Thursday, January 13, 2011
Transit plans are key to improving region | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Transit plans are key to improving region | freep.com | Detroit Free Press: "Within Oakland County, we are working to implement a vision for a unified linear city along Woodward Avenue -- from 8 Mile up to Maple Road -- to include strategies to integrate Complete Streets, Transit Oriented Development, and future expansion of rapid transit investments beyond 8 Mile Road."
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The choice of Maple Road as the last stop is telling. North of Maple is the northern half of upper-middle-class suburb Birmingham. North of that is ultra-wealthy bedroom community Bloomfield Hills. North of that is the seriously economically disadvantaged city of Pontiac.
ReplyDeleteLike most Detroit transit proposals, it is a single route, not an improvement or rebuilding of the whole system, and even this one symbolic route is characterized as a huge capital investment (or a 'boondoggle,' according to Anonymous of Troy). While certainly more useful to more commuters than the downtown parking shuttle known as the People Mover, it would not really affect most metro Detroiters. At least they could run such light rails down the other major 'arteries;' Gratiot, Grand River, and Michigan avenues.
The goal of transit investment should be to make a car-free lifestyle actually feasible, especially for the lower middle class and downward. This requires full coverage of the metro area. Woodward Avenue conveniently passes through all the hip yuppie communities in southeast Oakland county. The rest of us remained yoked to the automotive albatross.