At recent series of five open houses, officials from the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) and URS Corp., an international engineering firm, provided data on a potential light rail rapid transit line on Woodward from the Foxtown area to the State Fairgrounds.

The meetings, which took place the week of March 10, and invited public comment and feedback, followed some 18 months of study.

According to Daniel Meyers, vice president, senior transportation planner with URS Corp., the project builds off a SEMCOG rapid transit system plan adopted in November 2004.

At the time, SEMCOG recommended additional study of 14 potential rapid transit corridors, ranging from interstates to the Lodge Freeway to the major roadways.

Meyer said DDOT looked at those 14 corridors with an eye to such criteria as socio economic conditions, social equity conditions, transportation, and engineering constraints, and after four or five months, whittled the list down to five corridors that showed the most promise: Eight Mile from Gratiot to Woodward; Grand River from downtown out to the Southfield Freeway area, Gratiot from downtown to Eight Mile, Michigan Ave. nue from downtown to Dearborn, and Woodward from downtown to Eight Mile.

Meyers said as a result of public meetings last March, as well as additional technical information, Woodward, Michigan Ave. and Gratiot emerged as the first, second and third choices, respectively.