Too early to call the Q-Line a failure?

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by Retroit

It boggles my mind driving through the city on a regular basis, seeing all the abandoned homes that need to be torn down and knowing that $137 million was spent on supposedly transporting the imaginary people who live in these abandoned homes. That money could have torn down about 30,000 abandoned homes. That would have helped the city much more than a glorified bus.

Q Line was paid for with mostly private money and does not go near any abandoned homes that need to be torn down. It may not be very practical, but lets keep the discussion in the realm of reality.

Tearing down homes in outlying neighborhoods does not really help the city all that much either at least not until there is a plan to replace them with something and someone with the means to execute that plan

[craig11152]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Tearing down homes in outlying neighborhoods does not really help the city all that much either at least not until there is a plan to replace them with something and someone with the means to execute that plan

I don't know what "all that much" means but I would argue an empty lot is less of an eyesore. It's harder to commit or hide crimes on an empty lot. So folks living in the area are safer with an empty lot than an abandoned house. But you are correct that discussion has nothing to do with the the Q.
Having ridden the Q a grand total of one time I think it's a poorly thought out concept. Without it's own dedicated lane a bus would make more sense because it can swing around a parked car.

[Coldjensens]

I rode it a bit this past week with my son. It is still slow. It has improved some, but I do not think it is faster than a brisk walking pace. It is air conditioned though. One of the delay problems is the operators chit chat with passengers at stops which is fine, except the finish their conversation before proceeding with the trip rather than giving priority to their job.

It was not very busy.

Some of the stops are in kind of stupid locations. Just after a light rather than before the light for example (Southbound/Eastbound stop by Hopcat).

this is probably as good as it is going to get. It is useful for tourists, maybe college students who have a big gap in their schedule. Anyone under any kind of time crunch - it is not workable and likely never will be.

On the other hand, the MoGo bike system seems to be spreading out well and fairly well used. This is a better solution for getting people around the city, except in bad weather.

[craig11152]

On the Sunday I rode while waiting at Campus Martius for a northbound Q I witnessed a southbound car idling in front of the CVS across the street blocking the Q that had to lay on its train horn about 5 times before the car moved.

another thing I noticed was the "count down clock" till the next train they have at the bench area. It seemed clear to me it's just a constantly resetting 10 minute timer that has no correlation to the actual movement of the train/trolly/tram, whatever its called.

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Q Line was paid for with mostly private money and does not go near any abandoned homes that need to be torn down. It may not be very practical, but lets keep the discussion in the realm of reality.

Tearing down homes in outlying neighborhoods does not really help the city all that much either at least not until there is a plan to replace them with something and someone with the means to execute that plan

Okay $69.2 million taxpayer funded, so 40%.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/assets/jpg/CD969991026.JPG

[Coldjensens]

I forgot to ask my son Q what he thought of the Q

[kaszeta]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

I rode it a bit this past week with my son. It is still slow. It has improved some, but I do not think it is faster than a brisk walking pace.

This I'll agree with. Last two trips to Detroit I walked from Grand Circus to the DIA and was only a few minutes behind the Q-Line.


I will have to say, having remembered times I did the same walk in the early 1990s, that stretch has improved a *lot*.