[QUOTE=ghettopalmetto;397055]
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"Lipstick" is that goofy-ass bus "rapid" transit that Rick Snyder and SEMCOG are going to try to sell you.
Try? it's been bought. there are no plans other than that. we will have 3 miles of track and the rest will be BRT. again...that is my point.
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The Woodward Streetcar is far more than lipstick. Reasons for this have been given, but since some folks want to be so blase at the potential for billions of dollars in new investment due to the streetcar [[see: Portland), then that's your problem--not the streetcar's.
I think comparing Portland's system to detroit is an insult to Portland. Unless of course, we're going to talk about Portland's proposal to start using BRT instead of rail? It's stupid here, but not Portland?
look, Portland's first line was 15 miles long. secondly Portland is the result of 40 years of pretty progressive land use policies. I'm all about comparisons.. but I don't know of one major city doing this today that started with a line as short or had such fucked up priorities land use wise. Dallas? Houston? double the distance for the first line.
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[Are any of these people going to ride the 53 bus, not knowing whether it's ever going to show up, if ever? No. Are developers going to construct new buildings and fill existing space just because DDOT erects a signpost on the corner? No.
Perhaps they would if it's reliable? What if our regional bus system operated in such a way that the 53 was linked to an app and you could see it would be at your stop in 47 seconds... and if you missed that one another would be coming in 4:42... and if you miss that... another is coming in 9:48?
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And, I do know this: When I travel to a different city, I am a heck of a lot more inclined to ride a tram or streetcar than I am to board a bus, simply because I *know* where it goes, and I *know* where it stops.
I'm curioius what cities you travel to that switch bus routes on you and make it confusing. When I travel I pick up a transit map if I intend to use it and if I'm not renting a car because I need to get to some sprawly office park. Usually, I do use rail lines because most of the time there is a station at the Airport and its going to drop me near to where my hotel is...or will at least get me to a transit hub. Something this will never do.
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Detroit is finally implementing something that it never should have done away with 60 years ago. Don't let the "good" be the enemy of the "perfect".
Well I agree.. and it's getting built so there really is not a debate anymore about degree of good. time will tell.
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Unlike the debacle known as DPM, the streetcar network can be expanded as money becomes available.
except there is no plan, there will be no money baring a 180 degree reversal in Lansing politics and priorities, and it wont' be expanded.
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But if you just sit on your hands and wait for a 100-mile streetcar system or light rail or commuter rail to fall out of the sky, you're going to get what you've always got: Nothing.
not asking for 100 miles, only 10 maybe 15 you know, something that would actually resemble a foundation for a transit system. That... and a credible, believable plan to expand it.