Crain’s Detroit Business headlined an exciting story this morning:
"Details are beginning to emerge about a privately funded plan to build a $103 million light-rail commuter loop along 3.4 miles of Woodward Avenue in Detroit from Hart Plaza to Grand Boulevard. . . . Detroit Regional Mass Transit, run by John Hertel, is serving as the clearinghouse. . . .
"A 2007 study obtained by Crain’s Detroit Business called the "Woodward Transit Catalyst Project" outlines a $103 million light-rail line that stretches along 3.4 miles of Woodward and includes 12 stops near busy destinations such as Campus Martius Park, Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center. Private contributions and foundation grants would fund the system’s construction, but no financial deals are believed to be imminent.
- Passengers would ride two-car streetcar-style trains powered by overhead electrical wires and running on steel rails embedded in the street and operated by a driver, the study shows. Each car could carry more than 150 people.
- Businesses and institutions along the route’s stops — 23 stations, one on each side of the street and one at Hart Plaza — would be asked to buy branding rights for the stations, the study says. Branded stations would include themes, colors and logos of the buyer along with advertising.
- The route’s annual operating costs are estimated at $4.2 million to $5.6 million, well beyond the $2.1 million the system is predicted to raise from tickets and advertising. It offered several options for subsidizing the system, including money from the city’s general fund, a new tax or a tax-increment financing district. . . .
Crain’s also editorialized about it, saying that the light rail plan could be a boon for the region: "As plans emerge, the region should band together to make the promising ones work. For once, let’s not let the naysayers win. It hurts us all."
Read more, including comments by TRU Director Megan Owens, at Crain’s.
Also check out TRU’s explanation of Why Detroit Needs Rapid Transit and the Factors of Successful Light Rail Lines (and why Woodward is a great location for light rail)