Could the Detroit People Mover expand beyond Downtown?

Рет қаралды 9,121

Күн бұрын

The Detroit Transportation Corporation, the organization behind the rail service, is launching a year-long study to see what long-term and short-term improvements could be made.

Пікірлер: 110

@DetroitNinja Ай бұрын

Bring the tracks out to the neighborhoods. Like Chicago L trains.

@TheTransitNomad Ай бұрын

Great idea!

@robjones1328 Ай бұрын

Should have been done decades ago

@Detroit_Desu Ай бұрын

that was originally the plan before funding eventually dried up under the Reagan administration and we were stuck with just the downtown portion

@JeffStema Ай бұрын

@@Detroit_DesuFeds earmarked $780 mil (1977 dollars too), in 1977. Fed transit dollars like these needed to be accepted by a regional transit authority. City and burbs couldnt get it together (didnt happen until 2017) and therefore couldnt get the fed money. Detroit went it alone with a much reduced fed funding and built only the downtown circulator amd none of the spoke street lines as previously and regionally planned. And by 1981 following a Reagan/Coleman disagreement, those same fed dollars then went to Atlanta and the Marta.

@The_General_Zubas Ай бұрын

@@JeffStema Atlanta took Priority, eh? Go figure.

@mergat2970 Ай бұрын

Yes. Please. This shouldve been done a long time ago. Also make the people mover run both ways

@rbnation6362 Ай бұрын

Make it run in both directions!

@deltadarling23 Ай бұрын

YES! More transit! Would also love to see some type of shuttle service from DTW to downtown, AA, Royal Oak…

@Knightmessenger Ай бұрын

There is a bus from the airport to downtown now.

@The_General_Zubas Ай бұрын

@@Knightmessenger Buses fight with traffic, this is a dedicated route Atlanta has this for their Airport, but then again they do have a larger population than us.

@Knightmessenger Ай бұрын

@The_General_Zubas buses dont have to fight with traffic if they have a dedicated lane. But too many people think this makes traffic worse and keeping that lane open for cars would free up more space. When in reality cars are so space inefficient, a bus can easily take the place of 30 cars. It appears MDoT has been dissuaded from putting bus lanes on Michigan and Gratiot Ave.

@Jamestube8439 Ай бұрын

One improvement I would love to see (at least for the start of any expansions) would be for the trains to serve some of the neighborhoods like Mexican Town, Mid-Town/New Center, Delray, Eastern Market.

@nickcalcperc Ай бұрын

Additional lines down Jefferson, Michigan, and Gratiot would be a great phase 1 for the people mover. I don’t think we can comprehend how transformative real automated, higher capacity, rapid transit could be for Detroit or we would have done this a long time ago. Hopeful for this.

@Knightmessenger Ай бұрын

I hope it gets expanded. But bus only lanes would serve Michigan and Gratiot better for a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately, it looks like MDoT will not be including them in their rebuild of those streets. The advantage of the elevated people mover track is that it can curve and zigzag along places that aren't connected by a single street. So any expansion would probably be better not simply running parallel to an existing bus route or street.

@nickcalcperc Ай бұрын

@ I completely agree. I was also disappointed to see the bus lanes taken out of the current plans on those aves. Regardless of what cost projections are, I am excited to see this viability study. Having an elevated light metro would be a really big deal and could generate a magnitude of wealth and prosperity for the city if done correctly.

@matthewmcree1992 Ай бұрын

I don’t live in Detroit, but I think expanding the people mover outside of Downtown Detroit and making it into an fully-automated light metro system could make Detroit a symbol of the Midwestern renaissance (just like my city of Minneapolis-St. Paul). Elevated rail is not only cheaper, but also gives people an ability to view the city and can be a symbol of their city (as the L is in Chicago and the Skytrain in Vancouver). It could also be used as the impetus for improving bus service around the city, with each stop outside Downtown functioning as a transit hub. Do it Detroit!

