Mayor Hieftje says he's still 'gung-ho' about Ann Arbor-to-Detroit rail line
Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje reassured a public audience today that he's still hopeful an Ann Arbor-to-Detroit regional rail project will happen.
Even if it has to be done in stages.
Hieftje said he could envision it beginning with a commuter rail service linking Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti and the Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus.
Mayor John Hieftje says he's still hopeful an Ann Arbor-to-Detroit rail project will happen.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
"We're not in doubt that the project is going to take place," Hieftje said. "We are still gung-ho. We cannot drag other governmental entities along quite as fast as we'd like to move, but again, we're already in discussions of how we make the rail work, even if it is a shortened version."
The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and Michigan Department of Transportation are spearheading the regional rail project to link Ann Arbor and Detroit. But SEMCOG officials announced recently that the project would be delayed indefinitely due to a lack of federal funding.
"This is a temporary setback," Hieftje said, speaking at today's monthly Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority meeting. "We view the potential for this rail as being especially strong and we are out there going after it."
Hieftje's comments came in response to a call to action issued publicly today by Peter Allen, a local real estate developer. Addressing the DDA's governing board, Allen said the city of Ann Arbor, Detroit and Ypsilanti should take charge and not leave it up to SEMCOG to make the project happen.
"I think we need someone to stand up and shout that it has to get done," said Allen, an emerging transportation activist. "I wish that somebody would take a responsible leadership role with that issue and try to make something happen."
Washtenaw County leaders expressed disappointment in SEMCOG last week and even said they're considering pulling their funding out of the organization representing governments in seven counties throughout Southeast Michigan.
Hieftje said he's been in continued talks with SEMCOG officials and right now the only hang-up is the inability to land federal funding for improvements needed to connect to Detroit. SEMCOG and MDOT are asking the federal government for money for sidings, which allow trains to wait on a sidetrack while other trains with the right-of-way pass.
Hieftje said today it's possible that service to other stops along the route could be implemented sooner, with connections to Detroit coming later. He said connecting to Ypsilanti or Detroit Metro Airport are not constrained by the siding problem.
Hieftje noted that Dearborn received $30 million in federal stimulus funding recently for construction of a new building and platform at the Dearborn Amtrak Station. Those funds were part of a larger $244 million award to the Michigan, Indiana and Illinois state transportation departments to help fund the development of high-speed rail corridors linking Detroit and Chicago.
"Transit-oriented development is sweeping the nation right now and we're seeing all sorts of investment and people buying homes and moving in the areas around where transit connects," Hieftje said.
Hieftje said about 4,000 people with Ypsilanti zip codes work at the University of Michigan's medical complex. He predicted there will be a housing boom around downtown Ypsilanti the day its residents can take a 10-minute train ride to Ann Arbor for work.
"And I think about the eventual outcomes that we're going to see in Broadway Village, which is ... not a very long walk to the Fuller Transit Station," he said. "So you begin to see the regional effect that is only going to happen when there's a rail in place. And that same thing would occur up and down that line."
Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
URmaster
Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 11:47 a.m.
A2 to Detroit line is a great idea for a number of reasons: 1. Expedited service to and from Chicago and Detroit. 2. Stops at A2, Ypsilanti's Depot Town/EMU/Farmers Market, and Dearborn etc. 3. Revamping of major destinations such as the A2 station and Detroit's main terminal (well, okay, it would have to be torn down and rebuild on a smaller scale). 4. A new life line to downtown Detroit, further enabling commuters the accept teaching/automotive/service/white collar jobs in downtown Detroit. I think a majority of folks making comments just don't understand Mayor Hieftje's vision which is largely based on the successful use of rail lines in Europe and the rest of the world. Don't forget, the Big Three (we, the taxpayers, recently bailed out) killed the trolley and train services in Michigan back in the 40s and 50s. Don't forget that! Maybe it is time to bring it back?
outdoor6709
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 7:55 p.m.
The SECOG report says 268 people a day would use the AA-Detroit rail line. $1.5 million yearly revenue, $6.8 million costs not a financially sound idea. Ypsi to AA sounds like a good idea.
Steve Hendel
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 7:33 p.m.
You know, it seems like the more REAL issues the City faces (crumbling bridges, weakened dams, pot-holed streets, major-sized layoffs, decreased park maintenance, etc.) the more our Mayor spins his pipe dreams of transit stations, commuter rail, Broadway Village (hah) and a downtown Ypsi housing boom. That last one is the kicker. Perhaps the Mayor needs reminding that he is the Mayor of ANN ARBOR, not Ann Arbor-Ypsi (or Washtenaw County, for that matter).
Steve Hendel
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 7:24 p.m.
Broadway Village? Where's that? All I see is a big fenced empty lot which has been that way for years.
Lynn Lumbard
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 7:09 p.m.
I remember taking the train into Detroit at Christmas time to shop at Hudson's and have a visit with Santa. I would love to ride that train once again...Oh, wait!! There is no Hudson's in Detroit or any other reason for one to want to take a train to Detroit. I am just a few years older than Hieftje, he must share some of those same memories. Hey, John, Hudson's is gone!!
