Surface/street-running light-rail was "considered" for Woodward North but quickly eliminated without proper study. Commuter rail was not even considered because the line is a mile removed from Woodward Ave.

It's a shame because the proper option would be a combination of all three. Light-rail in the form of an extended M1 rail all the way to Royal Oak and commuter rail and enhanced bus service to Pontiac. One mode can't fulfill the multitude of transportation needs within the extremely long corridor so the solution must be multimodal.

Although the talking heads are saying BRT right now, it will surely be dumbed down and nothing like the Cleveland Health line which was pleauged by high costs and significantly shorter. Rather, it will be more like the select buses in New York or some of the enhanced bus lines in LA which, while significant improvements over current buses, can not be properly called BRT or RRT or whatever flashy title politicos want to slap on it.

Breakdown of what makes BRT--

Signaling prority
Stations, not stops, with fareboxes before boarding
Exclusive ROW or dedicated lanes.

Notice: it has nothing to do with bus length or paint color. Even if one of these aspects is eliminated, which will likely happen, the system will be severely limited in its ability to deliver anything resembling "rapid transit."

Oh and one last thing. Hall Rd BRT is a couplete joke and should not happen. And BRT to airport from Downtown could be a decent idea but to Ann Arbor is completely unreasonable. With Dearborn's new rail station almost complete and the rolling stock bought, commuter rail to Ann Arbor is very close to reality.

Polemic over.