Return of the Q line

[EastsideAl]

So, I have my first guests in town since the pandemic, and they're old Detroiters who I want to show how the city has positively changed and turned a corner. Any word on when these streetcars are going to be running as anything other than a show again? And what of the People Mover? Any prospect for that running again any time soon, or ever?

[EGrant]

The People Mover is coming back in September, without fares. The article is paywalled on Freep, so I don't have any more specifics.

[stasu1213]

Oh geez, conspiracy much? Are you a trained transportation engineer or other transit professional? Didn't think so.

QLine "works" as a downtown/midtown "hop on-off" shuttle service. That's how it was intended by Dan Gilbert and other stakeholders who wanted to use it to strengthen their business interests in the area...and ultimately, they financed it, so what they said went.

The problem was that they didn't do anything to discourage the view that it would become the backbone of a regional rail transit system...after all, why would they? They got more support for their project, and after it gets built, there's not much that can be done.

This wasn't some conspiracy by big government; it was simply business interests winning out on something that they were ultimately paying for.

Now is it fixable? Actually, yes. The "fix" would be to shut down the shoulder lanes on Woodward to all automobile traffic, and make these dedicated transit lanes. That would alleviate many of the congestion-related issues that plague the system. You could go one step further and allow buses to continue running in these lanes; then you'd have a win for all transit.

Unfortunately, this is an MDOT road, and time and again history has shown that MDOT doesn't give a flying fuck about Detroit - just look how badly they've let roads like Gratiot [[M3) and Fort [[M85) get. So I don't see that happening any time soon.

Is Jefferson an MDOT road? It's in dire need of repaving

[Former_Detroiter]

And if that becomes successful, build another on Michigan and send it to Metro Airport, then build another on Fort and send it to Trenton, then build another on Van Dyke and send it to Utica, then build another on East Jefferson and send it to Grosse Pointe, and finally build one last line on Ford to Canton.

You left out Grand River and Gratiot.

[mtburb]

You left out Grand River and Gratiot.

Grand River Line goes to Novi, and Gratiot Line to Mount Clemens.

[angry_fred]

Grand River Line goes to Novi, and Gratiot Line to Mount Clemens.

That's how it used to be, but not how it should be. Streetcar lines don't need to go far beyond city limits [[qline no further than royal oak and Michigan Ave no further than Dearborn) where they hook up to a passenger heavy rail station.

[Lowell]

I saw a Q line car test running last Friday while I was crossing Woodward at Milwaukee.

[K-slice]

Working downtown I see the Q line running almost as if it were actually functioning for passengers. Transit police telling people to get off the track too. Fingers crossed new management can make it more successful than it was previously.

They need to hire those overly aggressive tow trucks that used to hang around the midtown McDonalds. As soon as the train is stopped have a truck waiting to tow immediately...

[Honky Tonk]

As soon as the train is stopped have a truck waiting to tow immediately...

I agree, get that stopped train out of people's way!

[softailrider]

Working downtown I see the Q line running almost as if it were actually functioning for passengers. Transit police telling people to get off the track too. Fingers crossed new management can make it more successful than it was previously.

They need to hire those overly aggressive tow trucks that used to hang around the midtown McDonalds. As soon as the train is stopped have a truck waiting to tow immediately...

Oh yeah that's just what we need, more rouge tow trucks companies ripping people off.

[Gistok]

Oh yeah that's just what we need, more rouge tow trucks companies ripping people off.

Shouldn't that be inconsiderate drivers, parking and slowing transportation down?

[EastsideAl]

Oh yeah that's just what we need, more rouge tow trucks companies ripping people off.

What we need are fewer people who feel entitled to leave their cars where they don't belong, in the way of everyone else.

[renf]

I saw at least three Q-line cars operating yesterday on practice runs as I
went to see the Tigers win their seventh straight. I hope the Q line
starts accepting passengers soon. It is a convenient way to get back and
forth to free parking for the games at Comerica. Is there any chance
that Huntington will buy naming rights for the ball park?

[EGrant]

Naming rights for Comerica go through 2034.

[drjeff]

Shouldn't that be inconsiderate drivers, parking and slowing transportation down?

This pisses me off more than anything. EVERY DAY there are lazy idiots parking cars and blocking a lane on Woodward downtown. I say put up new signs that there is a $1000 fine for this and tow their damn cars immediately. This is different from a money hungry tow company taking cars from private lots. Its damn Woodward Avenue, the main street of the city. Nobody should be parking there, EVER.

[Zacha341]

^ I saw a show-room nice/ new car towed parked across the Qline tracks at near Forest last the line was running. It was the fastest tow-truck 'snatch' I'd seen in sometime. Police were there too!