The Picker
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 4:14 p.m.
Peter and John's obsession with this makes me think they were deprived of a choo choo train when they were Young.
kkichikawa
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 12:35 p.m.
At least Gov Sarah Palin had enough sense to back off the "Bridge to Nowhere" that she was planning for her State. Lucky for her because she went on to become....oh wait, nevermind. It's been said before, and over and over again, we are a culture built around the automobile and convenience. We evolved past train travel YEARS ago!!
JSA
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 10:22 a.m.
Seriously, has the mayor had a recent psychiatric exam? He appears delusional. There is no money to build this joke much less to operate it.
Plubius
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 8:15 a.m.
Stop talking about project with no ROI. We cannot afford this continual wasting of money!
Blue Eyes
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 7:45 a.m.
Must be the Mayor wasn't paying attention at last night's town meeting about the budget cuts last night. Ann Arbor is making cuts in SAFETY but we should DRAG others along to spend money no one has. The mayor is so oblivious to realty it's unbelievable.
Awakened
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 7:33 a.m.
I think you are underestimating the boom this could be for Detroit. The scavenger ants there are looting homes for plumbing to sell for scrap metal because there is nothing else left to steal. Cheap mass transit to Ann Arbor would greatly improve their pickings. Lets reduce the Police Department another 15 or 20 percent to pay our share.
a2grateful
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 7:01 a.m.
Anyone wonder how much City time is spent on regional mass transit... while the region continues the decades-long trend of steadily losing mass? Anyone wonder how much City time is spent on ways to build regional mass transit infrastructure... while our own infrastructure crumbles before our very eyes? So the question is... "Which is worse: riding our bikes on the sidewalk or bike path?" Afterall, we are leaders of safe and efficient biking, aren't we?
glimmertwin
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 6:46 a.m.
I wonder if this guy has a clue. Maybe someone with magic fairy dust will just come along and sprinkle money all over the place and solve all of the area's problems.
a2grateful
Thu, Apr 8, 2010 : 5:34 a.m.
Wonder who is jumping up and down, hoping to be the first to "drive the train and blow the whistle?" This is just one of the mayor's folly-trolley choo-choo train projects... Whoo whoo... All aboard! PS Isn't this the same project that costs a minimum of $150,000 per passenger to build, and subsidy of $3,900 per passenger per year to operate? Whoo whoo!
skenney1384
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 10:17 p.m.
A housing boom in Ypsi because of a 10 min rail ride? Seriously? If people think it's a difficult commute now they really need to get out of the AA bubble. This guy is clueless.
Fred&Barney
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 9:50 p.m.
Just plain clueless, and he and his pal Frasier are in charge.
Mikey2u
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 8:46 p.m.
Maybe train service between Detroit and Ann Arbor is just an idea ahead of its time, so I have two words for the Mayor: Canal Barges. Maybe it would be cheaper to have mules pulling canal barges up and down the Huron River, opening Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to Lake Erie and beyond... Just a thought.
jimbob24
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 8:17 p.m.
"gung-ho" about tying Ann Arbor to the broke and totally dysfunctional city? of Detroit? I'm "gung-ho" about NOT re-electing him. Is he serious?
Joe Hood
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 7:54 p.m.
Dearborn got "Stimulus" money for their Amtrak rail station even though Ann Arbor (after Chicago) is the biggest destination on the Wolverine line? Did Ann Arbor put in for the bucks for revamping our tiny little Amtrak station?
T. Kiefer
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 7:53 p.m.
"The city of Detroit has the highest office vacancy rate. Mired by troubles within the automotive industry, just over a quarter of all of the office space in the metropolitan region now sits empty" -- http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Office-vacancies-climbed-to-cnnm-2118128483.html?x=0&.v=1 ---> is this really a city that we should be investing in networking with? No offense, but there's not a lot of business going on in Detroit these days. How would this benefit the residents of Ann Arbor?
Smiley
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 7:51 p.m.
I don't even care if it's tax dollars from the non-mythical, but absolutely real, money tree that extreme liberals believe in, I don't support this. It's like buying a boat without a bottom.
thurber
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 7:31 p.m.
Not for nothing are we fatigued. This town's great at producing restaurants. Officials who can run a city not so much.
voiceofreason
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 7:25 p.m.
"Transit-oriented development is sweeping the nation right now" - John Hieftje Whoa! If we don't take advantage of this opportunity right now, it might pass us by! Never again in history will we have the chance to collaborate on a massive project with two broke cities! Bold Prediction: If gas prices remain below $4 a gallon, nobody will use the transit, and nobody will develop around the transit. Hieftje realizes this, and therefore needs to gradually increase the cost of operating an automobile within city limits. Hence the parking meter hours being extended, and the inevitable costs that will be announced in the future.
Craig Lounsbury
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 6:55 p.m.
"Allen said the city of Ann Arbor, Detroit and Ypsilanti should take charge and not leave it up to SEMCOG to make the project happen." Yes by all means. Three cities that are broke, two that realize it and one that doesn't should take charge.
bunnyabbot
Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 5:50 p.m.
lol