Detroit Future City: The Statistics

image credit: HuffPost Detroit

I just finished reading Detroit Future City, the most recent product of the Detroit Works Project's long term planning.  Before discussing the report, I'd like to re-state some of the statistics that motivated its creation.  They are startling. They demand our attention.  They scream for a plan of action.  As Detroit declares bankruptcy, the shear size of the problem is revealed in numbers.

But the numbers aren't all negative.  There are definitely assets to strengthen, to grow and to promote.  The positives are just outshone by the depth and overwhelming nature of the negative.  The key to the report is re-fashioning the negatives as opportunities.  Vacant land is seen as an opportunity to invent a new urban form.  Under capacity industries are seen as opportunities to create jobs.  Oversize streets are seen as opportunities to recondition them to accept high-speed buses, bicycles and stormwater treatment.  In the words of the report,

"...Detroit is facing head-on what many other cities are on the cusp of: the need to create more sustainable, resilient civic centers for the new millennium.  The world needs Detroit's example.  The country and the world also need Detroit's success, as a critical American city in the next century global economy." (page 325)

All of the statistic listed below are taken from the 2012 Detroit Strategic Framework Plan. 

The Economic Growth Element: The Equitable City (page 42)

• 61% of employed Detroiters work outside the city
• 21.5% of Detroiters do not have access to a private vehicle
• 70% of Detroit jobs are held by commuters
• There are 27 jobs per 100 Detroit residents
• 20% of Detroit two-year degree holders live in poverty
• 68% of Detroiters without a high school diploma are unemployed or do not participate in the labor force
• 83% of Detroit's potential workforce is African-American
• 12% of the revenue earned by all Detroit firms was earned by African-American owned firms

The Land Use Element: The Image of the City (page 98)

• Detroit has suffered a 61% population loss between 1950-2010
• 20 square miles of Detroit's occupiable land area is vacant
• 22% of Detroit's industrial zoned land is vacant
• 36% of Detroit's commercial parcels are vacant
• The amount of money spent on groceries outside the city could support approximately 583,000 square feet of additional grocery retail space in Detroit
• Detroit contains 6.7 acres of park space per person (National Recreation and Park Association recommends 10 acres of park space per 1000 residents)
• 65% of Detroit's total citywide housing supply is single-family detached
• 66% of the total housing demand in Detroit's greater downtown is for multi-family

The City Systems Element: The Sustainable City (page 160)

• Detroit has suffered a $336 million decline in property tax revenue from 1950-2010 (60% decline)
• 20% of Detroit's potential revenue generating land area is vacant
• The average Detroit household spends 32% of their annual income on transportation
• 27% of Detroit's 3000 miles of public roads are in poor condition
• Only 35,000 of the existing 88,000 street lights work in Detroit
• Buses run at 75% capacity during peak hours.  The national average is 105%
• Detroit's water system operates at 40% of its overall capacity
• Detroit classifies 42 billion gallons of water as 'unaccounted for water'
• Detroit has three times higher rate of children with elevated blood lead levels than the national average
• Detroit has three time higher rate of children with asthma than the national average
• There were 36 combined sewer overflow discharges into the Detroit river in 2011.  All but 5 could have been prevented with a comprehensive citywide blue infrastructure system (pages 186-187)

The Neighborhood Element: The City of Distinct and Regionally Competitive Neighborhoods (page 210)

• $1.5 billion of Detroit resident expenditures are made outside the city each year
• Detroit has the 2nd highest violent crime rate in the U.S.
• Detroit has suffered a 66% loss in median housing sales prices (2006-2010)
• Detroit is ranked last in acres of park space per resident
• 69.1% of Detroiters are obsess or overweight
• Deaths resulting from heart disease in Detroit are 50% higher than the national average
• Detroit has suffered a 60% decline in public schools enrollment from 2001-2010

The Land and Buildings Assets Element: A Strategic Approach to Public Assets (page 272)

• 13,000 Detroit properties were in Wayne county's October 2011 auction
• 50% of all properties from the October 2011 auction reverted back to public ownership
• 45,000 Detroit parcels have been tax foreclosed since 2010
• 98% of all contiguous publicly owned parcels in Detroit are less than one acre in total size
• 46% of Detroit's recreation centers have closed since 2005 (14 out of 30)
• 130 public schools have been closed or converted to charter schools in Detroit since 2005
• 83% of Detroit's vacant parcels are zoned residential

It is from within this context that Detroit must now create a framework for developing its future.