[kuuma]

^ I saw a show-room nice/ new car towed parked across the Qline tracks at near Forest last the line was running. It was the fastest tow-truck 'snatch' I'd seen in sometime. Police were there too!

honestly, good. there are a zillion parking spaces in this town, they even razed dozens of gorgeous classic buildings to make more of them. no one is parking on the line of the only street car in town because they can't find any other spots...

[K-slice]

Shouldn't that be inconsiderate drivers, parking and slowing transportation down?

Precisely, there's no reason to park on the tracks besides laziness. I wouldn't feel sympathy for anyone who's towed while blocking the train.

[Hermod]

This pisses me off more than anything. EVERY DAY there are lazy idiots parking cars and blocking a lane on Woodward downtown. I say put up new signs that there is a $1000 fine for this and tow their damn cars immediately. This is different from a money hungry tow company taking cars from private lots. Its damn Woodward Avenue, the main street of the city. Nobody should be parking there, EVER.

I believe the court decision on this was an old case in an English court about the right of the government to control parking, "the King's highway is not a stable yard."

[Richard]

Or they can do what they do everywhere else in the world,do not stop the train a few times,the message gets out pretty quick on where not to park.

[Sandhouse]

The governor recently signed HBs 4540 and 4541, which add provisions to the state Vehicle Code to control vehicle and bicycle traffic around the Q Line. The law took effect immediately Here's what's in the main bill:

Amend Vehicle Code to clarify distinction between railroad and street railway. Require vehicles to be removed from street railway tracks after a crash. Allow police to tow cars or remove bicycles or objects blocking street railways. Allow drivers to overtake streetcars and use left lane to avoid tracks [[“keep right” law notwithstanding). Require mopeds and scooters to yield to streetcars. Allow cities to prohibit electric scooters on streets having street railways. Allow bicyclists to use lanes away from the curb to avoid delaying streetcars; prohibit bicycles from standing or parking in street railways. Prohibit all vehicles from parking or standing in street railways; allow police to tow cars or move bicycles obstructing street railways. Require bicyclists or vehicle operators to yield to streetcars.
Prohibit boarding streetcars without paying fare. Prohibit loitering in streetcar stations; require proof of fare payment. Prohibit animals, eating, spitting, noise, outsize parcels, and shopping carts on streetcars. Allow buskers with a permit, caged pets, and waiting for arriving passengers on station platforms.
Require transit police to be trained in the Vehicle Code before issuing citations.
P.A.43 of 2021.

[Richard]

What is a busker?

Prohibit boarding street cars without paying fare,they are ticket only or except cash?

[Honky Tonk]

The governor recently signed HBs 4540 and 4541, which add provisions to the state Vehicle Code to control vehicle and bicycle traffic around the Q Line. The law took effect immediately Here's what's in the main bill:

Amend Vehicle Code to clarify distinction between railroad and street railway. Require vehicles to be removed from street railway tracks after a crash. Allow police to tow cars or remove bicycles or objects blocking street railways. Allow drivers to overtake streetcars and use left lane to avoid tracks [[“keep right” law notwithstanding). Require mopeds and scooters to yield to streetcars. Allow cities to prohibit electric scooters on streets having street railways. Allow bicyclists to use lanes away from the curb to avoid delaying streetcars; prohibit bicycles from standing or parking in street railways. Prohibit all vehicles from parking or standing in street railways; allow police to tow cars or move bicycles obstructing street railways. Require bicyclists or vehicle operators to yield to streetcars.
Prohibit boarding streetcars without paying fare. Prohibit loitering in streetcar stations; require proof of fare payment. Prohibit animals, eating, spitting, noise, outsize parcels, and shopping carts on streetcars. Allow buskers with a permit, caged pets, and waiting for arriving passengers on station platforms.
Require transit police to be trained in the Vehicle Code before issuing citations.
P.A.43 of 2021.

No thanks. I'll just continue using my vehicle to get around, and run all my errands in one shot. I'll leave the drama for all the public transportation enthusiasts.

[13606Cedargrove]

A busker is a street performer. Cary Grant [[under his real name Archibald Leach) was a busker in theatre district in London when he was a teenager.

[Richard]

No thanks. I'll just continue using my vehicle to get around, and run all my errands in one shot. I'll leave the drama for all the public transportation enthusiasts.

Ha,until some young whippersnapper judge says,you can’t drive 55,then PT will be your only means of independence when it comes to mobility.

Of course by then they will have little boxes that you can jump into and it will automatically take you where you tell it.

Which is pretty much the same thing as PT anyways.

I like my cars,all 6 of them,one can even drive underwater submerged,so I am already prepared for living in cities underwater do to climate change,but I still support transit options ,because I like options.