Obstacles ahead, but light rail worth the work

**begingri** · May-22-11, 02:56 PM

By: Jeff Gerrit

In his 1936 essay "The Crack-Up," novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald said real intelligence is the ability to "see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise." Seventy-five years later, anyone who has fought for mass transit in southeast Michigan can still feel him.

Despite a soul-shriveling history of detours and dead-ends, transit advocates throughout the suburbs and in this great city keep pushing. [[And, yes, I consider Detroit a great city. If that makes me deluded as well as intelligent, I'll gladly accept both tags.)

The latest shot of hope is the Woodward Light Rail Project, a $500-million public-private partnership to run electric rail cars 9.3 miles up and down Woodward, from Hart Plaza to 8 Mile. As a city resident, I want this as much as anyone.

But it's not a done deal, despite the unwavering confidence of Mayor Dave Bing and his project point man, Chief Financial Officer Norman White, who expect construction to start next year. The city and region can still blow this, and another failure would be near-fatal to efforts to build mass transit in this region.

Getting the money

The most immediate obstacle is collecting the $100 million pledged by private investors to complete Detroit's local match for federal New Starts money. City leaders and private investors continue to work out differences over design, alignment and other issues. Maybe half the cheddar -- including $35 million from the Kresge Foundation and $9 million from the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. -- is a sure bet.

Not getting the full $100 million would not kill the project, but to compete with other cities, Detroit must get most of it. Meeting with the Free Press editorial board in mid-April, the mayor told me he needs investors to commit within 30 days. Thirty days have passed and nothing definitive has happened. A spokesperson for the M-1 Rail leadership team declined to comment through an e-mail on Friday, other than to say "they are not comfortable commenting on something the mayor said in a meeting they were not present at."

Continued at: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...=2011105220456

**brizee** · May-22-11, 05:08 PM

Get all hot and excited only to get kicked in the balls.

If they don't at least make a start on a real transit project, I'm done with this place and not looking back.

**BrushStart** · May-22-11, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by brizee

Get all hot and excited only to get kicked in the balls.

If they don't at least make a start on a real transit project, I'm done with this place and not looking back.

Right on. It is the number one reason that will cause me to leave. And, make no mistake, I will leave, just in case anyone with any say in the matter is reading this.

**rbdetsport** · May-22-11, 05:26 PM

But, I ask you the question... When is too late? When is your deadline that we must have mass transit or you leave?

**brizee** · May-22-11, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by rbdetsport

But, I ask you the question... When is too late? When is your deadline that we must have mass transit or you leave?

I'm working downtown on an internship. I graduate May 2012. They have until then to at least have STARTED SOMETHING. Right now staying MI is a priority. In the future it won't be.

**mwilbert** · May-22-11, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by BrushStart

Right on. It is the number one reason that will cause me to leave. And, make no mistake, I will leave, just in case anyone with any say in the matter is reading this.

I don't know how many people will actually leave [[not saying you won't) but not getting the LRT underway would be a very discouraging reminder of how hard it is to get anything accomplished around Detroit. That is why I expect it to happen--the downside of not reaching an agreement is too great for it to be allowed to fail--but I won't be confident until the contracts are signed.

**stasu1213** · May-22-11, 08:26 PM

I had been spouting for years on here that light rail will not happen whey city leaders and planners had said it would. I had said that there are entities in this city who don't want it to happen immediately and will fund campaigns of candidates running for the offices in Detroit who will throw a monkey wrench in the whole project. Go back into the blog's archive and read what I and others had been warning you guys.When Bing had said that the ground breaking will happen in 2012 you guys should had known that this project will not get off the ground. Leaders and planners should had came up with an agreement on whether it should run near the curb or in the middle of the street during it's incubation stages. I don't believe that is the reason for stalling the project. It is an excuse for not making this so-called dream happen. Light rail could had went from Hart Plaza to Eight Mile Rd up Woodward. Let the suburbs get federal money to have it run through their' territory if they want to get into the game. But no, Detroit would build it unless the suburbs are in agreement. Another excuse delay the building of this light rail. I wanted it to come just like the rest of you. When I had seen the BS the planners and leaders was giving us over the delaying of the project I knew that there was no serious intentions on bring light rail to Detroit

**BrushStart** · May-22-11, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by rbdetsport

But, I ask you the question... When is too late? When is your deadline that we must have mass transit or you leave?

I'm pretty much with Brizee, but I'll give them until Spring 2013 to get something going. If not, I'll start looking at other cities. As much as I love Detroit, not having mass transit is intolerable. The whole point of living in a city is to not be constantly chained to a car.

**Red Devil** · May-22-11, 09:54 PM

Well you guys could come out to Denver. By the end of this decade youll be able to get anywhere along the Front Range without a car. More light rail is getting done by 2013, and commuter rail/rapid bus lines are next in the pipeline. For a metro of its size Denver's system will be unrivaled

**majohnson** · May-22-11, 10:41 PM

I have a car and realistically I probably won't have a realistic reason to use a Woodward only light rail system.
But its failure would be representative of many of the issues Metro Detroit refuses to resolve.

The failure to build light rail would be a everyday reminder that hoping in a New Detroit is a waste of time.

**coracle** · May-23-11, 06:05 AM

Originally Posted by majohnson

I have a car and realistically I probably won't have a realistic reason to use a Woodward only light rail system.
But its failure would be representative of many of the issues Metro Detroit refuses to resolve.

The failure to build light rail would be a everyday reminder that hoping in a New Detroit is a waste of time.

More likely, IF the Light Rail is ever built you'll be able to see it every day and marvel at the number of people that are not using it and contemplate another Detroit waste of time [[and public/private money) But hey, we want it, so what else matters?

**DetroitPlanner** · May-23-11, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

I had been spouting for years on here that light rail will not happen whey city leaders and planners had said it would.

Even if the local leaders and planners are on board, its up to the citizens to pay for it.

**coracle** · May-23-11, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Even if the local leaders and planners are on board, its up to the citizens to pay for it.

A statement of fundamental truth. Citizens pay for everything that happens with their direct and indirect taxes. Public spenders have no money except what they steal from citizens and corporations and waste in redistribution to satisfy their various voting blocs. Capitalist organizations are no more that tax collectors for Public spenders.