Found by Zamir Humud.
Meanwhile the video below is what the idealists are pushing.
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Much of these same anti-rail arguments were made when Phoenix was trying to puts it’s line in, now you have small businesses springing up along the line as they shatter ridership goals.
I’d also point out that the Libertarians aren’t going to spend the money they “save” on cancelling Light Rail on…well…anything. They’re Libertarians, in their opinion no spending can help. But, hey, what’s 90 years of US history?
Detroit & Buffalo have a lot in common … sprawl fueled by powerful road & housing developers, racism and declining schools, heavy manufacturing decimated by free trade policies, corrupt politicians unconcerned with regional success, magic-bullet economic solutions. Take a look at our light rail Detroit, it’s been ineffective at anything. Well OK it does take you on a tour of empty storefronts and crumbling buildings.
#33 For some unknown reason people cannot grasp the act that the culture cannot deal with mass transit except is very specific situation such as the NY Subway. The West Coast is worst. This video here epitomizes the problem.
Combine that with cultural imagery provided by comics who will moan about public transportation with lines such as, “Why don’t they get real and paint ‘loser’ on the side of the bus rather than Muni?”
Generally speaking, public transportation works fine in Europe.
That Journey to Detroit video made me want to puke.
I noticed it was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Control the masses by limiting their movement with trains and such.
I would think by 2050 we would all have jet packs to take us to our gladiator sporting events. The elites would have us do no such thing. So off on the trains we go. Oh, by the way if the trains stop for whatever reason(transit workers on strike like in France) you are stuck. Good luck.
#36 Not sure what you’re saying.
Fights happen on Public Transport.
Road Rage happens in automobiles.
People do all sorts of stupid things while driving with serious consequences for those around them. Driving is one of the riskier things we do in life.
How long are we going to keep voting these flatliners into office?
Where is the bottom?
#27 Hmmm… Lets see… Why did we start buying Toyotas and Hondas…
I concur. It was the auto cos own fault but I do think they have done a lot of catching up in terms of quality, features, and being able to stop the car. I’ve been seriously looking at a new Ford where I wouldn’t have thought about it 5 years ago.
I, dunno. I live outside of Portland Or and if we didn’t have light rail I would not have the job I do. During the first 3 years at my job I would have spent my entire paycheck just on gas and parking.
Detroit is a hole. They should take a page from Flint’s playbook and get started with a little creative destruction. They can build the light-rail or whatever AFTER the city’s been redesigned for a 21st century economy. Which won’t make itself apparently until about 2020.
If they really wanted to rebuild the downtown, just enact a law exempting downtown businesses from state and local taxes (make a corporate and sales tax-free zone) and make it a “right to work” zone too. (The workers would still pay their income taxes of course.) You would have a miniature Hong Kong right there on the Detroit River. Then if the business community wanted a light rail system, then they could build it.
How could it be any worse than it is right now?
Whatcha bet that car-share vehicles smell like piss, shit and vomit? That’s what the last cheap rental car I picked up in San Francisco smelled like.
Put the whole city on the tracks.
Reportedly, GM wanted to move its hq out, but the government overruled them on the grounds that it would kill the city. So already the Governmment takeover means they are not acting in the best interests of the company.
#17 is correct also living in Detroit the proposed route serves absolutely no value except for people from Royal Oak funny the Rep. is for that city.
But for a way for the suburbs who are to afraid to go downtown to get there. But even that is flawed seeing as the rail will stop about 2 1/2 miles from where that would happen anyways.
Only way it can succeed is if poor people are discouraged from using it. Normal people will see it as a nice idea, possibly a convenient way to get someplace. Unfortunately, poor people see a nice new thing that therefore must be destroyed with graffiti and vandalism, and a convenient supermarket of rich people to rob, assault, rape, etc. As soon as poor people find out about it, they will claim it with their crime and drive out the rich (who will be stuck paying for it anyway, with their taxes)
Oh yeah, $500m seems a bit pricey for 9.3 miles of track along a flat road. Does it cost more because they need to provide 24 hour armed guards to stop the equipment being stolen and the builders murdered?
I’m confused about Detroit politics if their highest priority is to build a rail system. Especially since the woman is from the suburbs — I strongly suspect she or some of her family/neighbors own a few construction companies in the area. However, I have no idea on the issue since the video only talks to one couple on the street: the fellow being a pulitzer-winning reporter, you’d think that he could find people to talk to. But perhaps he had an off day.
Detroit’s biggest issue is that they need the middle class to move back into the area and rebuild their commerce. Which requires lots of money, in the form of major tax breaks and extensive construction.
While a light rail project would count, in this case it would ONLY be used to ferry people to stadiums for games and not for actually bringing people to work or back home. So it fails the usage test. I’m really surprised the feds are putting anything into it, considering how much crap they gave WMATA to extend metro rail to Dulles — which is a highly trafficked metro system.
Some of the comments on here do show some heavy racist and class issues though; not constructive and your comments make it far easier for people to argue for wasting money. Stick to facts and your point will be made. Oh, sorry, I forgot this is dvorak blog.
While I agree with the idea behind the reason video, that shot of Woodward is so selective. I live in South East Michigan, and Woodward is the most direct route from the suburbs to downtown (if 75 isn’t bumper to bumper). In addition, there are three major sports teams downtown. So, showing a shot of Woodward, probably when there is a red light of screen, is lazy reporting.
The main reason I don’t go to more events downtown is because the drive and parking is a total pain in the ass.
No one is taking the train to a burnt out house. You would take a rail to the tiger’s game, so you can get blotto, and not have to try and make it back home cross eyed.
The truth is somewhere in the middle of these two viewpoints.
These comments are insane. That particular light rail might not work in Detroit, but that says nothing about the value of public transit. This country, like Detroit, will get what it deserves. Keep on truckin’, morons.