The Detroit People Mover Looking To Expand Around The City

The Detroit People Mover is also looking at potential expansion. According to Axios Reporter Sam Robinson who interviewed Mayor Mike Duggan at the Detroit Policy Conference. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan: “We are going to look at modifying the People Mover. A potential reconfiguration to make a downtown neighborhood where you can live, work, and play is something we’ll take a look at.”

The new DPM route could include, West Riverfront Park, Belle Isle, the future U of M Center of Innovation, Michigan Central, Eastern Market, and even Henry Ford Hospital were all thrown out as potential sites for the transit system to expand. Read the full Axios interview here.

According to Wikipedia, The Detroit People Mover (DPM) is a 2.94-mile elevated rail loop people mover system in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The system operates in a one-way loop on a single track around downtown Detroit. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 364,300, or about 1,900 per weekday as of 2023.

The Downtown People Mover opened on July 31, 1987, and currently is running free of charge to riders.

Detroit's People Mover only had a few times that they had to shut down, some due to regular maintenance issues. Another time was in 1998 after the J.L. Hudson Department Store building implosion damaged part of the nearby track and forced the system to shut down. The system ran limited service until the track was completely repaired in late 1999, per Wikipedia.

The People Mover shut down on March 30, 2020, due to reduced ridership amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The system resumed limited service on May 20, 2022

Up until April 2017, it was a great way for Detroit Red Wings fans to get to and from the games. The ride made it so convenient from the Downtown area to grab dinner in Greektown jump on the DPM and make the game. After a Red Wings victory was always fun as crowds of happy Wings fans made their way home.

The Detroit People Mover is the perfect way to get around Detroit attractions. Huntington Place, Greektown, and the Renaissance Center all have their own People Mover stations. There is also a People Mover station in Grand Circus Park, which you can use to quickly get to a QLine station. Don't forget how great this will be for visitors when Detroit hosts," the 2024 NFL Draft," will take place in Detroit on April 25-27, 2024.

Nice also you can ride along to see all the improvements coming to Downtown Detroit from the city center.

In 1981 MTV Music Television hit the airwaves with the words, "Ladies and Gentlemen, rock and roll." I wondered what it would do for the bands in Michigan. Local Detroit Rock bands didn't take long to start making music videos on their own. In the beginning,  Detroit Rock videos were cheaply made with Mom and Dad's video camera.  A band that had a record contract had the record label fork over some money to have a music video professionally made.

Before MTV Bands in the 60s were making what they called promotional videos of live performances or would lip sync to their hit song to get into venues and promoters, in the 80s Local Detroit bands got in the game as bands from England already got a big head start on all the bands in America.

Detroit history, The Look was the first Local Detroit band on MTV with its “We’re Gonna Rock” clip in 1981. MTV rotated the band’s 1982 follow-up video of the single, “You Can’t Sit Down,” a Dovells R&B cover. The song made American Bandstand’s “rate-a-record” with a respectable score of 94. The Look has lots of  Detroit radio airplay.  Dave Edwards continues to write and record currently.

Some of these bands played at some great local venues around town. Harpo's, The I-Rock, The Ritz in Roseville, The Hayloft East & West, Blondies, Jaggers, and others. We grew up in a great time for music in the motor city. Even some fans made road trips to Grand Rapids, Flint, and parts of Ohio. Don't Forget even road trips to Canada to follow Detroit Bands.

Are You Ready For More? 

By popular demand and request friends and fans have asked me to dig even deeper for even more Detroit gems and Motor city classics.

Friends have suggested these videos and songs on my social media and people I have run into from time to time this year.

Enjoy!

~screamin

Great live video performance of 'Gimme Good Lovin' from January 26, 1985. The show was taped at Harpo's and broadcast on the "Soundtraxx" TV show.

National Breakout was the second album by ,"the Romantics" , released in 1980 on Nemperor Records. It peaked at No. 176 on the Billboard 20. The longest song on the album just over 5 minutes was, "A Night Like This." The song written by Wally Palmer, Jimmy Marinos and Mike Skill.

The Bob Seger System played throughout the 1960s, breaking through with his first album, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man." his first national hit in 1969. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the 'System' from his name. Check out the venues they played on the Concert Data Base by clicking here 

Mitch Ryder and the Band, "Detroit" ,  was a spinoff of rock group The Detroit Wheels. This revised version of that band was formed by Mitch Ryder as a successor to The Wheels in 1970. The only original Wheel in the group was the drummer Johnny "Bee" Badanjek; other members were guitarists Steve Hunter and Brett Tuggle, organist Harry Phillips and bassists W.R. Cooke and John Sauter.

Love seeing Jim McCarty and Johnny B up there! 

1969 by The Stooges with Iggy Pop   from the first album. Not only the lyrics from Iggy make a statement but include the screechy guitar riff that makes this a hometown classic. The Stooges,and also known as Iggy and the Stooges, were a rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. 

Grand Funk Railroad's famous Concert July 9th, 1971

The impending Grand Funk concert – with special guest Humble Pie. Matched that attendance record, but sold out in a mere 72 hours, whereas The Beatles' show took considerably longer. 55,000 tickets went on sale at 10am that Friday, priced at $4, $5 and $6, and by Monday morning they were gone.

Frijid Pink members, drummer Richard Stevers, guitarist Gary Ray Thompson, bassist Tom Harris, lead singer Tom Beaudry (aka Kelly Green), and later added Larry Zelanka as off-staff keyboardist. The Bands  third 1969 single, a distorted guitar-driven rendition of "House of the Rising Sun," reached the Top Ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1970. The 45' sold over one million copies, thereby receiving a gold record.

Barefootin' was the B-side of the 45 of their hit , "Smokin in the Boys Room." "Barefootin'" is a 1966 song origanlly  written and performed by Robert Parker and was a million seller as he claims.  One of the first 45's I ever had in my collection and still is in one of my jukeboxes at home.

The Mutants were the next big thing out of Hamtramck/Detroit. They were heavily featured in CREEM MAGAZINE before their first single came out! Sadly, the rest of America didn't catch on to this great power punk band. 

Alice Cooper once said that he wanted his song, "School's Out," to represent that very last moment of the last day at school. You remember the one. The last bell rings and everyone loses their mind. Unless, of course, you work in the school system.  The song turned into a anthem that would be played year after year over and over again.

This video was originally aired on MTV in 1982 when it came out. Back when MTV played Rock and Roll videos all day long! Filmed in Toronto and Detroit. Dave and the LOOK are still out playing the motorcity and well as Dave Edwards as a solo artist.