Rustwire: Do major foundations wield too much power over Woodward transit?

Perhaps the biggest issue in bringing mass transit down Woodward Avenue is a disagreement over whether the trains should run down the middle or the sides. Proponents of rail stations along Woodward's sides see real estate profitability and retail options; while, as this video shows, running passenger transit down the center of M-1 is safer for commuters. Transit advocacy group Transport Michigan agrees -- as do we at Model D, incidentally.

The heads of major foundations, like Kresge Foundation's Rip Rapson, are also getting in the mix -- private donors like Kresge will pay for 20 percent of the light rail price tag.  Below, the blog Rustbelt.net debates whether public policy decisions are the right place for private foundations.

Excerpt:

Investors like Rapson weren't elected by the people of Detroit. He came to Detroit a few years ago from the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis. He lives in some fancy suburb outside Troy. But as the Wall Street Journal points out, private individuals like Mr. Rapson are wielding a lot of power in Detroit. They are threatening to dictate the terms of a project that will nonetheless be funded 4-1 by public money.

Read the editorial here.