In the shadow of the Ambassador Bridge, southwest Detroit has been quietly growing. Newly-populated with hundreds of residents, dozens of new businesses and a reinvigorated spirit to create a safe and walkable community, this section of Detroit has enjoyed a surging revitalization. Recently, the community received a $100,000 "Cool Cities" grant to revitalize the "Old Fellows" Building and make it the home of Southwest Detroit Business Association and several other businesses.

However, a very real threat looms over southwest Detroit: the Detroit Intermodal Freight Transit yard (DIFT).

"The DIFT is really a public health issue," says Kathryn Savoie, co-director of Communities for Better Rail Alternatives (CBRA), the main advocacy coalition representing the community's interest concerning the DIFT. "Southwest Detroit has some of the worst air pollution in the state. If there is a significant increase in truck traffic, it will be a gigantic step backwards in the quality of life for this burgeoning community."

The DIFT project, led by MDOT, centers on the idea that the four major intermodal railyards in the metro Detroit area should be consolidated to increase the effectiveness and economic viability of freight shipping in Michigan.

The DIFT "consolidation" proposal is an 800- to 850-acre truck terminal that would stretch for seven miles from Junction Yard, a 300-acre facility in southwest Detroit.

CBRA is backing an alternative that modernizes and consolidates the existing uses in a smaller geographic footprint. The facility would be secured for internal operations and public safety. A single-access road along the rail right-of-way would provide access to the facility. Capitalizing on the rail opportunities, passenger rail with transit-oriented development would be developed on the site. A greenbelt would surround the transit and freight facilities, especially where it fronts residential property. The remaining land would be developed for residential and neighborhood commercial uses.

"We have had a difficult time getting railroads to maintain the borders between their property and the community," says CBRA co-director Karen Kavanaugh. "This has seeping impact on surrounding residential communities, leaving it significantly blighted. We are hoping that any proposal will take the community in mind over the economic considerations of intermodal transportation."

MDOT is in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, with its final report to come out for public comment in mid-November.

"For more information, contact Ben Stupka at (517) 487-9539 or benmec@voyager.net.