detroit really does not have any value besides its sports teams.

[hoborich]

Jaime Dimon is gonna loan Detroit 100 million. To a city that's bankrupt! Go figure. And Mikey Illitch gets a couple hundred mill for a new hockey arena. And a light rail system to nowhere. Still not sure how that works?
A city needs livable and safe neighborhoods, and places to shop, to be viable. Where does the light rail and the hockey arena come into that picture? And the 100 mill from JP Morgan/Chase is to save the pension system. Meanwhile the people who destroyed Detroit, and elected Charles Pugh, Monica Conyers, Kwame Kilpatrick, and the rest of the Detroit clown team are still there!

[GP30M4216]

Some of this sounds like mumbo-jumbo BS, but the location for the light rail maintenance shop and yard has been identified. They also proposed two different site plans for this shop and yard.

From Curbed Detroit (http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2014 ... r.php#more):

M1 Rail's to-do list remains longer than its actual route, so we figured "build a garage" might be saved for later, when we're closer to actually getting the streetcars. Not so. M1's "vehicle maintenance and storage facility"—festively rebranded as the Tech Center—will begin construction in August. The $6.9M project is heading for an empty lot in the North End, and the plan calls for more than just a streetcar stash spot.

Located on Woodward between Bethune and Custer, the two-story building will contain 17,000-20,000 square feet. It'll basically serve is the M1 headquarters, with offices and operations based within. The RFP calls for a "Prefabricated bi-level structure" that looks "similar to other streetcar maintenance facilities operating around the country." The landscaping will "help in screening views of the facility from adjacent properties." Sounds sexy!

This evening, M1 officials will host a meeting so nearby residents can weigh on everything "from landscaping to lighting." We're thinking residents might also be interested in having an opinion on the site's possible layouts. Do you want the building right on Woodward with fenced-in streetcar parking out back, or vice-versa? M1 provided contractors with the two sample layouts shown below.

[hoborich]

No need for screening the facility. It's bound to look better than surrounding properties! Seems to me there used to be an old police station and horse barn on Bethune, for the mounted division.

[Ypsi]

Looks like there is indoor parking in at least one of the concept drawings.. Looks like they have a good idea of what they are trying to do for the most part though. I would want to put "my toys" away every night if I was playing in Detroit too

[GTW6401]

No need for screening the facility. It's bound to look better than surrounding properties! Seems to me there used to be an old police station and horse barn on Bethune, for the mounted division.

That's correct. John R and Bethune was the DPD mounted division, and was the 9th precinct way back in the day. Its been sitting unused for a few years now. The mounted police are at Palmer Park now.

Lelli’s Restaurant was on Woodward at Bethune but it was torn down a few years ago.

[NYCMan]

Now THIS really makes sense (not!).... First, we are going to dump how many hundred millions of taxpayer dollars into building "light rail" down Woodwward right through the middle of the drug neighborhoods, the hooker hangouts, and the mugger havens. NOW, we are going to toss MORE MILLIONS of dollars into building a newrapid bus service running over the same route. I have to wonder who the Rocket Scientist is that came up with this great one! I guess they are contingency planning for when the light rail has been stolen out of the street and scrapped.

[urlhttp://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140601/ME ... d-advances][/url]

[GTW6401]

Anything is an improvement over the Route 53 Bus on Woodward.

[NYCMan]

I agree that most anything is "better" when it comes to public transportation up and down Woodward Avenue. But, at the cost involved, and the limited number of the population that will be using it, it seems it would be less expensive just buying each frequent rider their own new automobile.... Kind of like the Amtrak Wolverine service. It would be cheaper just giving every rider an air ticket.

[hoborich]

I really can't envision too many riders traveling between downtown and the New Center area. The suburbanites will drive their cars to wherever they are going. And how many locals travel between downtown and the New Center? Not enough to support the system. And any travel north of the New Center area will still require taking the bus. I can't believe Gov Snyder signed off on this boondoggle.

[wagnew0923]

The muderers, hookers and drug dealers are further down Woodward than New Center. I will use this because I work down town and sometimes I like to catch shows in the New Center area. Other wise this idea is kinda worthless. I love public transportation but I want it to tke me somewhere... like home. Give me commuter rail for the region and I can get rid of a car. Another Mugger mover might save me some cost in parking.

[Clay320]

Now I'm no Detroiter, but I got looking at the neighborhoods the line would run through. You've got downtown which isnt bad at all, Midtown with Wayne State, the Medical Center, and The Art Institute. New Center its self seems a bit shady but that's the end of the line. Reviews I read all say this is some or the safest, and nicest places to live in the city.

So, while I don't frequent Detroit often myself, a half hour of research makes the proposed route look much better than the "drug lord slums" spin that many have jumped on.

Would be interested to hear what people who live along the route would say.

[Ypsi]

"M-1 rail construction is officially underway". Just heard an ad for M-1 rail on 97.1 the ticket, said they were commuted to providing traffic information during construction and such. Interesting to hear the ad, also bat that it's getting started.

[TrainWatcher]

This must be why SMART is asking for a new subsidy for their system. If this light rail thing does take off, it'd put SMART out of business. Cheaper, newer, faster... all that sort of stuff.

[Ypsi]

This must be why SMART is asking for a new subsidy for their system. If this light rail thing does take off, it'd put SMART out of business. Cheaper, newer, faster... all that sort of stuff.

The light rail would probably help smart more then hurt it. They would be able to move some busses from the Woodward routes and link them with the light rail. So many cities have linked light rail and busses for the better, and you probably can't replace a city wide bus system with just one light rail line on Woodward.

[GTW6401]

They would be able to move some busses from the Woodward routes and link them with the light rail. So many cities have linked light rail and busses for the better, and you probably can't replace a city wide bus system with just one light rail line on Woodward.

Thats all good in theory but how the area bus system is currently structured it wont happen. SMART routes only enter Detroit at rush hour and will not stop in the city until they reach downtown. This is done so they wont directly compete with the DDOT system.

This must be why SMART is asking for a new subsidy for their system. If this light rail thing does take off, it'd put SMART out of business. Cheaper, newer, faster... all that sort of stuff.

SMART is only asking for an operating millage to maintain existing services. Remember how the economy tanked a few years ago and took property values down with it - thats why they are looking for additional funding.

[Ypsi]

Was pleasantly suprised to find some of the light rail system started and fully in place on Woodward ave today. Running in the right lane on both sides of the road, new rails are in place for about a mile or so of track near comercia park.

[ConrailDetr​oit]

Rails are in place in between Gratiot and Grand Circus Park.