Part 3: MiTrain - Ann Arbor to Detroit High Speed Rail

As dawn slowly breaks in the distance, a bell ringing locomotive pulls its shimmering collection of silver double-decker commuter cars into station.  Stepping onto one of the cars, I stroll my way along the center aisle.  Throwing my bag on an overhead shelf, I settle into a window seat.  I open my morning paper, take a quick sip of the orange juice I bought at the station's juice bar and I say hello to a few of the regulars who take their self assigned seats in front and behind.  The paper forecasts a sunny day with a high of 85.  It's another day off to work.

One full MiTrain set: A locomotive, a cab car and a coach car
SEMCOG

The above experience could easily take place within cities like Chicago, New York or Philadelphia.  And it fit Detroit until 1984 when SEMTA ended rail service between Ann Arbor and Detroit.   With years of failed attempts to revive the service, commuters between Ann Arbor and Detroit have continued to wait almost 30 years to share in the convenience and reliability of rail service again.

Refurbished MiTrain rail car
SEMCOG

On June 14th of this year, at Ann Arbor's 10th annual Green Fair, a refurbished Metra commuter rail car on long-term lease from the Great Lakes Central Railroad was unveiled to the public for the first time.  It is one of 23 cars currently under lease by MDOT for use along the proposed Ann Arbor to Detroit rail line.  Back in November of last year, six of the cars were tested and approved for use by both Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration.

The 38.2-mile rail line with five stations (Ann Arbor, Ypsi, Airport Connector,

Dearborn and Detroit), four daily 55-minute round-trips (all during peak periods),

and three round-trips on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

The plan is to run four daily trips between Ann Arbor and Detroit with stations in between at Ypsilanti, Westland (for connection to Metro Airport) and Dearborn (for connection to Greenfield Village).  Contracted Amtrak locomotives and crews would be used to operate the commuter trains.  Two hurdles remain before service becomes a reality: the securing of operating funds and the completion of new stations at Ypsilanti and Westland.

Dearborn Intermodal Rail Station
City of Dearborn

The state's new Regional Transportation Authority's ability to generate revenue provides a path for clearing the first hurdle: finding operating funds.  With a new station in Dearborn already under construction and designs for a second in Ypsilanti beginning, the second hurdle is already being cleared.  Finally, track improvements currently being completed between Dearborn and Detroit's New Center Amtrak station, which will separate freight and passenger traffic, are part of a collection of improvements being completed along the entire Chicago to Detroit corridor.  The USDOT estimates by 2016, trains will be able to reach 110 mph on 80 percent of the corridor.

Ypsilanti's Michigan Central Freighthouse, near Depot Town,
 is the proposed location for Ypsilanti's new rail station.
Detroit1701.org

Carmine Palombo, Director of Transportation Planning at SEMCOG, estimates that it will take two construction seasons before the rails are in the shape necessary for daily trips between Ann Arbor and Detroit.  However, special event trains for Detroit's Thanksgiving Parade, a football and/or baseball game could be up and running as early as this summer.


Proposed Fuller Road Station in Ann Arbor

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

A new Ann Arbor train station planned for the state's busiest Amtrak hub has been placed on hold.  Once the rail line is operating, Ann Arbor's Mayor John Hieftje hopes to double ridership over the next three to four years and prove to the city's tax base the need for the new station.  Leaders have given Mayor Hieftje estimates that 700 to 900 people would move into downtown Ypsilanti within the first few years of operation just to enjoy the 10 minute Ann Arbor commute to work.  Experts also estimate that another 10,900 University of Michigan employees live in zip codes along the proposed rail line. Four thousand of which live in Ypsilanti.

