News & Events
January 2006
A Time for Trains
One hundred and seventy years ago, Michigan's first train took to the rails. Even by frontier standards if must have been an unusual trip. The rails were cut from oak trees. The car was pulled by a team of horses. The route between what is now Toledo and the boom-town of Adrian passed through (and often due to the weather, under) the thick swamp that covered most of southeast Michigan. The forty mile trek could take as long as two full days. Despite the hardship of the trip, it was cause for great celebration. The coming of the rail meant essential things for a community: new residents would move there, new businesses would crop up, the town would be connected in an important and constant way. A century and half later, these things are still true.
Unfortunately, Michigan lags far behind other states in prioritizing any kind of mass transportation. Worse, we continue to base our perceptions of the importance of rail on a model implemented before the automobile was an essential part of the Michigan economy and lifestyle. Our use of rail since the advent of the interstate highway system has failed to keep pace with the changes in both society and transportation.
In 1940, Detroit was the nation's 4th largest city. Today it ranks 11th. While major cities like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia - once our peers and sources of inspiration - embraced rail in addition to the automobile, our region abandoned mass transit. These other cities aggressively connected their suburbs and urban cores with subways and elevated trains, recognizing the shifting needs of American families, including travel independence and increasingly regularized work schedules. Commuters continue to pack those trains every day. These families, incidentally, are just as likely to own a car as any other in the country.
While metro Detroit languished over the last twenty years, Los Angeles, Houston, Salt Lake and other cities joined the ranks of regions resolutely integrating rail transit into their transportation plans. Today they are miles ahead of us, and it shows. All of these communities are better than we are at attracting new residents and cutting-edge industries.
Metro Detroit leaders, however, have recognized the growing competitive gap between our region and others and the role that transit plays in that. No longer are we content being listed as the nation's only major metropolitan area without a comprehensive transportation system. Collaboration among our bus systems is growing; greenways, bike paths and pedestrian amenities are now common in city master plans; and at last, with a $100 million grant from Congress, we are on track to launch our own commuter rail system.
We believe that the coming of rail to our towns still holds the promise of social and economic growth. Over the next two years, the Suburbs Alliance is undertaking a major initiative to transform Michigan's attitude and approach to commuter rail transit. Our focus will be on helping communities take maximum advantage of planned rail projects such as the Detroit to Ann Arbor line for the purposes of economic development and Smart Growth. Working with the Michigan Environmental Council, we will identify models and best practices for transit-oriented development, and then provide direct planning and zoning assistance to help cities transform neighborhoods slated for rail stops into true economic engines. Through this project, we hope to build an educated and influential cadre of government officials, business leaders and citizen advocates who can return metro Detroit and the state of Michigan to the forefront of the nation's transportation providers.
From statehood into the 20th century, rail was Michigan's most significant mode of travel and transport. The time for an evolution of Michigan rail is coming. Let's make sure our communities are ready for it.
