Next summer the landscape from downtown to Midtown will be changed forever with the arrival of the M-1 Rail.
Construction of Detroit’s highest profile infrastructure project in decades, slows traffic along Woodward Avenue to a crawl these days, which makes it very clear – the project is well underway. And while city officials and the business community seem to be extremely excited about the project, residents seem to be having a wait and see approach to the M-1 RAIL Streetcar that will not travel to 8 Mile Road.
“It’s a waste of money and stupid if you ask me,” said Troy Alexander, Sr., who grew up in what is now called Midtown. “How you going to have a subway system that only travels from downtown to West Grand Blvd. That’s ridiculous. I drive, and have a great job, so I’m fine. But what about the people who really need a new way, an easier way to get around this city. It’s definitely not meant for poor people – my people. It’s being built for downtown businessmen and the people who come into town for concerts, sporting events and to just hangout. It’s not going to be for us – Detroiters. Unfortunately, most of us can’t afford to shop in Midtown or attend the type of events that’s going on downtown.”
The M-1 rail will not replace DDOT, SMART, or any other transit organization throughout the region. It will travel 3.3 miles and 6.6 miles roundtrip, between Downtown Detroit’s Central Business District (Larned St.) and the North End Neighborhood (West Grand Blvd.). There will be a total of six streetcars and 20 convenient stations.
However, there are people live and work in the area, who think it’s a great idea. They believe that the M-1 will be at least a partial solution to the parking shortage in the increasingly crowded areas. The streetcars will run curbside with the flow of traffic. They will also provide free Wi-Fi, bicycle storage, and climate control. The heavily secured streetcars and stations will also be easily accessible for people with disabilities. In addition, riders will be able to pay their fare through several forms of payment, including an interactive M-1 RAIL phone app for tech-savvy commuters.
Graig Donnelly, director of the Detroit Revitalization Fellows program based in the TechTown building near Wayne State University, is excited to see its arrival. He said it gives him an option to driving his car to downtown meetings. He will be switching to the streetcar when it opens.
“Given where my office is located and how close we’ll be to that amenity, I’ll just hop on the M-1 Rail,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer. It’s a quality-of-life thing.”
He’s not the only one. Greg Parks, who owns the Layers Beauty Bar Salon and Spa at Woodward and Milwaukee, feels the same way.
“This area is very vibrant and always getting better,” Parks said to modelD. “I just wanted to be a part of that. This is the most vibrant place in the city right now. You can’t get no better. I don’t know of anywhere else where they have beat cops. I’ll take it downtown, hang out for a while…then come back.”
Zack Burgess is an award winning journalist. He is the Director/Owner of OFF WOODWARD MEDIA, LLC, where he works as a writer, editor and communications specialist. His work can be seen at zackburgess.com. Twitter: @zackburgess1
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