@traaztek1996 Ай бұрын

Guadalajara's vision is the way!

@trevorthefoamer220 Ай бұрын

I feel like it should be upgraded to Light Metro, with the likes of Vancouver's Skytrain. And then they could start extending it.

@vanabantas6085 Ай бұрын

Detroit deserves proper transit.

@oscardaone Ай бұрын

I’m not from Detroit but a two directional movement would be needed along with any extension.

@pnl2101 Ай бұрын

Please expand the People Mover to include neighborhoods beyond downtown! Would be great it if connected to the Airport and Oakland County.

@brianking4225 Ай бұрын

It really should stretch to Ypsilanti and Pontiac but of course that would require a lot of time and cooperation with neighboring cities and counties

@ashfiabrar4394 Ай бұрын

I’ve never been in Detroit but I loved the Scarborough RT (Toronto Line 3). With the shutdown of that and the moving of these trains to Detroit, the soul of line 3 is effectively in the Detroit People Mover. I hope the line becomes a success 🇨🇦🇺🇸

@hatsuneKuuma Ай бұрын

we deserve a people mover network with true residential coverage that can offer a complete commute. start with a few shorter spur lines from the loop into the near downtown neighborhoods, and build them further to the city limits in phases!

@Mopey024 Ай бұрын

Expand to Eastern Market, Wayne State, and eventually the airport

@kevinedwards7085 Ай бұрын

Maybe expend to belle isle, corktown, new center area. Maybe downriver

@TriegaDN Ай бұрын

I love the amount of people coming out and advocating more public transit for Detroit. Light rail down Woodward, Grand River, Michigan, Gratiot, Fort and Jefferson extending from the city core into the suburbs should be a major goal. We need a well connected and sustainable Metro Detroit, additionally public transportation helps with economic mobility for people struggling with the expenses that comes from car ownership. Public transportation just makes sense and benefits us all.

@The_General_Zubas Ай бұрын

Yea, up Gratiot, to Mount Clemens. I AM SERIOUS!

@The_General_Zubas Ай бұрын

and the airport.

@josemiranda9859 Ай бұрын

Make it go both directions too

@TheTransitNomad Ай бұрын

If that ever happens, it would be awesome!

@stickynorth Ай бұрын

Hell yes it should! Automated driverless metro's are the gold standard of mass transit now. Just ask Vancouver which along with Montreal, Riyadh and Dubai have some of the longest systems in the world now... Canada invented the technology to make it run and keeps tweaking it in different ways to keep making it better... I'd also approve of reintroducing battery-electric streetcars across the city too especially along all the traditional grand avenues of Detroit!

@MrKevinWhite Ай бұрын

It's puzzling that Toronto chose Hitachi for its new automated metro instead of the Canadian option. Glad our old decommissioned trains are going to get used in Detroit, though!

@milom7865 Ай бұрын

Besides improving the bus system, expanding the people mover is the best thing the city could do for transit

@deltafire12 Ай бұрын

YES BRO YES!!! YESS TAKE IT TO DEARBORN TOO!! YES HELL YES!!

@stacygoley3688 Ай бұрын

Yes we need it 😊

@Made.For.a.While24 Ай бұрын

What they need to do is they need to basically make everything double tracked. They need to add extensions to viable places that will be able to pay back its money for letting it be built. There will be a big step for Detroit to have one of the biggest people mover system in America. If they take the right actions it is time that we step up if we start putting more money into transit to see what we can get our legacy will be left behind for future generations to not use a car

@grititandgetit Ай бұрын

So it costs 800 thousand dollars to ask questions for a year 🤔 on should people mover expand?...these so called "studies" are ridiculously expensive

@TheParadoxDestroyer Ай бұрын

Of course, we could always do things without knowing what we're doing.

