Interstate Traveler presentation

[Jasoncw]

That's good to know. Maybe this is the real deal

[Mojo]

That's good to know. Maybe this is the real deal

Here's the latest message that I got...

Hi William,

Thanks again for attending the council hearing.

There were half a dozen

[Zissou]

Please keep us informed. This could be great for the city and area.

[samwel]

Hey, sort of a lurker on the board and this is my first post.

I attended the meeting on Tuesday with two of my buddies and I totally agree that the one councilwoman (Madame Chairperson or whatever they called her) was being a complete ass. I didn't think Councilwoman Watson was so enthused about the idea either. I was pretty relieved when Councilwoman Collins came in (she was late) because she seemed to be the only one who cared about the presentation or public transport in the D.

Overall I left the meeting not too enthused about the city council response. I talked to the engineers from the Interstate Traveller Company after the meeting and got a lot of cool information from them. Their system is absolutly brilliant and would put Detroit lightyears ahead of even the conventional maglev trains they use in Japan. This could be huge of the City of Detroit. Anyway, those guys from the Interstate Traveller Company are still enthused about the City approving the project which is good.

I personally don't see how they couldn't approve the project. The ITC will build the rail line with money coming from their own pocket, and they can build the rails with little or no road disruption (meaning the construction for the Woodward route won't mess up traffic on Woodward), and the City will get 50% of all profits just for letting them build the line in the city. I personally think it's a no brainer!

[Mojo]

Hey, sort of a lurker on the board and this is my first post.

I attended the meeting on Tuesday with two of my buddies and I totally agree that the one councilwoman (Madame Chairperson or whatever they called her) was being a complete ass. I didn't think Councilwoman Watson was so enthused about the idea either. I was pretty relieved when Councilwoman Collins came in (she was late) because she seemed to be the only one who cared about the presentation or public transport in the D.

Overall I left the meeting not too enthused about the city council response. I talked to the engineers from the Interstate Traveller Company after the meeting and got a lot of cool information from them. Their system is absolutly brilliant and would put Detroit lightyears ahead of even the conventional maglev trains they use in Japan. This could be huge of the City of Detroit. Anyway, those guys from the Interstate Traveller Company are still enthused about the City approving the project which is good.

I personally don't see how they couldn't approve the project. The ITC will build the rail line with money coming from their own pocket, and they can build the rails with little or no road disruption (meaning the construction for the Woodward route won't mess up traffic on Woodward), and the City will get 50% of all profits just for letting them build the line in the city. I personally think it's a no brainer!

I think you guys were sitting the row behind me and my girlfriend. What's going on man? Madame Chair didn't have a full grasp on what was going on in the meeting, so she for some reason decided to go on the defensive. The only hang up that Council Man Kwame Kenyatta had was that this system was not implemented anywhere else before. That means he also didn't really understand what Justin, and the rest were trying to explain (The Woodward line will be the test line). Talking to Justin today, things seem like they are progressing in their favor regardless of the assyness of some council members.

[rbdetsport]

Here is their plan for Detroit.....

I like it, but I wish it could benefit western downtown a little more.

[Mojo]

With Detroit being the regional hub, I don't see how this wouldn't benifit all of downtown. I could definately see downtown expanding as well

[Zissou]

Thats an interesting plan. Im not sure I like the idea of having this thing going in front of Hart plaza along the river though. Maybe take it down Jefferson and make the passenger station part of the Ren Cen complex. I also think it should have a station right next to a PM station or incorporated into one to really make things simple for people.

Also, not that im complaining but does anyone know why they are shopping this to Detroit first?

[rbdetsport]

Maybe take it down Jefferson and make the passenger station part of the Ren Cen complex. I also think it should have a station right next to a PM station or incorporated into one to really make things simple for people.

The RenCen Station has a part of it that is for a possible light rail connection so they could use that.

[Mojo]

Also, not that im complaining but does anyone know why they are shopping this to Detroit first?

I asked him the same thing and basically he says it's because he grew up here and wants the region to thrive. He has also been doing presentations in states on the east and west coast for the past few months.

[Zissou]

Did he mention if he was close anywhere else?

[Jin Kim]

Okay, so why not bi-directional loop in the CBD? I don't get it....

[Zissou]

Takes up less space?

Now did they mention if this thing is a complete flop? Would they remove the system free of charge? Im having a hard time understanding how the city of Detroit, or any city along Woodward for that matter, could turn this down. A free mass transit system is being offered with state of the art technology and they might turn it down. Not to mention the job creation from the construction of this.

Did they mention the possibilities of branching this system out even further? Like to Lansing and maybe the west side of the state to Grand Rapids? I think something that branched out to all the major centers of Michigan would be very good for the state.

[hudkina]

I think the point of the system is to connect the major population centers of the country using existing freeway right of ways. I'm sure the guy who created the idea would like to see this replace Amtrak as a way to travel between the major cities at a reasonable price. Detroit would just be the test market, with expansion occuring as popularity rises.

[Jasoncw]

I don't like the Hart Plaza station either. I think it would be better if it was put underground, with the rails lowering right between Jefferson and the tunnel, and next to cobo. Most of the station could be underground, but a small part of the building would pop up right next to Jefferson, and that's where the people could exit the station. Off the top of my head, the best place for it could be between where Griswold and Woodward would end, right next to Jefferson. To me that seems like a good place for those who work downtown, for those visiting Hart Plaza, or Cobo, and for those who work or are staying at the ren cen. Plus, being next to Jefferson (where none of the parkgoers want to be anyway) would be out of the way of the park, and closer to the actual business that most people are commuting to. I'd like to see a fancy centeral station. And if the station is underground we can pretend that it's a subway

Did the presenters say how far out the East Jefferson and Gratiot Lines go?

