The Future of Detroit Rapid Transit

Today I read through the M1 Rail's website. It should be a great project. But that got me thinking. Surely the M1 Rail could not supplement all of Detroit's transit needs. As you know, Bus service in Detroit is terrible. So I got on Google Earth and mapped out some potential transit systems. I tried to make them somewhat realistic, but surely it will be a long time before any new rapid transit system is built. Keep in mind that I'm not trying to make direct recommendations to SEMCOG or SMART or whatever. This is just my own personal take on Detroit's transit problem.

Fantasy Plan #1: Merge SMART and DDOT
Now, this is a really big longshot that the bureaucrats who run these systems could ever come to a merger agreement. This is a plan which involves intense improvement of bus service. Cutting wait times, reducing the number of stops, establishing express BRT lines along busy corridors, and more.

Fantasy Plan #2: Small Light Rail System and Bus Improvements
Similar To: St. Louis
Includes some of the improvements in fantasy plan 1. This plan would call for an extension of the M1 Rail, along with a second light rail line, possibly running East to West. Similar to the St. Louis MetroLink.

Fantasy Plan #3: Bus/Train Harmony, and Commuter Rail too
Similar To: Denver, Portland
Denver and Portland have arguably some pretty nice transit systems. This plan would involve building a Commuter Rail network of 2/3 lines. Those lines might run from Ann Arbor, Mt. Clemens, Pontiac, Novi, Monroe, etc. Then a moderately sized Light Rail network would feed into the Commuter Rail. Light Rail lines would serve only Detroit and inner suburbs like Dearborn and Ferndale. Free transfers would be allowed between all three systems, and a central hub for the system would be established Downtown, similar to Atlanta's Five Points MARTA Station.

Fantasy Plan #4: Heavy Rail System with Light Rail feeder system
Similar To: SF Bay Area, Atlanta
This plan would involve a subway/commuter rail hybrid similar to BART or MARTA running through the city and its suburbs. Then a small Light Rail feeder network running entirely within city limits would offer free transfers to the Heavy Rail system. Again, all services [[Heavy Rail, Light Rail, and Bus) would converge at some type of transit center downtown.


Well, progress is coming, albeit slowly. MiTrain is picking up steam and the M1 Rail is well underway. Bus Rapid Transit is supposed to replace a planned Light Rail System, which I disagree with, but at least it's a start.

Thanks,
MicrosoftFan

Or you could rebuild all the rail lines that have been abandoned...nah, never mind. Let's build all new.

none of it is happening fast enough. And likely you will have a substantive anti-transit movement again in the coming months that derails expanded funding of the Regional Transit Council [[or whatever it's called). If and when the actual M1 rail gets started, that's all it's going to be, the midtown/downtown semi-express. No new lines, no expansion further north or elsewhere. No tax resources. I can't escape to a pro-transit region fast enough.

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Originally Posted by Hypestyles

none of it is happening fast enough. And likely you will have a substantive anti-transit movement again in the coming months that derails expanded funding of the Regional Transit Council [[or whatever it's called). If and when the actual M1 rail gets started, that's all it's going to be, the midtown/downtown semi-express. No new lines, no expansion further north or elsewhere. No tax resources. I can't escape to a pro-transit region fast enough.

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First, this is probably the weakest anti-tram post in awhile. WHEN the tram line starts, it will show the metro area that real transit [[and yes trams are real transit) is good, it works, and needs to be expanded. Development is already following.

"Regional Transit Council [[or whatever it's called)", lovely facetiousness

Anyway, onto the OP. I think our dreams and wishes for metro transit have been hashed out so much on this website that many people are worn, such as myself. But I do like to talk transit so I won't stop.

Merging DDOT and SMART doesn't need to happen. It's not done in Chicago, Toronto, or New York. What does need to happen is better coordination and uniform payment methods and options. When people got mad because of SMART pulling out of non-peak times, I wasn't phased one bit. That's actually a luxury. PACE in suburban Chicago does not go into the city. Now I know we're an oddity where people live in the city and work in the suburbs, and they should be angry, but comparatively speaking, this doesn't happen everywhere. One card, two systems.