@iyncity Ай бұрын

They could easily extend it to Michigan Central and Eastern Market or Down Jefferson towards Belle, the Q line already connects to the arenas

@brucebeamon5460 Ай бұрын

Ideally it would be better to have the Q line and the people mover working as one …. And extend it out to at least west to Michigan Central North to 8 mile ( further of there was MORE COHESION with the suburbs to Pontiac ) and also east to Belle Isle and even alter … Detroit has for EVER SHORT CHANGED its development projects

@es-qf2gw Ай бұрын

@brucebeamon5460 I said that!!! When they where talking public comments for the Qline Track layout.

@PeaceToAll-sl1db Ай бұрын

no - people mover doesnt have to stop

@TriegaDN Ай бұрын

Qline would be great if it's given dedicated lanes all the way through and had all its tracks and stops along the median. Having stops on the sides of the road was such a bad idea. They just about had the right idea in the northern section of the line. Elevated or subterranean light rail would be the gold standard

@PeaceToAll-sl1db Ай бұрын

@@TriegaDN they need to arrest and tow drivers who block the lanes. if people know they lose their car, they will stop

@TriegaDN Ай бұрын

@@PeaceToAll-sl1db That wont solve the problem. Maybe if Detroit was a small town with no tourism, which clearly isn't the case. I highly doubt it's a repeat offender issue, Detroit gets a lot of visitors who may be parking on woodward for the first time. They need to consider moving the tracks to the center in the future.

@Bobby_T_ Ай бұрын

They need a version of London’s underground but it’s themed about cars and Eminem and in everything’s an Eminem font

@TonyEvans-v5d Ай бұрын

Mayor Young's idea of starting mass transit in Detroit. I'd rather rde on a Train than a Bus any day. He wanted it to go beyond downtown in the beginning. But auto companies and the DOT would not allow it. Now that there's no more automobile companies here and DOT is a joke, ....so why not? LOL

@stickynorth Ай бұрын

And yet the technology powers Vancouver and is constantly being expanded... But I get the optics of having a world-class mass transit system in Auto City, USA... Also why taxi's and car rental companies keep killing Las Vegas monorail expansions for the same reason... You wouldn't want a driverless monorail to run you up and down The Strip would you? Or take you to the airport for a fraction of the cost of a taxi ride would you? Of course you would but not from the perspective of local drivers... Which is a shame because if any city needed cheap mass transit for intoxicated people it would be Vegas...

@RailMan102_Productions Ай бұрын

This what I think should be done, the People Mover should Focus on the City Area of Detroit. While the Q-Line can be connection from the city of Detroit to the suburbs

@JeffStema Ай бұрын

Feds earmarked $780 mil (1977 dollars too), in 1977. Fed transit dollars like these needed to be accepted by a regional transit authority. City and burbs couldnt get it together (didnt happen until 2017) and therefore couldnt get the fed money. Detroit went it alone with a much reduced fed funding and built only the downtown circulator amd none of the spoke street lines as previously and regionally planned. And by 1981 following a Reagan/Coleman disagreement, those same fed dollars then went to Atlanta and the Marta.

@johnnyharris4800 Ай бұрын

really disappointing...

@Road2Ra777 Ай бұрын

This was Coleman Young vision in the 80's

@nicholasfield6127 Ай бұрын

Including the stadiums would be a huge improvement

@DavidSmith-xs3or Ай бұрын

Originally, the people mover was to have run out to at least the New Center area, but that was back in 1980, and Detroit was under a different administration.

@garyprovenzano5869 Ай бұрын

Improve the service that we already have, by making it go in both directions, and extend the People Mover to other neighborhoods, stadiums, and to the Q-Line that goes down Woodward.

@rb810810 Ай бұрын

Comments show that people would use it if it went somewhere!

@iamwill89 Ай бұрын

This should have been done in the late 80’s early 90’s if we’re being honest.

