Detroit Transportation Corporation looks into how to get the People Mover on track

The results of the study are expected to be shared with the public sometime this spring.

The Detroit People Mover operating during the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Detroit People Mover operating during the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Detroit Transportation Corporation (DTC) is working on its $800,000 study on ways to improve the People Mover. The group plans to share its list of short-term improvements and long-term recommendations this spring.

Melia Howard is the general manager of DTC. She took over the role in January after previously serving as Detroit’s deputy mayor under Mike Duggan.

Listen: Melia Howard discusses the People Mover

Howard says public meetings about the elevate rail’s future have been productive.

“People were coming in,” says Howard, “slowly, surely going through the design charrettes. Really taking their time and being thoughtful about how they want to see us grow and expand or remodel.”

Howard says expanding the People Mover to add new lines is not out of the question, but that would likely require outside funding from business leaders or the federal government.

“It’s all about the people,” says Howard. “So if the will of the people desire for us to move forward, then the onus is on to try to fill that need and move forward with it.”

The DTC plans to share its list of short-term improvements and long-term recommendations this spring.

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Author

  • Alex McLenon is a Reporter with 101.9 WDET. McLenon is a graduate of Wayne State University, where he studied Media Arts & Production and Broadcast Journalism.