{"id":4757,"date":"2009-06-17T12:31:34","date_gmt":"2009-06-17T16:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=4757"},"modified":"2013-01-21T15:29:12","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T20:29:12","slug":"world-wide-wednesday-detroits-return-to-light-rail-transit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2009\/06\/17\/world-wide-wednesday-detroits-return-to-light-rail-transit\/","title":{"rendered":"World Wide Wednesday: Detroit’s (re)turn to light rail transit"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Each week we will be focusing on blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments.\u00a0 We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues in Toronto.<\/em><\/p>\n

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From bikes to expressways and pedestrianized rivers, it only makes sense that today’s topic for World Wide Wednesday is public transit.\u00a0 So where better to look to than…Detroit?<\/p>\n

Like Toronto and many other cities across the continent, America’s Motor City is moving towards getting a light rail transit system of its own. However, unlike Toronto’s Transit City plan<\/a> which calls for 124km of new, publicly funded LRT lines in the city, Detroit’s light-rail commuter loop clocks in at a total of 3.4 miles, with the $125 million price tag being covered entirely by the private sector.<\/p>\n

Before discounting Detroit’s most recent foray into the world of LRT infrastructure as one not worth serious examination — especially when plenty of other North American cities<\/a> offer up bigger models — let’s not forget that it’s not the city’s first try (aside from the hardly used People Mover<\/a>), but a return to days long gone.<\/p>\n

The proposed site for the light rail line along Woodward Avenue was actually the route of Detroit’s last streetcar, which was removed in 1956 only to be replaced by diesel buses.\u00a0 That ended 93 years of streetcar service that at one point was operating over 2,800 vehicles.
\n
\nDetroit transit hit its peak annual ridership of 492 million rides in 1945. Sixty-five years later, that number is now reduced to less than one hundred million.\u00a0 In this context, Detroit’s renewed interest in rail-based public transportation follows a nationwide trend that is emblematic of what one American blogger has called ‘America’s Streetcar Renaissance<\/a>.’<\/p>\n

Yet Detroit poses an interesting case study in this supposed renaissance: first, what role, if any, should the private sector play in funding public transit?\u00a0 Is Detroit’s Woodward Loop symbolic of how the economic benefits of public transit infrastructure are being more widely recognized by the private sector?\u00a0 Do the positives regarding jump-starting Detroit’s stalled transit system with private money outweigh the drawbacks of building a public transit system where private interests and initiatives largely determine routes and service?<\/p>\n

To get an idea of the debate surrounding Detroit’s proposed light rail line, check out these blogs:
\n• The Infrastructurist: America Under Construction<\/a>
\n• The Transport Politic
\n<\/a>• Faded Detroit<\/a><\/p>\n

For some interesting articles on Detroit’s LRT plans, see:
\n• Crain’s Detroit Business
\n<\/a>• Light Rail Now!<\/a>
\n• The Detroit News<\/a><\/p>\n

For a more general history of transit in Detroit, here are some good sites:
\n• Detroit Transit History
\n<\/a>• Transportation Riders United<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo by Wigwam Jones<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each week we will be focusing on blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments.\u00a0 We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues in Toronto. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –Continue reading “World Wide Wednesday: Detroit’s (re)turn to light rail transit”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4071,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21759,8],"tags":[810,854,21,1348,12474,19,99,391],"class_list":["post-4757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-transit","tag-america","tag-detroit","tag-other-cities","tag-public-transit-infrastructure","tag-rail-based-public-transportation","tag-toronto","tag-urban-planet","tag-usd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Wide Wednesday: Detroit's (re)turn to light rail transit - 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