@devstaars 19 күн бұрын

this! they should also add a Qlines on michigan ave and gratiot to expand downtown while the people mover could serve as a link to the suburbs!! I get we’re the motor city, but if you don’t have a car or don’t feel like driving. You have to hikeee

@Cab00v Ай бұрын

Going in both directions, would be GROUNDBREAKING. It wouldn't even need to have double tracks all around, it could have 2 double stations at each half of the loop.

@dr.paparoni5428 Ай бұрын

Yes

@BlackPhoenix313 Ай бұрын

If anyone realizes its history, the planning didn't go well. The suburbs weren't very cooperative then and all that was done was a monorail that looped around downtown. An expansion of the people mover would take years. Bringing back streetcar service would be easier. It'll also require federal funding, which we're not getting a lot of since our population dropped below 1 mil. Note I'm saying the city's population, not including the suburbs. Also, you have to get the suburbs together on this. Have the automated trains remain on the loop, while having manned trains on any expansions that are done. Should any construction ever make it pass the drawing board, it'll take years for it to expand. And its mainly elevated? I can imagine, service to Ann Arbor, Pontiac, and Gratiot/8 Mile. Oh, wait, Amtrak covers those. To those doing the study, all I can say is, Good luck.

@simplephotos6803 Ай бұрын

Just expand the number of amtrack trains a day to the downtown and make the people mover connect the stadium to the train system already there Get high speed rail in and expand all the way to lake Orion Rochester; Then you have a powerhouse of a metro city

@chriscumper6617 Ай бұрын

Would expanding more lines and cars like the q line be more affordable and cost efficient? I feel like an elevated railway in neighborhoods that aren't as dense as downtown doesn't make sense right now. Plus the q line is so much better to look at imo

@milom7865 Ай бұрын

Expanding the q would be cheaper yes, however the people mover is a far superior form of transit so when you consider the level of service we would be getting it would be worth it. The people mover is probably the only metro level system we’ll ever have in Detroit. Also, the people mover will likely never be expanded to Woodward at least for a very long time since the q line is there, it would be a hard sell to have both on the same road and awkward to fit. It would be the same for any new q line route. Personally if the choices were expand the slightly better bus now but never have metro level service on that route in the future, or wait longer and spend more money to get a people mover expansion, I’d definitely choose the latter.

@milom7865 Ай бұрын

Also the neighborhoods only aren’t dense cause of depopulation, Brooklyn was empty fields before the subways were built. And there are areas like SW that are denser than downtown population wise

@ryanrau6714 Ай бұрын

After almost 40 years why not?

@ShaunCampbell-j7u Ай бұрын

Detroit needs a Regional Rail from Ann Arber to the Airport, Detroit, and Pontiac

@kryptism Ай бұрын

Detroit needs a commuter rail! One serving Metropolitan area & other running between Detroit& Chicago!😮

@Bobby_T_ Ай бұрын

If they do they should name it after Eminem

@kryptism Ай бұрын

@Bobby_T_ or Jack Harlow!😁

@Bobby_T_ Ай бұрын

@@kryptism Eminem’s logo has a better font for transit imo

@kryptism Ай бұрын

@@Bobby_T_ how about Reeses Pieces!!🤣

@Metaintelligencia Ай бұрын

It could…but priority clearly isn’t rail in the US

@VieleGuteFahrer Ай бұрын

The order of your sentence is wrong, Dutchie.

@IbelieveinJesusAmen Ай бұрын

She is gorgeous!

@andrewcoutts3327 Ай бұрын

How about fixing all the maintenance issues within the system instead of spending $600,000 on this study? Stupid! When we still have broken escalators, trains are breaking down, heat lamps are not all working, etc. It’s inconsistent and totally mismanaged. Expansion would be nice but they can’t even properly maintain the system that they’ve got.

@stickynorth Ай бұрын

They are getting all of Toronto's spare automated cars so that should help... If only from a parts/replacement train perspective... You now have surplus cars to sub in while the others get overhauled...