It appears this time, visions for running high speed rail between Ann Arbor and Detroit are finally coming into focus.  And as someone who has commuted between Ann Arbor and Detroit for over 12 years, I promise to be one of the first to enjoy the ride.

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Sources:

"Ann Arbor mayor: Commuter rail to Detroit can happen in 3 years with regional support", Ann Arbor.com, June 14, 2013.

"In Michigan, One Step Closer to Commuter Rail", Sustainable Cities Collective, February 20, 2013.

"USDOT, Michigan approve funding for West Detroit connector track project", Progressive Railroading, May 10, 2012.

Part 1: If At First You Don't Succeed: The Southeast Michigan RTA

Imagine you're in elementary school playing basketball, trying to make your first lay up.  You set yourself up at the foul line, dribble forward and scope the ball in the air only to miss.  Imagine trying again and again as you grow older and taller, until on your 23rd birthday, you finally make two points.  Finally.

image credit

Now imagine your the Michigan State Legislature.  According to the Metro Times, it's taken 23 attempts since 1970 to create a Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in Southeast Michigan.  As taken from SMART's History of Southeastern Michigan Transit, previously failed attempts include:

• 1976 – President Gerald Ford offers southeast Michigan $600 million to build a rail transit system. Other than the People Mover nothing was developed due to the lack of local/regional political support.

• 1979 – The Southeast Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) approves a regional transit plan which includes the development of rail lines and an improved bus system. However subsidies were cut and the plans were never implemented. 

• 1984 – Regional leaders approve the Regional Public Transportation Consensus Plan, a refined version of the 1979 regional transit plan. The plan was never implemented.

• 2006 – The Detroit Area Regional Transit Authority (DARTA) formed in 2003 through an interlocal inter-government agreement (IGA) that includes the City of Detroit, Wayne County, Macomb County, Oakland County, Monroe County and SMART, is dissolved by a Michigan State Supreme Court decision.

The RTA comes to Life

In the presence of balloons and a celebratory parade organized by Transportation Riders United, the first RTA board meeting was graveled to order at 3pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013.  During public comments, Megan Owens, Executive Director of Transportation Riders United, joking lamented that, "There's got to be some benefit from being the last place in the country to do this." (Huff Post, June 25,2013)

The RTA seeks to coordinate, orchestrate and improve transit for Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties including the city of Detroit. 41% of suburban Metro Detroit communities currently do not participate in any sort of mass transit system.  However,  this new legislation makes it mandatory that all municipalities within the member counties participate (Data Driven Detroit.).

Among the RTA's first responsibilities is to oversee our areas existing transit providers. They are SMART (The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation), DDOT (Detroit Department of Transportation), AATA (Ann Arbor Transit Authority), DTC (Detroit Transit Corporation which controls the People Mover) and the upcoming M1 Light rail, which starts construction this summer.

The legislation also specifically calls for rolling rapid transit along four corridors: (1) a Woodward corridor, (2) a Gratiot corridor, (3) a northern cross-county line to operate between the city of Troy and the city of Mt. Clemens, and (4) a western cross-county 47-mile route between downtown Detroit and the downtown Ann Arbor Blake Transit Center.

The RTA's four rapid transit corridors
image credit

Funding Sources

All federal transit funds currently being used within the region will now flow through the RTA and will be supplied to local agencies as if they had applied independently.  In other words, funds from one agency cannot be diverted for use with another.  By centralizing federal funding, it increases the RTA's ability to apply for additional federal funds for future projects.

How federal funds flow through the RTA to existing agencies
image credit

The key to the RTA's power is its ability to generate revenue.  With the approval of voters, the RTA can impose a special property tax assessment or enact an additional vehicle registration fee of up to $1.20 per $1,000 of the list price of a vehicle. In order to protect a member county from subsidizing a project in a neighboring county (or city), 85% of the funds raised by a county must be spent on transit within that county.

Individual member counties can also impose their own voter approved vehicle registrations fees. However, these funds will be adjusted if an RTA fee is already in effect.

