From Street-Car City to Motor City: Southeast Michigan Mass Transit

Re-published from August 2013

As gas prices hover around $4.00 per gallon, I feel helpless as I watch gas pump dials spin ever faster to satisfy the insatiable appetite of my car's fuel tank.  As a commuter to Detroit from Ann Arbor , I have few alternatives than to keep filling my car's tank.  It seems odd to think that some 65 years ago, Detroit's street-car system offered an alternative that was the envy of the world.

Map of Detroit's Street-car system in 1941
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In 1945, Detroit’s Department of Street Railways (DSR) owned 908 street-cars running over 19 routes.   That same year, a transportation study presented a vision of Detroit that organized a spider web of street and light rail routes by linking them to a proposed underground downtown transportation center at Cadillac Square.   It presented visions of light rail service running within the center median of Detroit’s budding freeway system.  But by 1956, not a single street-car remained on a Detroit street, replaced instead by rubberized service or buses.

1945 rendering of a freeway median light-rail station
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But the excitement is starting to build again as Detroit’s M1 light-rail project begins the process of placing street-cars back on Detroit streets.  Contracts were awarded last month and construction on the first sections of rail is scheduled to begin this summer.

Hoping to learn details about the M1 project, my research quickly evolved into discussions about the recently authorized Southeastern Michigan Regional Transportation Authority (RTA).  My hope of writing a quick entry about the M1 project quickly broadened into a discussion about how the project fits into a regional transportation plan.

I’m therefore dedicating the next three blog entries to the following topics:

Part 1 – The Southeast Michigan Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)

A discussion about the RTA, its purpose, how its organized and more importantly its plans for generating revenue.

Rendering of a M1 street-car traveling south
 near Woodward and Mack Avenues
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Part 2 – M1 Light-rail Project

A discussion of the M1 light-rail project, its schedule for completion and its plans for financial sustainability.

Proposed Ann Arbor - Detroit Regional Rail Line
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

Part 3 – The Proposed Ann Arbor to Detroit High Speed Rail Project

A discussion of its current status and how it fits into a regional transportation plan.

I hope these articles are informative and ignite a continued interest and support for our area’s regional transportation plans.