Crain's Detroit Business: Study urges light rail on Woodward Avenue

Study urges light rail on Woodward Avenue
By Bill Shea


An 18-month mass transit study in metro Detroit recommends building a publicly funded $371.5 million light rail line along eight miles of Woodward Avenue from downtown to the Michigan State Fairgrounds.

The Detroit Transit Options for Growth Study (DTOGS) is the Detroit Department of Transportation’s project to identify the best mass transportation options in the city, and is the first step in securing Federal Transit Administration New Starts Program funding. The New Starts money is aimed at transit projects requiring new infrastructure.

Federal money would account for 50 percent-60 percent of construction costs. The remainder would come from local, state and other sources.

The recommendation, released Wednesday by DDOT, picks Woodward and eliminates options for starter lines on Michigan and Gratiot avenues. Those routes could later be added to a Woodward route, which is seen as the first segment of a regional mass transit system.

Constructions could begin in 2010, DDOT said. The line would have 13 to 15 stops, depending on the final configuration.

The DTOG study and recommendation are separate from a transit proposal first reported Feb. 25 in Crain’s that would spend $103 million in private-sector money to build a light rail line on Woodward, running 3.4 miles from Hart Plaza to Grand Boulevard. That proposal is still being developed and details are being kept private.

The DTOG study picked Woodward because of “projected ridership, potential development opportunities, operating and capital costs and community support,” according to a statement from DDOT. The study estimates 11,100 riders per day on the route.

Woodward is lined by some of Detroit’s largest employers along with major cultural attractions, stadiums, entertainment venues and medical facilities. It also connects to rail lines in the New Center Area that can tap into a proposed high-speed line to Ann Arbor. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080305/REG/542278438/1069/-/-/study-urges-light-rail-on-woodward-avenue

here we have GM, Ford and Chrysler all struggling. Making fucking Hummers and gas guzzlers. Why the hell don't they retool and make trains, tracks, solar panels, whatever? Why do they keep their heads up their collective ass? This drives me crazy.

Right now I have to commute from Ann Arbor to Birmingham. It costs $52 to fill the tank of my Honda.

GOD how I would love to ride a train to work.