A Leap of Faith

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In fact, the first phase--a $40 million parking structure with more than 1,000 spaces--has little immediate payoff for the city.

That's not true for the University of Michigan: its share of the cost--$31.2 million--will buy 800 new parking spaces right next to the parking-starved Medical Center (though 200 spaces in a surface lot on the site would be lost). The city would get 200-plus spaces, but those public spots, too, are likely to be used, at least at first, by Medical Center staff.

Yet even as city council faces another round of painful cuts in the city's operating budget, it's agreed to raise $8.8 million in capital for Phase 1 of the transit station--so called because it also will have bicycle parking and U-M and AATA bus stops. For city officials, though, the big prize is the parking. They see it as an essential step toward Phase 2--a new $24 million train station to serve both Amtrak and a new commuter rail line linking Ann Arbor with Metro Airport and Detroit.

In effect, the city is making an $8.8 million bet that parking cars is the key to improved train travel. "This is the down payment to lure additional transportation investment," says Eli Cooper, transportation program manager for the city.