The Detroit People Mover with a Canadian Connection

The Detroit People Mover opened in 1987 and it was intended to be the downtown distributor for a proposed $600 million city and metro-wide rail transit system. This paper provides a brief history of transit in Detroit, development of the People Mover, its operations and challenges, and explores its future role as the Detroit M-1 light rail transit is completed. The paper also reviews the U.S. government downtown people mover (DPM) program of that era and the role that the Ontario government had in the development of automated guideway transit systems through its GO-Urban plans for Hamilton, Ottawa, and Toronto, and the formation of the urban transportation development corporation (UTDC). Although the GO-Urban project was abandoned, automated guideway systems developed by the UTDC were built in Scarborough (a Toronto suburb), Vancouver (the SkyTrain), and Detroit. It is a fascinating story that connects Canada with the Detroit People Mover.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784479797.024
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784479797
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Sproule, William J
• Conference:
  • 15th International Conference on Automated People Movers and Automated Transit Systems
  • Location: Toronto Ontario, Canada
  • Date: 2016-4-17 to 2016-4-20
• Publication Date: 2016

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 252-261
• Monograph Title: Automated People Movers and Automated Transit Systems 2016: Innovation in a Rapidly Urbanizing World

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automated guideway transit; Government transportation; History; Light rail transit; People movers
• Geographic Terms: Canada; Detroit (Michigan); Ottawa (Canada)
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01596976
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780784479797
• Files: TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Apr 11 2016 3:02PM