2012 Predictions for Metro Detroit-Windsor

[313WX]

1. Detroit will go into bankrupcty while losing a whopping 100,000 people this year alone.

2. 30-60 additional DPS schools will close.

3. The Whole Foods project will fall flat on its face.

4. The outskitrs of the city, particularly the NE side, will feel increasingly empty and look increasingly bombed out.

5. More suburban communities will opt out of SMART.

6. SMART will attempt to reinstate, while still limited, a reasonable amount of service in/out of the city to counteract the drastic drop in ridership. Meanwhile DDOT will cut their services even further.

7. One or two downtown hotels will lose their corporate flagship.

8. Gas will come back down to $2.50/gallon.

9. There will be a notable absence of road construction this summer.

10. Half of the city will remain without lighting [[in rotation).

11. Grosse Pointe Shores and Wayne County will vote on whether or not Grosse Pointe Shores can become completely a part of Macomb County.

12. Dirt will still be moved around on the Shoppes at Gateway site.

13. Forman Mills will open at Grand River and Greenfield.

14. The officially empty parts of the city will be closed off from traffic and infrastructure will be routed accordingly.

15. Garbage pickup will only be bi-weekly, if not once per month.

16. One of Detroit's cultural and/or entertainment institutions will close permanently.

17. The remaining independently-owned radio stations will fold to Clear Channel, Radio One, Citadel or Cumulus.

18. Wayne County will attempt to de-corporate Detroit into its own County.

19. The national unemployment rate will remain around 9%, and Michigan's unemployment rate will remain between 10% and 11%.

20. The Detroit Lions will make it to the division finals and lose against Green Bay.

21. Several of the Chaldean-owned grocery stores and liquor stores will close, or the owners will burn them down to cash in the insurance money, as their customer base continues to rapidly decline.

22. The RTA proposal will fall flat on its face.

23. BRT? What is this "BRT" you speak of!?