Quote Originally Posted by hudkina View Post
If that's the case then maybe you should move downtown so that you can walk 2 blocks to the train...

The point of this streetcar isn't to get suburbanites in Royal Oak to hop on a train and be downtown in 20 minutes. The point of this streetcar is to get the people who want to live, work, and play in the downtown core an easy, reliable, car-free option to get around.

That's why I think it is pointless for now to extend the line up to 8 mile and beyond. In my own fantasy, I would have the Woodward line terminate in Highland Park at the Model T Plaza. [[If people want to use that as a Park and Ride spot, so be it.) That means that the extension north of Grand Blvd would only cover another 3 miles with stops at Seward, Holbrook, West Chicago, Woodland, Glendale, and Manchester.

Phase 1 - Woodward from Jefferson to Grand Blvd. ~3 miles
Phase 2 - E Jefferson from Woodward to Cadillac Blvd. ~4 miles
Phase 3 - Michigan/Vernor Hwy from Woodward to Lawndale St. ~5 miles
Phase 4 - Woodward extension from Grand Blvd to Manchester Blvd. ~3 miles

Having an extensive inner-city streetcar system will go a long way in attracting and retaining people and businesses to the downtown core. Once the core has reached a critical mass of residents and jobs, then we can start discussing true rapid transit that connects the suburbs to the core. While commuter rail should obviously be the first step, rapid transit along the major corridors would be a good second step.

Whatever. This is Michigan's first case study on modern urban rail. They spent money on a system that had the potential to be more effective. If this train is to give a very slow alternative to driving, then I suppose the people mover is alternative to taking taxis around downtown. Both will accomplish something with reasonable purpose...enough to eventually pay for themselves over time, but never reach the goal of being an integral spine of a citywide system.