The RTA board is structured so that any vote to place a tax assessment or vehicle registration fee on the ballot for residents of the four-county region can be vetoed by the representative from Detroit, or by a dissenting vote from both representatives of a single county.

The RTA Governing Board

The RTA board is composed of two representatives from each county and two additional representatives — one from Detroit and one chosen by Michigan's Governor.  Each serves a 3-year term.  Paul Hillegonds, a former state GOP lawmaker, was appointed the RTA's first chair by current Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. The legislation also provides for the establishment of a citizens advisory committee.

The make-up of the RTA board
image credit

A Bias Towards Rail

The City of Ann Arbor's City Council drafted a resolution objecting to the RTA enabling bill's “onerous and offensive provisions related to consideration of rail based transportation.” The legislation requires unanimous approval from the 9-member RTA board to “acquire, construct, operate, or maintain any form of rail passenger service within a public transit region.”  Efforts by Washtenaw county representatives to remove the requirement failed.

As explained by former Ypsilanti City Planner Richard Murphy and current RTA board member, the unanimous requirement was included to protect Macomb and Oakland counties from funding light rail systems within Detroit that would be more cost effective if built as bus rapid transit (or BRT).

He continues by arguing that the cost effectiveness of constructing a high-speed rail between Ann Arbor and Detroit has already been proven.  Quoting from a 2007 report (Ann Arbor-Downtown Detroit Transit Study Detailed Screening of Alternatives):

• BRT: $879-$969m to construct, $23-27m annually to operate.
• Commuter rail: $95.5m to construct, $6.25m to operate, for 8 trains/day on the existing tracks.

In Murphy's opinion, if cost is the main objection, then neighboring counties would be voting against their own interest if they supported bus service between Ann Arbor and Detroit.  Especially if the cost of current capital improvements being made to rails lines between the two cities is deducted from the estimated 2007 price tag.

The future looks bright, as RTA readies itself to finally implement a vision for Southeast Michigan regional transit.   And one of the center pieces of this plan, the M1 light-rail project, will be the topic of our next entry.

Next in our series on Southeastern Michigan Transportation:
Part 2: Reanimating Woodward Avenue's Street-Cars: The M1 Light-Rail Project

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Sources:
"The new Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority: A solid step forward, but many more ahead", DetroitHub.com, February 7, 2013.

"RTA sparks dissent in Ann Arbor", Michigan Daily, January 13, 2013.

"Ann Arbor Council Agenda: Ask for RTA Veto", The Ann Arbor Chronicle, December 7, 2012.

"Michigan Regional Transit Bills Unveiled", The Ann Arbor Chronicle, January 26, 2012.

"Michigan Regional Transit Authority Board Holds Optimistic First Meeting", Huff Post Detroit, April 10, 2013.

"How the funding works with a regional transit authority for Southeast Michigan", Ann Arbor.com, March 13, 2013.

"What's this RTA thing I'm suddenly hearing about, and what does it mean for Washtenaw?", Common Monkeyflower, December 9, 2013.

The Phantom Ford Freeway Bus Station

Driving east along the Ford Freeway, just as you start to pass under Woodward Avenue, nestled between the right-hand eastbound lane and the Woodward Avenue exit ramp is a single concrete lane that skirts one of the bridge piers.  The lane is narrow, in disrepair and defied until recently my ability to determine its purpose. Was this a maintenance vehicle lane?  Was this a lane dedicated to emergency vehicles?  Were cars just smaller in the 1950s?

Aerial view Woodward Avenue I-94 overpass
( Bing maps Birdseye view)

View traveling eastbound on I-94 exiting
at Exit 215C Woodward Avenue
(Bing maps Streetside view)

Having traveled this section of I-94 for more than 10 ten years, it took an accidental Google search to reveal its actual purpose. What I Googled was "I-94 bus lane Detroit".  What was revealed was the story of a phantom bus station.

