Times Square station (Detroit)
Detroit People Mover station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Times Square station is an elevated Detroit People Mover station in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. The station, identified by the Detroit Transportation Corporation (DTC) with the code TS, has an entrance off Grand River Avenue between Times Square and Washington Boulevard and is located across from the Rosa Parks Transit Center.[2]
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Detroit, Michigan
United States
Times Square | |||||||||||
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Exterior, with Rosa Parks Transit Center platform in foreground | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | 1250 Park Place Detroit, Michigan United States | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42.3336°N 83.0520°W | ||||||||||
| System | Detroit People Mover | ||||||||||
| Owner | Detroit Transportation Corporation | ||||||||||
| Operator | Detroit Transportation Corporation | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Connections |  DDOT: 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 16, 18, 19, 23, 27, 29, 31, 40, 52, 67 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
Structure type | Elevated | ||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Status | Open | ||||||||||
| Station code | TS | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | July 31, 1987 | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 73,548 | ||||||||||
| Rank | 5 of 13 (2024-2025)[1] | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Times Square opened with the People Mover on July 31, 1987. DTC owns and operates the station and the People Mover system.[3] The station is notable within the system for its relationship to the People Mover's operations and maintenance facility, which is located immediately adjacent to it.[4]
History
Construction of the Detroit People Mover began in 1983 under the Southeastern Michigan Transit Authority, now SMART. The Detroit Transportation Corporation was established on October 3, 1985, to complete the project and thereafter assume ownership responsibility, and the system opened to the public on July 31, 1987.[3]
The station takes its name from Detroit's Times Square area. The square and street were associated with the former Detroit Times newspaper, whose building once stood in the area.[5]
Planning for the neighboring Rosa Parks Transit Center was coordinated with the existing People Mover infrastructure. City of Detroit records concerning the transit-center project specified that the new facility was to interface with the People Mover and that access to the DTC maintenance facility and loading dock had to be maintained during construction.[6]
In May 2016, a passenger was fatally struck by a People Mover train at the Times Square station. Authorities ruled the death accidental.[7]
The station was closed during the winter of 2025-26 for platform resurfacing, with trains bypassing Times Square during the work.[8] DTC subsequently announced that Times Square had reopened.[2]
Design and art
Times Square is an elevated station and is one of eight People Mover stations that DTC describes as integrated into an adjacent building.[3] The station has an island-platform arrangement associated with the connection between the main People Mover guideway and the adjacent maintenance complex. A 1991 Transportation Research Record study described the maintenance facility as being next to Times Square station and documented its maintenance bays, train-control laboratory, electronics laboratory and support areas.[4]
The same study published a schematic of the facility showing Times Square station alongside the storage track, bypass track, car wash, recovery-vehicle track and maintenance shop.[4] The facility is a distinctive feature of Times Square compared with the other stations on the People Mover loop.
Times Square contains two ceramic installations associated with Detroit's Pewabic Pottery. In Honor of W. Hawkins Ferry, by Tom Phardel and Pewabic Pottery, uses an Art Deco-influenced design and honors Detroit architect and philanthropist W. Hawkins Ferry.[2] An untitled mural by Anat Shiftan and Pewabic incorporates commemorative tiles associated with the People Mover's Art in the Stations program.[2][9]
Services and connections
Times Square is served by the Detroit People Mover's downtown loop. The People Mover is owned and operated by DTC, and rides on the system are currently free.[3][10]
The station is directly across from the Rosa Parks Transit Center, a major Detroit Department of Transportation transfer point.[2] City transportation guidance has directed DDOT passengers transferring at Rosa Parks Transit Center to use Times Square station for People Mover service.[11]
The station is accessible by elevator. DTC's accessibility information specifically lists Times Square among stations open with elevator accessibility.[12]
Ridership
DTC's current publicly available ridership figures are reported for the People Mover system as a whole rather than as a current station-by-station breakdown. DTC reported 655,283 system rides in 2023, 1,075,264 in 2024 and 1,321,231 in 2025.[3]
Nearby points of interest
DTC identifies the Rosa Parks Transit Center, Beacon Park, MGM Grand Detroit and Book Tower as destinations near Times Square station.[2]