  Masterblaster Member Username: Masterblaster Post Number: 23 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hello, did anyone attend any of the 4 open houses hosted by DTOGS, which is the Detroit Transit Options for Growth Study? These took place last week. If so, did anything meaningful come out these events. If you don't know, DTOGS is a study initiated by the DDOT that will identify and evaluate rapid transit options to improve access and mobility in the Detroit area communities of Detroit, HP, Hamtramck, and Dearborn. It's website is www.dtogs.com. Also, I attended a meeting ("coffee talk") on Wednesday held jointly by The Transportation Riders United (TRU) and Detroit Synergy. In this meeting we discussed the alternative modes of rapid mass transit that are being considered by DTOGS. Presentations were given by knowledgeable individuals concerning the following rapid transit options - Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), People Mover expansion, and Light Rail Transit (LRT). I noticed that the meeting attendees were very diverse - middle age to twenty-something year olds, city dwellers to suburbanites to Ann Arborites, black to white to asian. I was pleased to see that people from all walks of life, both city and suburban residents, were interested in rapid transit. TRU and Detroit Synergy are having another meeting on April 11, Wednesday. Please check TRU's website for more info - www.detroittransit.org | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1154 Registered: 04-2006 |
I attended one of the meetings (as a concerned citizen). I was surprised by all the old folks at the meeting complaining about how their tax dollars went to fund rides for the poor. | ||
E_hemingway Member Username: E_hemingway Post Number: 1123 Registered: 11-2004 |
I didn't see any old people complaining when I went. However, there were a variety of people there. It consisted of a short presentation where they laid out a time line for establishing a rapid transit line and then people could rank which corridors they thought needed to be done first. The five corridors included Woodward, Grand River, Gratiot, Michigan and 8 Mile. Woodward was the runaway favorite with Michigan and 8 Mile also scoring a lot of votes. Light rail was the option of choice among people there. You could also fill out a quick survey on rapid transit in Metro Detroit. You can still do it here at: http://www.dtogs.com/PublicSur vey.html I thought it went quite well and was well organized. The people facilitating it were easily approachable and seemed genuinely interested in whatever feedback they could get. The most meaningful things I noticed was how just about everyone wanted a rapid transit line on Woodward and that a line could be up and running within seven years. On a side note, if the Detroit/Ann Arbor commuter rail line set to start operation this year turns out to be a success, the chances of creating more rapid transit lines, i.e. expanded commuter rail and light rail, will increase exponentially. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1155 Registered: 04-2006 |
Ernie, You were most likely at a more sympathetic session! The dynamic of the public meeting is an interesting thing. DDOT staff did do a good job however at trying to keep their negative comments to a minimum, and redirect them to the actual topic. There was one lady who said she had a bad experience the last time she rode the bus. When probed, it was something like 15 years ago, and she was complaining about how she had to wait for a bus in the middle of a busline while three were parked at the end of the line. Now if she was in the middle, how would she know how may were at the end? | ||
Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 374 Registered: 04-2006 |
I attended these meetings and gave them copies of my website address. I challenged DDOT officials to a public debate on Channel 56 because I think good reliable, clean, safe and cost effective public and private bus services is the best answer to get rapid rail as I'm sure many DY posters already know. Statistics from the FTA shows that without bus routes connecting to the rails that the passenger numbers will be too low thus the costs will be high. But high costs do not seem to be a problem for some of our MDOT and SEMCOG officials as long as the taxpayers are willing to dig deeper into their pockets and pay more. These same people preach that for just the price of a cup of coffee a week that we will someday have a public transit system like Chicago or Toronto. We need less talk and more actions to lower the per-passenger costs of transporting people in southeast Michigan today. There are too many people out of work or in low wage jobs that don't provide adequate insurance. Raising taxes alone obviously will not get us good public mass transit to anyone who knows how mass transit is funded and knows the costs. Thus, I publicly challenge the TRU top leadership to a debate on Channel 56 alongside with top DDOT and SMART officials. MDOT and SEMCOG officials are also welcome. We need to fix our present bus systems and get Livonia Back. So, please support my Bring back Livonia campaign by asking for my website address, if interested. I'm not in to DY to sell a snake oil, feel good elixir to anyone. If I want Livonia back then I need to get mass transit leaders elected into office so the people in Livonia can see the quality of life that mass transit can and does provide, if properly supported by both government and industry. | ||
E_hemingway Member Username: E_hemingway Post Number: 1125 Registered: 11-2004 |
One thing to keep in mind about public information sessions like these is that they are usually not well attended unless whatever initiative is pissing off a large section of the public. For example, think of a NIMBY group protesting a cell phone tower being erected next to their sub division. Those groups are usually quite large, loud and disruptive. That was not the case in the rapid transit forum I attended. There were a decent number of people there, a couple dozen, and they all seemed genuinely interested in the ideas being presented. Another point of interest, I have been a to a number of other meetings hosted by groups like TRU and Detroit Synergy in the last year. Most of these meetings have attracted 50 people or more, one had a couple hundred people at it, and the audiences have all been overwhelmingly diverse and pro-rapid transit. They have been big advocates of ideas like the commuter rail between Detroit and Ann Arbor and light rail up Woodward. Right now, there appears to be a lot of demand for and momentum behind mass transit initiatives, such as the Detroit/Ann Arbor commuter line. | ||
Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 376 Registered: 04-2006 |
The debates need to be on television and in the newspapers. Mass Transit will only come to this area when we get serious about the real costs and work together to get industry support that is not cheap. This is why SMART failed in Livonia. You see, the leaders that represented Livonia talk alot, but when it comes to transit funds and taking any real actions they are very quiet because they all drive big cars and really don't care or understand the quality of life mass transit can bring to our area. I'm very sure that Livonia will come back, if we get serious about mass transit in our area and do what many other areas are doing. Such as in Miami where they filled up the trains and had to build another parallel rail line. And in Boston, where they have no more room for freeways, so they built large park and rides and actually want you to use their mass transit system. Since the SMART vote is a long way off, we all need to come to SEMCOG and MDOT meeting and get them to remove cars off the freeways. | ||
E_hemingway Member Username: E_hemingway Post Number: 1128 Registered: 11-2004 |
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Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 377 Registered: 04-2006 |
Really??? Do you know that SMART receives no federal or state funds for community transit anymore because of the Livonia opt out? It's the mis-guided efforts, false propagandas, lies and bullshit from many people like you that cause the mass transit problems we have. You see, people like you do nothing but want more money for mass transit, which is the reason we all lost when the SMART buses left Livonia. A SMART tax increase will lose in 2010, if the truth ever gets out but people like you will support any kind of tax to keep SMART including a tax on the crippled who make hamburgers to pay for the union wages and hugh management salaries of grossly incompetent administrators. SMART will be forced to cap their tax because of poor management of limited tax dollars in 2010 and their is much evidence of this. But the real facts won't stop you from all your bullshit. If you think you are so smart then attack my viewpoints, if you can. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1165 Registered: 04-2006 |
You paint a very biased picture. SMART passes through some funds from the state to run community transit in opt out communities like Livonia. Federal funds are also used for the CBSP program. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1644 Registered: 11-2003 |
It's more of an incoherent picture than a biased picture. | ||
Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 380 Registered: 04-2006 |
The state pays nothing for Livonia. |