The story begins with the 1945 Detroit Expressway and Transit System Plan.  The plan proposes a network of expressways that would radiate outward from the downtown area.  One of these radial highways would be a "Crosstown" superhighway that would later become the Ford Freeway.  It called for the use of streetcars, operating as high-speed trains, within the central mall portion of the expressway.  It also called for maintaining street cars along Woodward and converting existing street cars on Fort, Gratiot, Jefferson and Michigan to electric trolley-buses.  When these streetcars and trolley-buses reached downtown, they would operate underground.  Multiple downtown subway stations were planned, the terminus being an underground plaza at Cadillac Square.



Proposed Underground Cadillac Square Plaza
image credit

Proposed Underground Cadillac Square Plaza
image credit

Now there was obvious opposition to these plans with surprising opposition coming from the city-owned Department of Street Railways (DSR).  They had a different vision for alleviating post-war Detroit traffic congestion.  Their proposal advocated for the complete elimination of any and all rail service.  They instead proposed a plan for integrating high-speed bus service with plans for Detroit's radial highway system.  Quoting their report, they considered high-speed buses "a superior type of rapid transit".



Department of Street Railways (DSR) bus circa 1951
image credit

So here's where the story get interesting.  The highways were built, but the underground, and center median rail system was not.  Instead, special bus boarding stations were incorporated into the design of the Ford Freeway.


Stairs leading from Woodward Avenue overpass
to bus loading stations at Ford Freeway level
image credit

On Monday, January 31, 1955, the DSR launched its new Plymouth Express bus service which operated along two brand new Detroit expressways.  Special bus boarding stations were located along the Ford Freeway at Livernois, Grand River and Woodward Avenue.

Completed but never opened DSR
 eastbound bus loading station
image credit

And here's where we finally learn about our mysterious abandoned bus lane.  For the cost of $29,500, four stairs were built at the Woodward Avenue overpass.  The stairs were meant to allow passengers to enter bus loading stations at freeway level.  The stairs and loading platforms were built, but were never opened.  It was determined after the fact that there was insufficient, "passenger volume to justify the new line."  The stair remained unused for 5 years until in 1960, for $63,500, the stairs were demolished and the eastbound and westbound on-ramps reconfigured.  What still remains today is the original unaltered eastbound bus lane.

Now our mystery is solved; however, solutions to Detroit's mass transit issues are just beginning.


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Information used in the above article was taken from the Detroit Transit History website.  The following is a link to their article and video discussing the "Edsel B. Ford (I-94) Expressway Bus Stops".

Additional information can be found in the Detroit News Article entitled "Stairway to Nowhere" (December 20, 1959).  A retyped copy of the article can be found at this link.

Historic Rehab - Boston Edison Style

I recently spent the day scoping the work for the rehab of this gorgeous Tudor styled Boston Edison Home. Doing a little web research, I learned that the home was formerly owned by Bishop Marshall R. Reed.   In 1948, he was appointed Bishop of Detroit, a post where he served until 1964.

South elevation

The home's amenities include seven (7) bedrooms,  three (3) full bathrooms, two (2) half bathrooms, hardwood floors, original plaster crown moldings, two (2) fireplaces, the original trash incinerator, a stone patio adjacent a sun room, a basement recreation room and of course attic servants quarters.  The best amenity, however, is what we call the Fountain Room (see below).

Can't wait to see the work begin.

 


Terraced stone patio off the sun
and fountain rooms at the north elevation.
Note the master bedroom balcony
above the sun room bay windows.

The Fountain Room complete with original
ceramic tile floors and plaster detailing.
(photo credit: John Marshall)

The Dining Room
with the original plaster crown molding.
The hardwood floors need major restoration.
(photo credit: John Marshall)

The 2nd floor hall with access to five (5)
of the seven (7) bedrooms.
(photo credit: John Marshall)
 

The Main Stair

The Basement Rec Room
complete with full height windows,
terrazzo floors, and a fireplace.

Duct Tape vs. Mastic

In a previous blog, we discussed the Home Energy Rating System (HERS), a number between 0 and 150 which quantifies the energy efficiency of a home.  The lower the number, the more energy efficient the home.  The target for the rehabs I've been part of in Detroit is a HERS rating of 85 or lower.