I would also hope that when the RTA succeeds with their funding vote, that within 5-10 years M-1 Rail is taken out of private hands and into total RTA/DDOT control. I would expect that with a healthy funding tool that the RTA is DDOT and SMART will start to look like real transit agencies and not ones living paycheck to paycheck.

BRT is also the biggest joke that SEMCOG and the RTA are shoving down our throats. But this is the fault of the legislation that has language preferring BRT over LRT. I was pissed when I learned that.

As for commuter, that will only happen when the RTA has the meat of a fully funded agency and can take on the CN and Norfolk Southern to rightfully lobby for commuter rail.

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

Merging DDOT and SMART doesn't need to happen.

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Just so. Merging the systems would eat up a huge amount of political capital, if it's possible at all, and would accomplish nothing. The fact of two systems, as you point out in detail, happens elsewhere and isn't per se a problem.

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

I would also hope that when the RTA succeeds with their funding vote, that within 5-10 years M-1 Rail is taken out of private hands and into total RTA/DDOT control. I would expect that with a healthy funding tool that the RTA is DDOT and SMART will start to look like real transit agencies and not ones living paycheck to paycheck.

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Yes, and M1 Rail also hopes that its system is taken over by the RTA, as it has only secured funding to operate the system for about ten years, and would like to sunset itself by then at the latest.

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

BRT is also the biggest joke that SEMCOG and the RTA are shoving down our throats. But this is the fault of the legislation that has language preferring BRT over LRT.

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Harsh, but understandable. True BRT is quite nice actually, but American cities don't build it; as soon as the project managers hit the conference rooms, the value engineering starts to creep in and you end up with a pretty express bus. If we could do actual, real BRT, it would work well, but in that case it's cheaper to build light rail in almost every instance.

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

As for commuter, that will only happen when the RTA has the meat of a fully funded agency and can take on the CN and Norfolk Southern to rightfully lobby for commuter rail.

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Actually, having corresponded with SEMCOG for years and years as they have tried to get track-use agreements in place for the Ann Arbor to Detroit project, I am now convinced that the only way commuter rail can happen is for Michigan to condemn and take over the necessary trackage using eminent domain. I know eminent domain is very controversial [[Poletown) but I think this is one of those rare cases where it's justifiable. Having said this, obtaining the corridors in this way is going to be a very expensive undertaking, and not without risk.

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

First, this is probably the weakest anti-tram post in awhile. WHEN the tram line starts, it will show the metro area that real transit [[and yes trams are real transit) is good, it works, and needs to be expanded. Development is already following.

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Wasn't the same thing said about The People Mover?

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Originally Posted by Gpwrangler

Or you could rebuild all the rail lines that have been abandoned...nah, never mind. Let's build all new.

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Well, most of them don't run right down Woodward, Gratiot etc. which would really be ideal for most transit. Could be handy for commuter rail [[which is basically what they were built as).

I was please to see the recent Riverfront Conservancy request for proposals for the east riverfront specifically calls out extending M1 out Jefferson. Page 7 under "infrastructure": http://detroitriverfront.org/sites/d...1.5.2015_0.pdf

Makes so much sense it hurts. Forgive me for plugging my own site but OP looks new and might be interested, and when designing a fantasy system for the area I fell in love with the idea of a "hook" that ties Belle Isle and the riverfront to the Woodward corridor. Especially so with Belle Isle now charging cars for admission and new developments like Orleans Landing actually going up: www.motorcitymetro.com. It would be great if M1 rail could make that happen.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

Wasn't the same thing said about The People Mover?

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If it was, the people saying it weren't too bright [[assuming they said this about the final loop and not the original plan for feeder lines running out the radial avenues which of course made sense). People want to travel in straight lines between major destinations. They don't usually want to go in a circle, nor pay to wait for a train that will carry them a distance that would take 5-10 minutes to walk.

