Detroit Public Transportation: 2014 and beyond.

[brizee]

The first corridors being looked at by the RTA for "upgrading" is

M-59
Gratiot
Woodward
Michigan "from Metro airport to Ann Arbor" [[a weird saying, so you won't be able to travel from Downtown to Dearborn/Fairlane?)

http://www.semcog.org/uploadedFiles/...Amendment5.pdf

There's money for environmental impact and alternative analysis for all four of them. Although since the choice of superbusses has already been made...

I guess the studies will be staggered over a number of years for some reason. The only one close to completion is Woodward.

[RO_Resident]

The first corridors being looked at by the RTA for "upgrading" is

M-59
Gratiot
Woodward
Michigan "from Metro airport to Ann Arbor" [[a weird saying, so you won't be able to travel from Downtown to Dearborn/Fairlane?)

http://www.semcog.org/uploadedFiles/...Amendment5.pdf

There's money for environmental impact and alternative analysis for all four of them. Although since the choice of superbusses has already been made...

I guess the studies will be staggered over a number of years for some reason. The only one close to completion is Woodward.

The corridors are written into the RTA legislation.

[[4) Subject to available resources, an authority may plan, design, develop, construct, and operate a rolling rapid transit system on at least 1 or more corridors within the authority's public transit region. An authority, with the approval of the federal transit administration and in compliance with all applicable federal and state regulations, shall determine exact routes and station locations. An authority may design routes to augment, complement, enhance, replace, or improve other forms of public transportation operating within or on the corridors.
[[5) Subject to subsection [[4), if an authority created on the effective date of this act includes Macomb county, Oakland county, or Wayne county, the authority may, subject to available resources, plan, design, develop, construct, and operate a rolling rapid transit system on at least 4 corridors within the authority's public transit region and the initial plans for a rolling rapid transit system may include all of the following:
[[a) A Woodward corridor line to operate along, on, or near Woodward avenue between a location in or near the downtown Detroit station and a location in downtown Pontiac in Oakland county. As used in this subsection, "downtown Detroit station" means a location in or near the Campus Martius area of downtown Detroit.
[[b) A Gratiot corridor line to operate along, on, or near Gratiot avenue between the downtown Detroit station and a location in downtown Mt. Clemens in Macomb county.
[[c) A northern cross-county line to operate between the city of Pontiac and the city of Mt. Clemens, using a route to be determined by the authority. The route determined by the authority under this subdivision shall have stations along Big Beaver road in the city of Troy and highway M-59 in portions of Oakland and Macomb counties.
[[d) A western cross-county line to operate between the downtown Detroit station and the Ann Arbor Blake transit center for a distance of approximately 47 miles. This corridor shall include, at a minimum, stations in the city of Ypsilanti, Detroit Wayne county metropolitan airport, and the city of Dearborn. The authority shall determine the exact route.

http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-124-547

[professorscott]

The corridors are written into the RTA legislation.

Yes, but entirely permissively. Read the critical word: "may". It does not say that the RTA has to create those routes, only that it can; and in fact it's open-ended, so the RTA can create any other routes that it likes.

[RO_Resident]

Yes, but entirely permissively. Read the critical word: "may". It does not say that the RTA has to create those routes, only that it can; and in fact it's open-ended, so the RTA can create any other routes that it likes.

Absolutely, just expect those corridors to get a thumbs-up/thumbs-down before other corridors are added to the mix.

In addition to the corridors listed above, I'm sure the Washtenaw County folks want something done on Washtenaw Ave.