 

Image credit

 

 But even if a HERS rating meets the above standard, it does not insure that heating and cooling is properly distributed throughout the home. HERS ratings reflect the amount of energy leaking through the thermal envelop.  It does not reflect how well heating and cooling is distributed within it's envelop.

 

  

 Duct pressurization is key to providing sufficient heating and cooling to every room.  Every room is designed to receive an minimum amount of heated or cooled air per minute in order to maintain it within a comfortable temperature range.   The volume of air is measured in cubic feet per minute or cfm.  Furnaces are sized to push enough air through a home's ductwork so that each room receives its designed amount of cfm.  The level of cfm produced at the furnace reduces as it is pushed through turns and curves within a ductwork system.  Pressure losses due to these twists and turns is accounted for in furnace sizing calculations, but excessive leakage due to poor construction is not.  Minimizing duct pressure losses insures that the most remote corner of an upper floor bedroom is properly heated and cooled.

 

Energy codes address the quality of duct sealing, but many jurisdictions are just beginning to enforce them.   Energy-Star qualified homes are required to have a Duct Blaster test performed to confirm a minimum level of duct pressurization loss. 

 

But before inspections or tests are performed, builders have a choice between two methods to seal duct connections:

 

Mastic

Mastic is a gooey, non-hardening material that is spread over duct seams with a paint brush, putty knife or simply with glove covered fingers.  If gaps are greater than 1/16 or 1/8 inches wide, then a fiberglass reinforcing mesh tape should be embedded in the mastic.  To be effective, the mastic should be applied to at least a nickel thick.

In rehabs, mastic can be difficult to apply to existing ducts which tightly fit between floor joints and sheathing.  But if applied properly, mastic is the most effective duct sealing method.

Tape

Now everyone jokes about the usefulness of duct tape.  But when it comes to actually using tape for sealing duct joints and connections, not all duct tapes are created equal.  Your typical cloth-backed rubber adhesive tape fails fairly quickly when exposed to time and temperature changes. 

Most energy codes require any tape used on ducts must be labeled in accordance with UL 181A or 181B.  But since  the UL181 listing was created as a smoke and flame test, the presence of the label is no guarantee of its effectiveness as a sealant.  A tape's sealant capacity is better reflected by its base material.  Two base materials have the best sealing capabilities:  butyl and oriented polypropylene (OPP).  When searching for a duct tape, one should select UL181 labeled tapes with base materials of butyl or OPP.

As energy codes improve, the importance of duct pressurization is also increasing.  Though only Energy-Star qualified homes are currently required to have duct leakage measured, the requirement will soon be expanding to other types of housing .  Therefore, the materials and methods used by builders in making  duct connections  will play primary roles in meeting future code requirements.  But more important than the code, properly constructed connections insure the comfort and happiness of the homeowner.

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Holladay, Martin, "Sealing Ducts: What's Better, Tape or Mastic?", August 6, 2010, GreenBuildingAdvisor.com.

East English Village

Between 1808 and 1810, five eastside Detroit ribbon farms were registered under the family names of Little, Rivard, Fournier and Tremble.  With Detroit's expansion east, in 1925, the farms were subdivided into residential parcels and the neighborhood of East English Village was born.  A home construction boom began in 1928, peaking in the early 1930s as homeowners rather than developers hired builders to design custom ordered homes.  This brought to life the neighborhood's distinctive character.

Today, the neighborhood is home to approximately 2,100 families, many of whose homes have only changed hands one or two times.  The area is bounded by Outer Drive to the east, Cadieux Road to the west, Harper Avenue to the north and Mack Avenue to the south. 

The Detroit Land Bank Authority's infusion of federal dollars, through a program known as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), is rehabilitating homes within the community.  I've had the privilege of being part of more than 15 fast-tracked rehabs currently being performed by teams of contractors and rehab specialists. 

More importantly, the rehabs incorporate the latest in thermal envelop construction technology.  The goal of the program is to not only restore these historic homes, but to improve their energy efficiency.

Below is a sampling of some of the houses currently under construction:

 

 

  

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More information can be found at East English Village's Website