[samwel]

I think you guys were sitting the row behind me and my girlfriend. What's going on man?

Hey, yeah we were in the row behind you guys. Nice to meet you man.

I'm a little disappointed in the planned loop for downtown. I suspect that at least initially the Interstate Traveller would be used mainly by pedestrians to get downtown, so it would be a real bummer if it didn't link into the People Mover system somehow. By not linking with the PM it seems like the IT won't be used as much as it could be.

[Mojo]

Hey, yeah we were in the row behind you guys. Nice to meet you man.

I'm a little disappointed in the planned loop for downtown. I suspect that at least initially the Interstate Traveller would be used mainly by pedestrians to get downtown, so it would be a real bummer if it didn't link into the People Mover system somehow. By not linking with the PM it seems like the IT won't be used as much as it could be.

I wouldn't be too worried about the proposed routes that are in the rendering at this point because they still have to be worked out with SEMCOG, and the city. The renderings are just an idea that the founder thought would be interesting. ITC is supposed to meet with the P&DD (Planning and Development Dept) later in the month so I'm guessing they'll be talking about this at length.

[mn_body_detroit_hrt]

I think it's a great idea and very inovative...to see inovation come to Detroit again would be a wonderful thing...and how can you not LOVE the idea of FREE with jobs...I mean really, I'm over here in MN and everyone in the country blabs about our tiny little lightrail system that we put in...it is used like crazy, but was super expensive...to have something like that happen for Detroit would be nothing but positive...AND FREE....is there a petition I can sign or something

[Zissou]

I think Detroit HAS to do this if it wants to continue to develope at a positive rate. People from the burbs would love a way down there that wouldnt involve driving. This is evident by how many people were taking the shuttles downtown last night. I would take this rail every day if it were available. Who knows, maybe we will have it next time the Super Bowl comes back to town.

[kgourlay]

It sounds like a couple people are interested in the technology behind Interstate Traveler. I looked over the web site a while back so I can sum up the basics of it.

First, this is not a monorail. It is also not a traditional rail. It is a maglev system (magnetic levitation: the cars never touch the rails, they literally hover over them on a magnetic field), I have only heard of one other maglev train in the world, I think it was <a href="http://www.gluckman.com/Maglev.html">this train in China</a>. This technology is a little tricky to build (mostly because it hasn't been done much yet) but it's not too hard and it is relatively cheap to operate because it's so efficient. It also allows cars to move very quickly!

Some other innovative design points:

All the tracks have 1-way traffic only, meaning that there's no need for complicated schedules or planning. u just wait for any traffic to clear and pop your cars on and off the track as you want.

Unlike the People Mover, the main track never runs through a station, so if a particular car does not need to stop at a particular station it sails right by. Furthermore, cars generally operate independently, never in "trains" so most of the time you can expect to get on a car going directly to your destination with few or no stops along the way.

The rail pieces are modular. They can be build offsite and assembled (think snap-together like the toy trains you might have played with as a kid) on site with very little custom engineering.

The rails are multipurpose. Not only do they carry the cars, they also can transport electricity, gas, water, sewage, data via fiber optics, or anything else we might need in the future.

The cars are universal. Provided the car is outfitted with the maglev "feet" needed to ride the rails, the design of the thing can be quite various. We could build small passenger cars, large commuter cars, automobile ferries, freight cars of any sort, it would even be theoretically possible to outfit a platform that could carry a Peoplemover car on the Interstate Traveler rail.

[kgourlay]

It sounds like I should write a letter to the city council encouraging them to support this project. Mojo, do you have any recommendations or specifics that I should include?

I will post my letter here if any other Detroiters would like to use part of it in their own letter.

[Zissou]

Go for it. You sold me on it.

[Mojo]

It sounds like I should write a letter to the city council encouraging them to support this project. Mojo, do you have any recommendations or specifics that I should include?

I will post my letter here if any other Detroiters would like to use part of it in their own letter.

Me and my girl are drafting up letters as well for the CC. What I think the letter should mostly include is how this is only benifitial to the city. Going to the hearing a few days ago, I was able to see how the technical points can really be lost on some of the council members (You've got to speak their language essencially). I would just point out how this would be the first of its kind (Putting Detroit on the technological map once again), there's no cost to the city, this would create jobs, and the city would eventually be the hub for the train lines. I would later go on to talk about how being a hub affects cities like Manhattan, and The Loop (Chicago).

Is there anything else that I forgot to mention about the impact to the city?

[Mojo]

It sounds like I should write a letter to the city council encouraging them to support this project. Mojo, do you have any recommendations or specifics that I should include?

I will post my letter here if any other Detroiters would like to use part of it in their own letter.

Also I'd mention the RIDICULOUS wait times there were for the park and ride stations this weekend for people trying to get in the city. Effective mass transit (if even down the Woodward cooridor) could have the city bustling more often.

[Ramcharger]

A small scale working demo would go a long way in convincing skeptics that this is a viable technology and not some pipe dream. This company doesn