Pic from Skyscraper forum page

**tallboy66** · December-14-09, 11:33 PM

just to give credit to photographer, but the point being Detroit could have a commuter rail run right up the middle with a "Michigan left" for cars after the train passes. Entrances/stops at intersections for passengers on the line, no need for extra road construction, no lack of driving lanes...I know Deeeetroit can do it.

**EastsideAl** · December-15-09, 01:13 AM

Yes, I'm pretty sure it can be done:

[[View back down Woodward from the Maccabees [[aka Schools Center, WSU) Building, 1942)

Retroit · December-15-09, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by tallboy66

...Detroit could have a commuter rail run...I know Deeeetroit can do it.

...Detroit could have million more residents, which would justify a light rail run...I don't know if Deeeetroit can do it though.

**hudkina** · December-15-09, 09:33 PM

There are cities with half the density [[or less) of Detroit that sustain light rail. Besides, even with the density in place, chances are very good that once a light rail/streetcar system is operating in the Greater Downtown area, TOD will spring up all over the place.

**DetroitPlanner** · December-15-09, 09:44 PM

What there is no light rail plans for Woodward??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO2-IKM9Jpo

**Alexis** · December-15-09, 10:04 PM

If the movie industry ever takes off in the city it will bring in many eco friendly people along with it.
My suggestion would be to continue courting the movie industry and eventually it could lead to the rebirth of the city along with revitalizing the old mass transit system .

Everybody wins.

**d.mcc** · December-15-09, 11:32 PM

Yeah, LOLz! When has Transit EVER helped boost development!

ROFL! LMAO! LOLz! OMGz! pwned

Rideron · December-16-09, 06:48 AM

Building transit systems to attract growth is like buying an expensive house and car to attract a high paying job.

**tallboy66** · December-16-09, 09:00 AM

Originally Posted by d.mcc

Yeah, LOLz! When has Transit EVER helped boost development!

ROFL! LMAO! LOLz! OMGz! pwned

Well maybe it's the chicken/egg thing but they could run off the theory of "if you build it they will come"

**MCP-001** · December-16-09, 10:30 AM

Look up the history on the "Train to Nowhere" on why you will never see light rail in Detroit again.

**xphillipjrx** · December-16-09, 11:05 AM

The Metra is street level throughout the south side of Chicago. Go to Mapquest and look at the aerial map of E 71st Street and S Jeffrey Ave. The train runs down the middle of the street with one lane of traffic and one lane for parking in each direction.

**hudkina** · December-16-09, 01:56 PM

Yes because if you check out what happened when streetcar/LRT/subway lines opened in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Portland, Houston, and just about every other major American city, it just so happened that nobody rode them and no development was spawned by them. Right? I mean, you guys DO actually study the history of modern transit before making such remarks, right?

Bearinabox · December-16-09, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by Rideron

Building transit systems to attract growth is like buying an expensive house and car to attract a high paying job.

It's more like getting a haircut and some decent clothes to attract a high-paying job. In and of itself it won't save Detroit, but not having it is a deal-breaker.

**tallboy66** · December-18-09, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Bearinabox

It's more like getting a haircut and some decent clothes to attract a high-paying job. In and of itself it won't save Detroit, but not having it is a deal-breaker.

True. Toronto, Chicago, NYC have good mass transit.
After 4 years I have not had a car and if/when they diversify the economy in Detroit how do they expect to attract people to move there from other cities, countries unless you can negotiate for a car along with salary?

**Whitehouse** · December-18-09, 01:01 PM

Can I bring up the city of Amsterdam? It's one of the most densely populated cities in the world. And I'd rather not imagine that city without it's tram [[streetcar for you Americans) or subway system. Just look at the lengths this city was willing to go for an extension to the northern part of the city. It requires a massive tunnel under the [[very photogenic) central station and the IJ, body of water half a mile wide.

See here a scene from the start of that operation.

And this is what it looks now.

All it takes is guts and a shitload of money...

Meanwhile this project has come almost completely off the rails cause of massive spending and an accident in August 2008. A stretch of buildings, about 300 years old, started to crumble. This process was stopped just in time and those buildings, however weakened, still stand. But the city was forced to buy the properties of the respective owners at a high price.

This is where that happened. At the Vijzelgracht just about where you can see that blue crane.

See what I mean?

Here's another picture on the Dutch Wikipage.

A lot of people think the project should still be stopped before things go really out of hands. But me personally think the new link in the subway will worl fine when things are finished.

**PeachLaser** · December-18-09, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

Yes, I'm pretty sure it can be done:

[[View back down Woodward from the Maccabees [[aka Schools Center, WSU) Building, 1942)

Question...Why does Woodward have the little crook in it? It looks as if it started in one direction, made a correction and then went in another. Did two different roads meet here? It's not really a problem, just wondering if there was a reason for it?

**EastsideAl** · December-18-09, 03:36 PM

The dreaded midtown vortex?

http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/...tml?1171395530

**Gistok** · December-18-09, 04:40 PM

The reason that Woodward Ave. meanders to the left or right is because of the 1930s widening of that street. North of Grand Central Park most of the widening was done at the east side, thereby causing many of the churches on the east side of Woodward to loose either their entrance porch, or in some cases they sliced out a bay of the church nave, and moved the entrance [[and tower) back to reattach to a shorter nave [[Central Methodist on GCP had this done).

Farther up Woodward the Crystral Lofts Building lost a chunk of its' old arched facade [[still visible on the sides of the building) and the new Art Deco facade was attached farther back.

The Bonstelle Theatre [[former Temple Beth El) also lost part of its' front landscape and approach.

Another casualty of this process was the Majestic Theatre, which lost its' Venetian Gothic original facade. The old facade and building lobby were removed, and a new garishly colorful Art Deco paneled facade was added. Attached are 3 pics... 1) old Majestic, 2) 1930s new facade Majestic before street was widened, 3) Majestic today with widened street and narrower sidewalk.

If you look at the Midtown Vortex image [[from a thread by that title that was arguably the funniest DYES thread ever!!) you will see that Woodward took a bend to the right at the Garfield Building. Ironically the legion of folks who did all the planning work to widen Woodward back then... well they were working out of the Garfield Building.... so they didn't want to be disrupted from their work... by their work!!

So at the Garfield Building... Woodward took a bend to the west... and those buildings on the west side were now being truncated or facades were reattached to shortened buildings.