Transit : Buzz

Is this a "golden moment" for cities like Detroit?

There's a conscious reason the national group CEOs for Cities, which has celebrated urban growth since 2001, chose Detroit for this year's annual conference (and got schooled on Tech Town, the Detroit Declaration and more). A new article from Citiwire.net says it's the growing appreciation for cities' inherent resources that makes now, not the future, the time to capitalize on building our nation's cities of tomorrow.The article also illustrated a few comparisons between Detroit and Atlanta, which has experienced steady revitalization in the past decade.

Excerpt:

The Detroit initiatives that may seem "against all odds" do in fact mirror trends working for American cities. Reports are multiplying of a growing cohort of talented young people, many of them college graduates, drawn to cities by their dynamism and excitement ... Then there's a clear trend, notes Carol Coletta, president of CEOs for Cities: recognizing, then exploiting, cities' sometimes hidden assets. A prime example is the Atlanta Beltline, a year a forlorn and abandoned 22-mile loop of rail lines now being made into a linear park of 1,200 landscaped acres with recouped industrial sites and transit service for 45 neighborhoods.

Read it here.

Two new SMART hybrid-electric buses hitting the bus system's most-used routes on Woodward and Gratiot ride, as one bus driver put it, "like a Cadillac." The two buses, which were purchased for $800,000 each using federal stimulus dollars, are roomy, comfortable, and measure almost twice as long as SMART's regular diesel buses.

Taking the bus is de rigueur in Curitiba, Brazil, which boasts the world's most sophisticated bus system, carrying the same amount of passengers as subways or light rail at a fraction of the cost. While Detroit can't yet match the elevated bus stations or dedicated lanes of Curitiba, these 100-seat mega-buses will offer SMART passengers a glimpse into the region's possible transit future.

Excerpt:

The region can't sustain rapid transit or light-rail service if more people aren't willing to park their cars at least part of the time. Unfortunately, basic buses are simply not sexy enough to lure many drivers out of their vehicles. SMART should use these hybrids to start promoting transit for people who have transportation options. Southeast Michigan is a long way from a first-class transit system -- one that can match Curitiba or even Cleveland -- but SMART's new world-class buses should whet the region's appetite for one.

Read more here.

This is good news, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said that a Woodward Light Rail Project from Hart Plaza to 8 Mile "is going to happen." Better news, however, would be seeing the ground break. Words are great, action is better.

Excerpt from mLive:

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says the $425 million Woodward Light Rail Project -- which will run from Hart Plaza to 8 Mile -- "is going to happen" and that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood should be in town soon to announce additional backing.

Bing made the announcement Thursday during a "big four" round table discussion hosted by Paul W. Smith of WJR-AM 760, suggesting the line could help reverse economic and population trends.

"I think it's about more than just transportation," he said. "It's about economic development. Cities that I've been in that have a light rail system, you've seen all kinds of businesses pop up around the system itself -- whether it's the young people that are living in that area, whether there's entrepreneurs that come to the area."

Read the entire article here.

How could not improving our metro and urban bus system help our live and the health of the region? Exactly... there's no downside to improving the mass transit that we already have.

Excerpt:

Thousands of Detroiters make extraordinary efforts to stay on the grind, riding the bus to suburban jobs that pay little more than minimum wage. To anyone who thinks Detroiters are lazy or don't want to work, I'd suggest walking -- or riding -- a mile in their shoes.

We can start that journey with Rashawnda Jones, a housekeeper at Somerset Inn in Troy. Jones, 25, commutes more than 21 miles from her west-side house, a trip that takes an hour and a half.

To allow time for possible missed connections or late buses, she likes to leave home early. Jones rubs the sleep from her eyes at 5 a.m., while the streets outside are still dark.

She showers, toasts a waffle, lays out her son's school clothes and puts on a burgundy smock before heading out at 6 a.m. -- two hours before her shift starts.

Jones catches the Schoolcraft DDOT bus to Woodward and Manchester. Then, after waiting about five minutes, she transfers to a SMART bus on the 460 route that takes her to Somerset Inn.

"It's hard, but I'm doing my best," Jones told me Monday, while we rode the SMART bus north on Woodward.

Read the entire article here.

