"After nearly 11 years of planning, countless setbacks and finally solving a $187 million funding puzzle, Detroit's new QLine streetcar system on Thursday ferried many of its biggest boosters down Woodward Avenue for the first time.
M-1 Rail's QLine isn't open to the public until May 12, but its funders, along with supporters and government officials, rode the 6.6-mile loop Thursday.
..."It's not that we just built a rail line; it's that we re-engineered Woodward Avenue," Penske said. "We knew we could build value. It's going to take a few years for people to understand what we've done here, but we're going to see a whole new round of investments in these neighborhoods. That's what America needs."Cullen, ahead of the ride, said a recent study concluded $7 billion in investments have been made since 2013 or are planned for the QLine's stretch of Woodward.
This includes the $733 million Little Caesars Arena project.
...But the QLine faces challenges. Voters rejected in November a four-county transit tax for Regional Transit Authority funding, which was expecting to take over funding of M-1 Rail in 2027.
The current estimate to operate the streetcar service is pegged at $5.8 million annually.
Organizers vow to continue private funding of the service until another RTA vote reaches the ballot.
Cullen previously told Crain's that M-1 has enough funds earmarked for operations through 2022..."
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