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Old 03-10-2010, 04:31 PM
 
Location: Historic Central Phoenix
652 posts, read 2,712,127 times
Reputation: 385

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Just recently saw this in the news - sounds great for the City and I'm sure it will help revive many parts of the central city, just like new light rail has done wonders in so many other American Cities.

Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of what's going on? I no longer live in the area and have only been able to read news articles.

Mayor Bing: First leg of Woodward light rail 'going to happen' | detnews.com | The Detroit News (http://tinyurl.com/y94jhmr - broken link)

Regionalism, light rail a priority for Downtown Detroit Partnership - Detroit News and Information - Crain's Detroit Business (http://tinyurl.com/yes4pqy - broken link)
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Old 03-10-2010, 08:56 PM
 
4,775 posts, read 8,841,718 times
Reputation: 3101
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickw252 View Post
Just recently saw this in the news - sounds great for the City and I'm sure it will help revive many parts of the central city, just like new light rail has done wonders in so many other American Cities.

Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of what's going on? I no longer live in the area and have only been able to read news articles.

Mayor Bing: First leg of Woodward light rail 'going to happen' | detnews.com | The Detroit News (http://tinyurl.com/y94jhmr - broken link)

Regionalism, light rail a priority for Downtown Detroit Partnership - Detroit News and Information - Crain's Detroit Business (http://tinyurl.com/yes4pqy - broken link)

Thats great news for the city of Detroit.
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Old 03-15-2010, 12:58 PM
 
3 posts, read 19,322 times
Reputation: 16
Too bad the People Mover has been such a failure. Light Rail is ok but elevated monorail is the true ticket. Adding ground level traffic with light rail in cities such as Houston was a bad mistake. Look at the really well planned elevated systems and you will see more quality for what may surprise you....less cost. They are also profitable. The World's Fair monorail was supposed to be installed in Seattle for 3 years and was built as a 100% movable system. Monorails can be taken apart and reconfigured with changing traffic needs. That tack paid for itself and was turning a profit before the 3 years were up. It has been in service ever since.

If Detroit is to ever have a real comeback it will be when a mass transit system is put in place and the parking lots get converted into buildings. Detroit is 75% parking lot and the suburbs are sprawling single unit homes for the most part. If the city ever did rebound in population without elevated monorail in place, the freeway system would be terrible.

I think Houston has 3 light rail crashes per week, that they pay every day in terms of time and noise, and payed more in initial investment for their light rail system. Mono rail is silent, safe, and cheap. I have no clue why we are investing in old technology.
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Old 03-15-2010, 08:50 PM
 
20 posts, read 51,588 times
Reputation: 14
I predict this is going to be a huge failure and waste of tax dollars. Running a rail line up Woodward is just way too limited. The Detroit metro area is just too spread out.

I don't understand a line from the river to the New Center area. Nobody lives in the New Center area. People go there to work, but there is no housing, nightlife, etc. with the exception of the Fisher Theater.

Nobody is going to drive to the New Center to pay to park then hop light rail to Comerica Park, The Fox, Joe, Casinos, etc. when they can drive three more minutes and park there. There is no shortage of cheap parking in downtown. Being the motor city, everyone has a car. Those that don't are (unfortunately) likely the ones that can least afford to head to Detroit for a night on the town. I have a feeling it is going to end up a very expensive equivalent to the SMART line down Woodward.

If they extend it to Royal Oak, maybe - but it is still a long shot. I live in the north suburbs (Warren) and could drive to Woodward to take rail, but that would take me about 15 minutes. I can be downtown in 20. If it was Chicago, it would take me an hour to drive about the same distance to downtown and I would have to pay $30 to park. There it makes sense. Here, not so much.
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Old 03-15-2010, 11:20 PM
 
Location: Metro Detroit Area, Michigan
1,107 posts, read 3,071,531 times
Reputation: 537
Quote:
Originally Posted by Howdy810 View Post
Too bad the People Mover has been such a failure. Light Rail is ok but elevated monorail is the true ticket. Adding ground level traffic with light rail in cities such as Houston was a bad mistake. Look at the really well planned elevated systems and you will see more quality for what may surprise you....less cost. They are also profitable. The World's Fair monorail was supposed to be installed in Seattle for 3 years and was built as a 100% movable system. Monorails can be taken apart and reconfigured with changing traffic needs. That tack paid for itself and was turning a profit before the 3 years were up. It has been in service ever since.

If Detroit is to ever have a real comeback it will be when a mass transit system is put in place and the parking lots get converted into buildings. Detroit is 75% parking lot and the suburbs are sprawling single unit homes for the most part. If the city ever did rebound in population without elevated monorail in place, the freeway system would be terrible.

I think Houston has 3 light rail crashes per week, that they pay every day in terms of time and noise, and payed more in initial investment for their light rail system. Mono rail is silent, safe, and cheap. I have no clue why we are investing in old technology.
Have you been to a Red Wings game before? The people mover is packed like a Japanese subway car after the games. That's not failure at all.
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Old 03-16-2010, 02:48 AM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
6,405 posts, read 8,987,536 times
Reputation: 8507
Great news. A lot of people probably won't like hearing about Detroit getting a nice chunk of federal funds but it's not like Young or Kilpatrick are in office anymore. Bing can probably get things done. Reliable public transport is a need for any city. I'm not aware of the problems Houston has but the lightrail system in Newark is nifty and nothing short of amazing. My friend lives a block away from one stop and it makes a trip into NYC a breeze.
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Old 03-16-2010, 08:44 AM
 
Location: Shakedown Street
1,452 posts, read 2,992,683 times
Reputation: 1199
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jwo85 View Post
Have you been to a Red Wings game before? The people mover is packed like a Japanese subway car after the games. That's not failure at all.
Have you ever ridden it besides when there is a sports game? It is basically empty. It is a joke still. Yeah, it can save you from walking a few blocks, but other than that it doesn't serve much purpose.
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Old 03-16-2010, 10:33 AM
 
Location: Michissippi
3,120 posts, read 8,064,729 times
Reputation: 2084
Quote:
Originally Posted by tev9999 View Post
I predict this is going to be a huge failure and waste of tax dollars. Running a rail line up Woodward is just way too limited. The Detroit metro area is just too spread out.
I agree. It's just another feel-good waste of money that makes some of the sheeple happy. It won't address Detroit's or the region's real economic problems. Perhaps this money could be better spent encouraging business development, but instead it will get squandered on this rail project.
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Old 03-16-2010, 12:56 PM
 
Location: Metro Detroit Area, Michigan
1,107 posts, read 3,071,531 times
Reputation: 537
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdub1968 View Post
Have you ever ridden it besides when there is a sports game? It is basically empty. It is a joke still. Yeah, it can save you from walking a few blocks, but other than that it doesn't serve much purpose.
The only joke are us suburban residents for not living in the downtown core area so it won't be empty.
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Old 03-16-2010, 05:12 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
6,405 posts, read 8,987,536 times
Reputation: 8507
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdub1968 View Post
Have you ever ridden it besides when there is a sports game? It is basically empty. It is a joke still. Yeah, it can save you from walking a few blocks, but other than that it doesn't serve much purpose.
I was on the People Mover once. There was no Redwings game and there were five people on it including the two people I was with.
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