M-1 Rail sets up business council to advise Detroit streetcar construction process

Officials with Detroit's M-1 Rail have appointed a 25-member Business Advisory Council to represent businesses and other institutions located along Woodward Avenue, where the new streetcar system will operate.

The council will help identify ways to minimize the impact of construction on businesses; provide advice during construction to help M-1 Rail reduce disruptions; and offer guidance on how the completed streetcar line can provide maximum benefit to businesses and their customers, M-1 Rail officials said in a press release.

"Having a council in place is just one of the ways in which we are connecting with local business and community stakeholders," said Sommer Woods, M-1 Rail's director of community and government affairs.

M-1 Rail is a nonprofit organization formed in 2007 to lead the design, construction and future operation of the 3.3-mile circulating streetcar system along Woodward Avenue between Larned Street and West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year.