Light Rail in Detroit

[_ttam_]

Originally Posted by MABCLE

Why should it just be compared to other Midwestern systems or cities with less extensive rail networks.

Because Detroit has no rail network. We're starting from zero. And somehow we've made do.

Detroit a metro about the size of Philadelphia should have a transit system rivaling... Philadelphia.

That's easy to refute. Detroit and Philadelphia had far different development patterns and cultures. Daily commuting patterns and infrastructure in the Boston to D.C. megalopolis is far different than metro Detroit. Population alone doesn't make cities similar.

Some of those other systems are looking to expand their systems to make public transportation an even more viable option for commuters, they aren't settling with what they've got and Detroit should not set the bar based on those cities either.

Yeah lots are "looking to expand." It's a big business with billions of dollars at stake.

[JivecitySTL]

^oh whatever. It sounds like you are just saying anything you can to justify the FACT that Detroit is lightyears behind where it should be with regard to rapid transit. We all know why Detroit didn't build rail like other cities (automotive industry), but in this day and age there is no excuse for making excuses anymore. Detroit is the largest city BY FAR with no significant rapid transit. Coincidentally, it has also suffered arguably more decay and abandonment than any other major city. Is there a link here? Maybe, maybe not. But part of being a progressive city includes progressive action. Detroit has rested on its laurels for far too long, and it's time for the power brokers there to open their eyes. There is a nationwide back-to-the-city movement well underway, and Detroit will benefit even more if it develops an innovative, practical transit plan.

And nobody if you really think that focusing on bus service is going to attract a new crop of transit riders, you are dreaming. That never happens. Nobody ever chooses to take the bus.

[MABCLE]

Originally Posted by _ttam_

Because Detroit has no rail network. We're starting from zero. And somehow we've made do.



That's easy to refute. Detroit and Philadelphia had far different development patterns and cultures. Daily commuting patterns and infrastructure in the Boston to D.C. megalopolis is far different than metro Detroit. Population alone doesn't make cities similar.



Yeah lots are "looking to expand." It's a big business with billions of dollars at stake.

It is a big and expensive business, which is why routes and implementation schedules would have to be developed carefully to prevent failure of the system. Also I'm not against the system having any bus rapid transit component.

Regardless on how they developed detroit needs better transit. If light rail is implemented in phases (Which it probably would be) It should maybe set that initial bar based on other midwestern cities (excluding Chicago), but further phases should be as extensive as The East coast systems or Chicago.

People of all ages are starting to comeback to the convienence of walking to the store at the corner and catching a train to work downtown or see a game or show all part of urban living. If/when people start to return to the city's core there will be a need for more efficient means of moving people so why not start (at least studying the possibility) now?

[Jim856796]

Bump (5-year-old thread)

One simple fact I learned: Detroit's existing People Mover system was originally intended to serve as the downtown distributor for a proposed city- and metro-wide light rail transit system for Detroit that was planned during the early 1980s. The planned system was scrapped when funding was cut back. Wonder if the planned light-rail line on Woodward may be a precursor to that planned system.

[Jim856796]

Face it. Detroit is never gonna get a light rail transit system realized, so it will be stuck without one forever. I mean, if I started this issue again, I could end up starting a flame war.

[hudkina]

Were you just trying to start an argument with yourself?

[Jim856796]

No.