Stinky bus station

**bailey** · November-23-10, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

This is classic Detroit. We can't even operate a shiny bus station that we tore down a city block to build. So rather than make it functional, we're just going to change its name so it can keep being shitty. Hey assholes, this isn't GM Bankruptcy restructuring, it's cleaning the toilets at a bus depot - it shouldn't be hard to manage. How about the dispshits on council use their personal staffers who make six figures to clean it? Or can I earmark some of my exorbidant tax dollars for a guy with a mop at the bus depot?

$22.5 million for that pile of garbage. Oh yeah, Gary, you know what is really an insult to Rosa Parks? Detroit City Council for the past 30 years.

So what is with these make-work Clean Downtown guys who will sweep in one spot for 8 hours? What about all the cops at Tigers games? You know, the six officers it requires to get people accross Woodward from the Fox to Comerica Park! We can't possibly redeploy out personnel in a strategic way to restock toilet paper? How about the fatties in the City County building? There's hundreds of them and they could probably do something besides play solitare all day and screw up my property records. A little manual labor would do them good.

Just a little clarification for your rant.... the "Clean Downtown" folks are not city employees..and I would guess have no responsibility to clean the DDOT's facility.

The Clean Downtown team also maintains landscaping in public areas and provides support to many of downtown Detroit’s largest public events, festivals and sporting events.
This privately-funded program is staffed by workers from Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit who bring pride and enthusiasm to their jobs of keeping downtown Detroit looking its best.

But really I think your ire is directed at the wrong people. Cops mopping floors? c'mon. How about direct some of that anger to the clear lack of access control? bar the homeless and the crazies from entry, problem solved. apparently all that takes is a metal detector.

Anthony Kelley, 42, who also is homeless, said the problem will worsen until the city provides better options.
"There aren't any places to go to the bathroom," Kelley said. "Some places charge money. We can't afford that."

and Detroit can't afford to clean up after you. Go to a shelter. Get out of downtown. Get treatment. Work for Goodwill industries.

**iheartthed** · November-23-10, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

How about direct some of that anger to the clear lack of access control? bar the homeless and the crazies from entry, problem solved. apparently all that takes is a metal detector.

You can't deny someone access to a public facility.

**bailey** · November-23-10, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

You can't deny someone access to a public facility.

you can make them go through security. per that article that is keeping them out of CAYMAC

**Russix** · November-23-10, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

you can make them go through security. per that article that is keeping them out of CAYMAC

Yes, this will be many times cheaper than paying to actually keep the place clean.

**kraig** · November-23-10, 10:41 AM

Don't be fooled. Clean Downtown is funded by Detroit taxpayers.

**iheartthed** · November-23-10, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

you can make them go through security. per that article that is keeping them out of CAYMAC

But the security at CAYMC serves a function, since both the mayor's office and the city council member offices are in the building. Why not just pay someone to clean the bathrooms?

Homeless people using restrooms in train and bus stations are a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. I haven't used a train or bus station in a major city yet where that practice wasn't the norm.

**Danny** · November-23-10, 11:01 AM

In Royal Oak At the SMART Transit Center. They put quarters boxes in both Male and Female restrooms. That would keep the problems down.

**R8RBOB** · November-23-10, 11:03 AM

Is it possible for the city to setup some Port-a-Johns so that these bums can have a place to take a shit and not funk up the bus station? Set up some portables by some of the abandoned buildings and tell the homeless to go there.

**ghettopalmetto** · November-23-10, 01:02 PM

Put a babuszka lady in each bathroom who is responsible for its cleaning, and charge a nominal fee to use the commode. Problem solved.

**Detroitnerd** · November-23-10, 01:08 PM

Some of those old Polish ladies are pretty strict! I'd be on my best behavior.

**DetroitPlanner** · November-23-10, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by ghettopalmetto

Put a babuszka lady in each bathroom who is responsible for its cleaning, and charge a nominal fee to use the commode. Problem solved.

Many of the rest rooms in Ireland do this. You have to pay someone stationed at the door to enter.

DetroitPole · November-23-10, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

Just a little clarification for your rant.... the "Clean Downtown" folks are not city employees..and I would guess have no responsibility to clean the DDOT's facility.
But really I think your ire is directed at the wrong people. Cops mopping floors? c'mon. How about direct some of that anger to the clear lack of access control? bar the homeless and the crazies from entry, problem solved. apparently all that takes is a metal detector.

and Detroit can't afford to clean up after you. Go to a shelter. Get out of downtown. Get treatment. Work for Goodwill industries.

I mean cops there for public safety, what with all the drug slinging and other mischief.

I'm just trying to illustrate that in a city where an incalculable amount of money is squandered or lost to corruption, and a city of 900,000 tax-payers, that there IS, not should be, money somewhere to pay a guy with a mop and a rent-a-cop at a brand new multi-million dollar transit facility.

How do you bar the homeless who ride the buses? What about the resident bus riders or general public who may outwardly seem homeless[[i.e. stinky, weird, shabby - ever ride DDOT? That's a lot of people)? How do we selectively bar people from a public restroom[[which is illegal)? A metal detector does not detect crazy or someone who is going to poop on the walls or homelessness, by the way - it detects metal. It seems your plan is one that needs clarification.

**bailey** · November-23-10, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

I mean cops there for public safety, what with all the drug slinging and other mischief.

I'm just trying to illustrate that in a city where an incalculable amount of money is squandered or lost to corruption, and a city of 900,000 tax-payers, that there IS, not should be, money somewhere to pay a guy with a mop and a rent-a-cop at a brand new multi-million dollar transit facility.

How do you bar the homeless who ride the buses? What about the resident bus riders or general public who may outwardly seem homeless[[i.e. stinky, weird, shabby - ever ride DDOT? That's a lot of people)? How do we selectively bar people from a public restroom[[which is illegal)? A metal detector does not detect crazy or someone who is going to poop on the walls or homelessness, by the way - it detects metal. It seems your plan is one that needs clarification.

well, per the article, Mr homelessguy seems to be saying that the metal detectors and security make it a hassle to use the restrooms at CAYMAC, so they don't . They go to the bus station where there is no one there to bother them. make it a bit more difficult to get in and you've eliminated part of the problem at least.