The Basics

The idea behind Flint Area Speedy Transit (hereinafter FAST) is not mine per se. I’d heard the idea of some sort of light-rail style mass transit in Flint bandied about before, though when and by whom I can’t now say. So this is not my idea. Nor do I ever really expect it to get built. Consider this to be a thought experiment, if you will, my own effort to put a vision out there, to see what people think of it.

Though I do not live in Flint anymore, my close family still does. It’s home, and I love it. I believe that something like FAST, a big, far-reaching project that, frankly, would take a lot of guts, speculation and money to accomplish, is the only thing that will allow Flint to prosper in the 21st Century.

You see, there is no shortage of postindustrial cities out there with wonderful potential for redevelopment. Nor is there a shortage of such cities with colleges, frankly. To distinguish itself, Flint must do something big, bold and new.

Now, I can hear the protestations now: “That sounds like AutoWorld, Will!” And, yes, at first it does. Except that AutoWorld was an attraction, and a very cool one, at that. But once you’d seen it, you’d seen it. This plan is fundamentally different because the FAST would be an engine for growth. By itself, FAST would not make money. It would provide quite a few well-paying jobs, of course, but it would require subsidy to survive. What it would do, though, is bring a paradigm shift, an attitude change, if you will, to Flint.

Just imagine: A seven mile long corridor in the City of Flint (and Flint Township) where it would be possible to live one’s daily life without a car! It’s hard to fathom, especially to us Flintstones. But it’s done elsewhere, and people love it! There are places not so very far from here, Chicago to name one, where public transportation is not just a half-assed concession to the unpleasant fact that there are poor people who can’t afford cars out there. People of all races, religions, ethnicities and incomes live, work and play with an efficient, safe, fast public transportation system under their feet. It’s a wonderful thing to experience.

The Carless Corridor
I lived for some time in Washington, DC, another of those places. At first glance, DC appears to be a carless city, and for many people it is. But in fact, it is a series of corridors. Generally speaking, a 10 minute walk (i.e. ~1/2 mile) to a metro stop is about the maximum people will tolerate regularly. If you overlay half mile radius circles over a map of DC with that center on a metro stop, you see very quickly that there are large swaths of the city that are outside this area, hence my concept of a “carless corridor.” Couldn’t Flint have one as well?

That’s the idea behind FAST. Bringing a comprehensive light rail to the entire city would be expensive beyond reason. So, let’s run 7 miles (or 8.65, depending) of light rail from the Genesee Valley Mall in the east, through Downtown and out to Mott Community College, passing UofM-Flint and Kettering in the process. These three schools enroll something like 20,000 students and there is a lot of underutilized housing stock ripe for renovation or redevelopment on the line, with the twin uncut diamonds being the University Avenue corridor and the former site of Chevy in the Hole.

So there, those are the basics. Keep an eye on the blog for more detailed info!