At the end of every month, a bunch of bicyclers get together and ride the streets for Detroit Critical Mass. We posted a video last month that did a fine job of giving you an idea of what the event is all about. But, thanks to the social forum, nearly 400 people showed up to June's event and it's worth seeing that many bikers riding through the city.

Last month's US Social Forum brought 15,000 people here and a lot of bikes (see the video below). The city, before it was known for cars, it was known for bicycles. The Detroit streets are flat and wide, and with two bike shops in the Hub and the Wheelhouse, this bicycle culture is starting to come back -- and in a big way.

Excerpt from SF.StreetsBlog:

In Detroit for the US Social Forum (I'll have a report posted shortly at my blog) we spent some happy hours bicycling around the wide open city. An early stop was The Hub, Detroit's most vibrant community bike shop, where one of the guys got excited by our questions and immediately pulled out their only copy of an old 1896 bicycling map of Detroit.

After three days at the Social Forum, more and more bicycles piled up on every lockable fence and pole in front of the big downtown convention center Cobo Hall (I'm sure it had never experienced so many convention goers arriving by bike), we helped our hosts promote Critical Mass on Friday night.

Detroit has had a small-ish Critical Mass going back some years, but this was its biggest ever, about 375 riders. A great route was planned and most followed, which took us downtown, along the riverfront, out into eastern Detroit, through the remarkable Heidelberg Project, and finally back into the center of the City. Here's a gallery of shots.

Read the entire post here.

And more on that Detroit Critical Mass ride, in which a bunch of bicyclers get together and ride the streets each month. We posted a video last month that did a fine job of giving you an idea of what the event is all about. But, thanks to the social forum, nearly 400 people showed up to June's event and it's worth seeing that many bikers riding through the city.

Filmmaker Aaron Woolf, who spoke here in Detroit about his documentary "Beyond the Motor City" last month, says that the Detroit has something to teach to America.

Excerpt from Minnesota Public Radio:

Aaron Woolf doesn't deny Detroit was a mess, even before the collapse of the car industry. However, he argues that just as Detroit led the nation in transportation in the 20th century, it could be the model for the 21st century.

"Detroit is an amazing story," he says. "Detroit has lived the highest highs and the lowest lows of our transportation choices."

Woolf's film, "Beyond the Motor City," shows how Detroit was once hailed for its streetcar and railway system in the 19th century. Most of that disappeared as the city's thriving auto factories churned out cars, which reshaped the whole of America.

Read the entire article here.

The "Golden Triangle"  is a proposed plan that would bring a rapid bus route to to three linking counties. Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne, including downtown Detroit, would be linked. Proponents say it would be cheaper and faster to establish than light rail. And that's all well and good. It's an exciting new development, however, transit advocates are buzzin on the Internet, saying light rail is still needed in Detroit.

Excerpt from the Detroit News:

The "Golden Triangle" -- a proposed rapid bus route that would link Macomb and Oakland counties with downtown Detroit -- got a boost Thursday from local business groups that say it will be cheaper and faster to establish than light rail.

The Macomb County and the Sterling Heights Regional Chambers of Commerce say they support a plan by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) to use buses on dedicated lanes along a 67-mile route.

The bus route need not compete with light rail projects in Metro Detroit, backers say. Rather, it could be a precursor for light-rail systems because it would establish the ridership required to draw federal funding for light rail, officials say.

"It's a practical, functional, fiscally responsible approach to mass transit that serves the whole region," said Macomb County Board of Commissioners chairman Paul Gieleghem, D-Clinton Township. "It will roll like (light) rail and feel like (light) rail."

Read the entire article here.

The 10th annual National Bike Summit was held in D.C. a bit ago. Todd Scott who operates the m-bike.org site and Kelli Kavanaugh from Wheelhouse Detroit (and right here at Model D) showed up to push biking in Michigan. Todd Scott's post lays out what happened with some good news at the end for the Detroit bicycles.

Excerpt from m-bike.org:

The networking opportunities here were significant. I spent some time speaking with a software engineer that developed the Google's bike routing. There are a number of issues that I don't believe they have considered that I will be following up on. I also said that since the Google Trike is coming to the Detroit Zoo, it might as well create Streetview images for the Dequindre Cut and RiverWalk. That might be possible. We'll see.

