Q Line "Constructive Criticism"

[casscorridor]

1. frequency, frequency, frequency - at least 10 minutes but really should be between 5-8 minutes

2. dedicated ROW - I'm shocked this wasn't done to begin with

3. signal priority - this would speed up travel times

4. regional smart card that works with SMART, DDOT, DPM, etc and also can accept other contactless payments [[Apple Pay)

[Junjie]

1. frequency, frequency, frequency - at least 10 minutes but really should be between 5-8 minutes

2. dedicated ROW - I'm shocked this wasn't done to begin with

3. signal priority - this would speed up travel times

4. regional smart card that works with SMART, DDOT, DPM, etc and also can accept other contactless payments [[Apple Pay)

Yes to all.

3. Turn Montcalm, Sibley, and Baltimore into "flag stops". People can surely figure out how to push the STOP button mounted along the train. No one gets on at these station anyway, and the driver can see them. It only stops now on the assumption that SOMEONE might be getting off.

I've been in Philadelphia a year but just learned that even the subway stops for their streetcars are flag stops. [[If you're not familiar with Philly, they have a separate subway for their West Philadelphia streetcar routes that runs about 2.3 miles through downtown with stations about every 3 blocks. Through a historical quirk, the main heavy rail subway has no stops on the west side of downtown but the streetcar subway does.) Need to communicate this clearly, though, if some stops are flag and some aren't.

As far as new routes, I think it can be pretty simple. Woodward line turns left onto Jefferson and runs to Belle Isle. Tying Belle Isle and the excellent east riverfront plans to downtown/midtown would be a huge win. And then a Michigan line crosses it downtown before heading up Gratiot. From the Fisher/Michigan to St. Aubin/Gratiot is... wait for it... 3.3 miles. MCS - Corktown - Downtown - Greektown - Eastern Market.

Now just go collect a few hundred million bucks!

[professorscott]

Now just go collect a few hundred million bucks!

Actually, this is just about all somebody would have to do. I imagine, for example, that there is some sort of East Jefferson business association. If that group could wrangle together sufficient philanthropic and real-estate interests to come up with enough money to build another line, I strongly suspect the county [[I believe East Jeff is a county road) and the city would support it, the state would provide staff resources and the QLine folks would provide technical assistance. If MDOT is serious about reconfiguring I-375, that would probably be the ideal time for actual construction.

I picked out East Jefferson because I always believed that would be a nice second shot, that or extending QLine to the north somewhat. The other routes are equally conceivable and none seems to present any peculiar technical challenges. With Woodward, getting under the freight rail bridge near the Amtrak station was the biggest headache, and they solved it pretty neatly.