Light rail update: Usage question stalls progress

Well, maybe it was naive to assume we’d have light rail by now. But a working plan? Construction? According to the Detroit Free Press, plans for the M-1 light rail line, which would connect New Center and Downtown by way of Woodward Ave., are currently stymied by disputes between private backers, transit advocacy groups and city government.

The major disputes? Whether to run the light rail line down the middle, which transit experts say benefits pedestrians and riders, or down the sides, which private backers claim will stimulate commerce and tourism. Whether the trains will run down to Jefferson or circle downtown to connect with the Rosa Parks Transit Center has also stimulated much debate between private funders and city planners.

Excerpt:

But the project ultimately required cooperation between public and
private interests, said Megan Owens, executive director of
Transportation Riders United, a group that advocates for public transit. “That’s
really where M-1 came from,” she said, “this desire to get it done
faster and to make sure it got done. But you can’t really do a
transportation project of this magnitude without working with the
government. That’s the reality.”

Read the rest of the story here. And, if you missed this video, bring those trains down the middle, yo.