The People Mover as it ended up being constructed is pretty much what you would design if you wanted to build a transit system of the least possible utility. M1 rail is totally different simply by virtue of covering enough ground to be worth riding instead of walking, much less the fact that it's connecting downtown to midtown/WSU/cultural center/DMC/New Center/Amtrak/[[arena district if it materializes).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

Merging DDOT and SMART doesn't need to happen. It's not done in Chicago, Toronto, or New York. What does need to happen is better coordination and uniform payment methods and options. When people got mad because of SMART pulling out of non-peak times, I wasn't phased one bit. That's actually a luxury. PACE in suburban Chicago does not go into the city. Now I know we're an oddity where people live in the city and work in the suburbs, and they should be angry, but comparatively speaking, this doesn't happen everywhere. One card, two systems.

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To add to that, the Toronto area specifically has separate agencies for each regional municipality and city. However, they are all coordinated together with the TTC and GO Transit, as a result of all being controlled by the Metrolinx umbrella.

Also, the main purpose of Pace in suburban Chicago is to provide bus connections to nearby Metra stations, so this is most likely why none of their routes enter the city. We don't have something like that here-because we don't even have a Metra equivalent. What the RTA needs to do is request CN, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Conrail to run commuter trains on their routes. This will likely mean later on Genesee County and even Lucas County in Ohio may have to be incorporated into the RTA service area.

We are missing a huge opportunity to fund these ideas. The lame infrastructure bill finally passed by the State Legislature and signed into law could have and definitely should have capitalized on the incredibly low fuel prices we're currently enjoying.

I don't agree with Nolan Finley much, but he was right to point out that the gas tax should have been raised much higher. We're used to paying $3.00+/gallon for gas, so why not institute a variable gas tax that goes up and down with the statewide average cost of gas.

Above $3.50: .25/gallon
$3.01-$3.50: .35/gallon
.10 increase for every .50 decrease in average price.

We would currently be paying .50/gallon in state fuel taxes.

We could get our roads and bridges upgraded so much faster while creating 1,000s of jobs

And if half the increase in revenue above the baseline 25./gallon were earmarked for mass transit projects, think of the possibilities.

If this state wants to compete, we need state-of-the-art infrastructure and transit [[and education, but that's a whole other story). We can't keep cutting taxes or refusing to raise taxes just to keep a few extra dollars in our pockets. Those few extra dollars will fund needed investments that will have much better returns.

The funding won't come. People are too reactionary.

What Detroit needs is a plan for COMPREHENSIVE transit system covering regional and inner-city levels and doesn't sacrifice bus for trains or vice-versa. Something like this:

1. Within the city, a functional bus system should be the number one priority. Frequent schedule, better signage, shelters at all or most stops, contactless payment, and bus lanes.

2. Trams should be expanded beyond the M1 Rail, criss-crossing the greater Downtown area.

3. A rail link to the airport is of the utmost importance to Detroit becoming a tourist and business hub. Right now, MDOT is proposing a commuter rail running a few times a day to Ann Arbor, with some sort of link [[probably bus) to the Airport. This is a vastly inadequate proposal. The problem with commuter-rail of the type proposed by the MDOT is that it opts for outdated technology such as 1950s diesel passenger trains running mixed with freight trains.

The alternative is electrified trains running on exclusive right-of-ways as essentially Metro services. Of course, this costs more money. But in the end, it's a better investment that yields much higher returns.

4. Metro-style suburban rail service expanded throughout the region [[perhaps using existing rail right-of-ways and building new tracks alongside the existing ones).

5. Outside of such a comperhesive plan, would be coordination with state and federal authorities to assist in the planning and construction of inter-city and international rail to Chicago, Toronto and other destinations.


In summary if we zoom out on the region we see a Metro system that connects the airport, Downtown and suburbs. Zoom in we see an extensive bus service covering the entire city. Zoom in further and we see a tram system system servicing the central, "urban" part of the city.