Numbers due on Nov. 8 for Ann Arbor-Detroit transit
Sunday, October 29, 2006
BY JOHN MULCAHY
While Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje tries to jump-start a commuter rail line between the city and points north, a second commuter rail initiative continues for the Ann Arbor to Detroit corridor.
After delays due to technical problems with a computer model, the steering committee for the Ann Arbor-Detroit Rapid Transit Study will get data Nov. 8 on likely capital and operating costs and ridership for five possible ways to provide the service.
Those ways include:
# Two using rapid transit buses traveling on Michigan Avenue, I-94 and possibly Washtenaw Avenue.
# One using a light rail line to be built along Michigan Avenue, Washtenaw Avenue, Huron Street and Jackson Road.
# Two using heavier commuter trains, either on existing tracks used by Amtrak or on existing tracks between Detroit and Metro Airport, with bus connections to Ann Arbor and light rail or bus connections in Detroit.
Carmine Palombo, director of transportation programs for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, said that once they have viewed the ridership and cost data, the steering committee members can begin work on choosing a preferred option. "We'll have enough information to start to see if everybody can rally behind one (option),'' he said.
There is no definite timetable for choosing that option, Palombo said. He said that would be up to the steering committee members.
Ultimately, SEMCOG will have to approach the Federal Transit Administration with the chosen option for approval to begin preliminary engineering. Only after that, when the project is ready for design and construction, would backers be able to begin drawing on $100 million approved in 2005 federal transportation legislation for the project, Palombo said.
The proposal for rapid transit between Ann Arbor and Detroit began in the late 1990s as a proposal for a Lansing to Detroit commuter service that would have passed through Ann Arbor. The Lansing to Ann Arbor portion was dropped after studies of potential ridership showed it would not attract enough customers.
John Mulcahy can be reached at
jmulcahy@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6858.
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(rubs hands eagerly together)