It’s been 10 years in the making but Friday, May 12th will mark a historic day here outside our downtown Detroit studio window. Anyone with a ticket will be able to hop onboard the Q-Line, the Motor City’s first street car system in more than half a century! It’s an important transit milestone and a potential game changer for Detroit’s Woodward Avenue corridor. Our congratulations to those who had the vision and stuck with it until it became a reality.
Now, the biggest test of all! Will the $142 million M-1 rail project be warmly embraced and frequently used by the public? Will the Q-Line be clean, safe, reliable and coexist well with vehicle and pedestrian street traffic? Watch the online videos about Q-Line safety.
A 66-foot long car able to travel 35 miles per hour is nothing to play with! And, finally, will the price be right for the various ridership fares?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then the 3.3 mile rail line has a good chance of becoming another key catalyst for economic development and urban renewal from downtown to Midtown. And one day, wouldn’t it be nice to see the Q-Line run all the way up Woodward connecting communities in between?
The downtown People Mover, the Q-Line, city buses, bicycle paths, and future autonomous cars, can all provide additional transit mobility options for Detroit, the proud Auto Capital of the World and the comeback region of the nation!
I’m Mike Murri, Vice President & General Manager
Broadcast: May 4 - 7, 2017