I went to dinner with Kelli Kavanaugh (Wheelhouse Detroit), Karen Kavanaugh (Governor's office in Washington DC — not related to Kelli), and Ginny Sullivan (Adventure Cycling.) It was a great opportunity for exchanging bicycle advocacy information.

I spoke with Gary Fisher about coming to Detroit for an urban ride. He's never ridden in the city and I think I had him convinced he needs to. I believe he was wearing tweed throughout the entire Summit — totally dapper.

The biggest disappointment? The National Bike Summit remains an event mainly attended by white adults. This lack of diversity perpetuates the stereotype that bicycles are white cultural phenomenon. There was a moderately interesting session on promoting diversity that relied largely on the efforts of the presentation by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Perhaps the best recommendation came from Keith Holt (Active Transportation Alliance.) He suggested groups start by diversifying their boards — a great suggestion for the League of American Bicyclists who organized the summit.

Read the entire article here.

Over the last decade Detroit's Midtown are has exploded along Cass Corridor. Most may remember it being vacant, empty, destination-less, but it isn't like that anymore. And with the expected light-rail project coming to Woodward, Midtown will continue to grow, and, more importantly, could grow faster.

Excerpt from the Metro Times:

This area known as Midtown — roughly between downtown and the New Center — has a growing energy and the promise of more if a planned rail project is installed along Woodward. With its independent businesses, continued investment from Wayne State and a new mind-set about walkability, rideability and marketability, the area is a unique and colorful section of Detroit. And the strip along Willis at Cass is becoming one of its most vibrant components.

"What we have now is a lot of bubbling up. It's like a brew," says Harriet Saperstein, a former city of Detroit planner and current chair of the Woodward Avenue Action Association, which works in Wayne and Oakland counties. "With lots of these bubbles, some of them are going to dissipate, but some may have more flavor and staying power."

Read the entire article here.

Congratulations to the Hub of Detroit. They have been announced as the first ever gold level Bicycle Friendly Business in Michigan by the League of American Bicyclists. The Hub received the honor because of their push in making changes in transportation policies to promote biking to work as well as setting a community-wide example for a biking environment.

Excerpt from a press release posted on the Hub web site:

"This Bicycle Friendly Business is making a difference for employees, customers, and communities," said Bill Nesper, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program. "The Hub of Detroit promotes bicycling as a viable form of transportation and gives their employees choices and options that make biking to work easy and fun."

Read the entire post here.

If you follow us on Twitter, then surely you know that at the annual Downtown Detroit Partnership, May Dave Bing said that the M-1 Rail line was a go and should be "shovel ready" by the end of 2010.

That's great news for Detroit and Detroiters. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it'll actually happen then. However, if the words of the mayor aren't enough, check out the M-1 rail line website. Nothing says "commitment" like a website.

Find the M-1 rail line site here.

Read a Detroit News article about the M-1 rail line and Bing's words here.

The Downtown Detroit Partnership's annual luncheon will take place on Thursday, March 4, at the Marriott in the Ren Cen. This year's featured speakers will be Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has been invited as well. Kresge Foundation CEO Rip Rapson and M-1 Rail CEO Matt Cullen will discuss the perspectives of mass transit in Detroit. DDP CEO Ann Lang will also speak.

For more information and to register go here.

Detroit is like wearing a size 12 shoe when you're supposed to wear a size 9. This Detroit News editorial says Detroit needs to chuck the size 12 and get a shoe that fits.

Excerpt:

That's the challenge. Shrinking Detroit, which was built for more than 2 million people and now has less than 900,000, will be an emotionally wrenching exercise. People who live on blocks containing only one or two houses are as attached to their homes as those who live in crowded neighborhoods.

Also, closing off sections of the city or shifting them to agricultural or recreational uses will signal to some a giving up on Detroit's potential.

That's why it is essential to begin rallying the public to the benefits of right-sizing. The most obvious upside is that Detroit will be able to deliver better services -- including police and fire -- if the population is more concentrated.

Read the entire article here.

What will Detroit look like in 40 years? America 2050 offers a sneak preview of what it might be like.