@ruffnerr Ай бұрын

It's not going to go to the Airport, but the stadiums would be a goal.

@trainluvr Ай бұрын

I love the DPM but ain’t nobody forking over a half billion for substantial improvement and expansion. Why not be the lab for low energy micro mobility that serves all and makes most 2 ton private vehicles obsolete? Be a world innovator, Detroit.

@TriegaDN Ай бұрын

Micro mobility wont solve all the issues mass transit could. I'm all for micro mobility in addition to mass transit, but people who advocate for it as a replacement for mass transit are usually tech bros looking to scam the public.

@PeaceToAll-sl1db Ай бұрын

it needs to be expanded into the residential areas - not business to business

@pojo1020 Ай бұрын

Should have brought them to Oakland county years sgo

@williamerazo3921 Ай бұрын

Yes you can expanded it and for cheap

@jlenarddetroit1082 Ай бұрын

extended detailed thoughts.... I, when I worked downtown, always used PM... BUT.... Upgrades, not CHANGES. Too late, it should have already been two-directional, double decker tracks w/ Trains going both directions - TOO LATE. HOWEVER, there MUST be a run from some part, double-wide/decker Trains go both directions to/from DTW. THEN ALSO create another separate and distinct different NORTHERN LOOP (only "attached" in the sense that at least 2 Stations should be side-by-side or just-across-street, for easy transit/transfer betw. the 2 loops (and to 3rd DTW loop). Put new loop/track along side Northern most parts of existing loop to go toward Ford Field, loop behind both Ford Field then along I75-ish next to Comerica, then across Woodward up and around LCA, they back downtown via Cass to complete the Northern loop/Stations back with Stations to interchange between the 2 loops. That would solve A LOT OF THE ISSUES! Sadly, too late, too expensive, too much of a pain, to go putting on a 2nd teir of existing loop to make it two-directional - so keep concept, add new routes (except to/from DTW, that MUST be 2-directional, side-by-side or double-deckered to allow flow both ways or the or the trip too long around - or, really, it still be a loop, but most of the track be side-by-side to at least MOST of the Stations and peeps can then jump to the other direction Trains if need be). Let's FULLY THINK IT THRU this time before digging in the ground. And the part I heard elsewhere about shutting down PM for 2+ months REALLY BAD IDEA (but, I get it, gotta shutdown on occasion since it is one-directional there isn't another direction to shutdown just one-direction while other maintained but still going (full round loop) while the other direction being maintained. Again TOO LATE NOW they didn't think thru but shutdown CANNOT be 2+ months time. And even LONGER TERM, need be a CORKTOWN loop and a up to Belle Isle loop!!!

@melovetorun Ай бұрын

Detroit needs a real metro train. 🚆

@louisbourbon8973 Ай бұрын

Just extend the people mover straight down Jefferson, Woodward, Grand River, and Michigan Ave in a hub and spoke formation.

@LilJessye94 Ай бұрын

It doesn’t even serve downtown properly

@AlexCentury Ай бұрын

LCA is served by the Q Line

@anonymousinternetlady Ай бұрын

Art a like that goes to -Ford Field -Eastern Market -Elmwood/Layfaytee park

@wayne-x30 Ай бұрын

Why, it only goes in one direction.

@blackwatchjazz3499 Ай бұрын

Expand to downriver

@PhantasyStarved Ай бұрын

The Q-Line makes more sense to expand into the outer neighborhoods. Use the Q-Lines on spoke streets to move in and out of downtown, use the expanded People Mover to circulate around downtown. Make the People Mover two-way and expand it a little to include stations at Comerica Park (which is close enough to Ford Field and would become the new station for Grand Circus Park), LC Arena/The District, Corner Ballpark/Corktown, Michigan Central Station, Riverside Park/Ambassador Bridge (which is close enough to Mexicantown), then turn toward the existing loop heading back to the RenCen.

@PeaceToAll-sl1db Ай бұрын

It needs too