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When it comes to big-time public transportation, Metro Detroit is still in the little league. Here's a big step forward -- even if the starting date suggests a lack of urgency.
The Regional Transit Authority wants to give life to a long-stalled, 38 mile, Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail line that would use an Amtrak route, Leonard Fleming of The Detroit News writes. Funding would come from a November millage request.
The News reports:
The proposed service was approved Thursday by the RTA board as part of its Michigan Avenue corridor study, which also includes bus rapid transit. The rail line also will provide access to the upcoming QLine — also known as the M-1 Rail line — running through the heart of Detroit as well as other transit services, including possible shuttles to Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
If the millage passes this fall, RTA officials estimate the route could start around 2022, with annual operating costs between $11 million to $19 million. It would cost around $130 million in capital costs to get the service up and running and build a maintenance facility, much cheaper than starting from scratch, officials said.
The RTA — which is expected to seek a 1-mill property tax increase that would raise an estimated $130 million a year for the life of what could be a 20-year millage — first began discussing including the rail line as part of the millage in spring of last year.
