City of Detroit submits TIGER IV grant
We mentioned Detroit submitted a TIGER III transportation grant that would have extended the Dequindre Cut and Midtown Loop. built bike lanes from Eastern Market to the planned Hamtramck Trail, and made major street improvements at Eastern Market.
That grant wasn’t funded though the city was told by one congressional office that it scored near the top.
The City is submitting an improved version of the grant request this round.
Competition?
One interesting wrinkle this time is it appears the M1 Rail group is applying for a $25 million TIGER IV grant as well. Even though it would be from the transit portion of TIGER IV, it’s unlikely two big grants would come to Detroit.
[U.S. DOT Secretary Ray] LaHood said in January the government will consider awarding Detroit’s light-rail project up to $25 million on top of $25 million awarded for a bus rapid transit system.
LaHood told The Detroit News he is willing to offer additional government money if the M-1 light rail coalition can show it is financially viable.
Congressional aides said the M-1 plan assumes it will win the $25 million grant, which the FTA says is not certain.
The Detroit News is reporting the the U.S. DOT has “serious concerns” about the M1 Rail’s viability. The Detroit Free Press reports a more moderate response.
…while no decision has been made, there is skepticism in Washington, including concerns that the M-1 plan’s cost estimate — at $125 million — is too low and that the group of private investors won’t pull together enough private financing to qualify for a $25-million federal grant for the project.
Of course the other issue with M1 Rail and bicycling is their plan to run the street cars along the curbs. As we’ve said before, curbside alignments are problematic for cyclists and Complete Streets advocates.
Seattle cyclists sue
The street car tracks are a major safety issue and liability. At least a half-dozen Seattle cyclists have lawsuits against the city for crashes due to street car rails. We spoke with an attorney handling these cases and they said this would be a class action lawsuit if their office had the capacity to organize such an effort.
Does MDOT really want to open themselves up to that?
MDOT should know it’s a hazardous design for bicyclists — it’s mentioned as such in Detroit’s Woodward light rail reports.
There are safety concerns for bicycle users with [the curbside designs] due to the potential for bicycle tires to be caught within the rail flange space in the road. While alternative rail types may reduce this potential conflict, it cannot be fully mitigated.
Of course the odds are that neither project will receive the funding. It’s a hyper-competitive grant source.
Then again, Michigan’s only successful TIGER III grant was a road to a landfill, so anything is possible.
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Tags: Dequindre Cut, Detroit, Eastern Market, Hamtramck, M1 Rail, MDOT, Midtown Loop, TIGER IV, Woodward
March 20th, 2012 at 7:43 am
“Does MDOT really want to open themselves up to that?” So we’re not going to have mass transit because of cyclists? The more I read about battles between cycling/trail and transit advocates, the more I find that cycling does not complement transit, at least in America. Maybe the cyclists can ride on less-traveled roads like Cass Ave., instead of the ONLY road in Detroit that would have a streetcar.
March 21st, 2012 at 7:43 am
Eric, This is not a cycling vs. transit argument. It’s a design issue. There already is transit on Woodward (buses) and the state/city are planning for dedicated bus rapid transit (BRT). This Woodward transit complements bicycling and visa versa. With the BRT, it would be hard to argue that Woodward transit is underserved.
The issue is putting rails in the curbside lanes for a third form of Woodward transit. It’s not even a street car issue, as they could run on rubber tires but then that really makes them seem more like buses.