Originally Posted by
MikeyinBrooklyn
Great Guy,
I have a mixed reaction to your post.
First, we need to acknowledge a few things about the Troy Transit Center. It was a badly handled affair start to presumed finish. Poor planning as to precise location, utility, cost-benefit ratio, property acquisition, etc were done terribly, and in fact, illegally. Despite that, it happened, and the question [[assuming the city settles with G/S or, less likely, wins in court) is now how to make it work best. It will never, under any realistic scenario, be a beehive of transiting activity. If rail ridership goes up by 25% [[and, as I have said before, no reason to think that it will, but I am willing to be optimistic for the sake of argument), it will still serve under 100 riders a day. And that is contingent upon Congress and the State of Michigan continuing subsidies of unprofitable lines. Local bus service, too, will not increase or change, but will merely be relocated to a moderately less pedestrian friendly space, with a nicer waiting area. The fact that it is not in close proximity to expressways makes it a poor choice to house Greyhound, Megabus, or charter services. It will operate as a nice, sparsely used station. The dozens of people who will use it daily should send a thank you note to Congress, the Transportation Dept, and Troy taxpayers for making their wait much more pleasant, if their walk a little longer.
Second, I am hopeful that voters will approve more transit funding at the ballot, and also by electing people to state and local office who advocate for reasonable and affordable transit improvements. But I fear that if there is not a well crafted and specific plan, with time to be vetted by stakeholders including taxpayers, the measure will go down to defeat. I favor significant spending on transit projects [[bus improvements, BRT, possibly Detroit-AA commuter rail), but I do not favor spending for spending's sake. I will gladly vote against any ballot proposal advocating for spending on transit that is not specific, clear-headed, prepared for contingencies, and supporting a broad, regionally interconnected set of systems. If it doesn't meet those requirements, we will spend a fortune for very little benefit, a la Troy Transit Center. And then both the public's purse and patience will be spent.
So, TGG, I share your hope and desire for a great transit system, but it requires organization, leadership, specific plans, and determined, honest execution. DDOT, SMART, and the RTA [[if it ever really starts) should neither seek nor spend more capital money until they can meet those requirements. The hurdles can certainly be cleared; but I have no idea if we will clear them.