Originally Posted by
DC48080
I live about a 10 minute drive from where I work. I still am not at all interested in taking public transit to get to and from work for the very reasons I mentioned in my previous post.
And for those who have a 30 to 60 minute commute, that is their choice and I will support their right to make said choice. I however, would not want to spend that much time on the road every day be it in a car, train, bus or whatever.
Rail is a very 19th century mode of transit and is quite obsolete in this area in this day and age. Sure it works in New York City and Chicago, but there are millions more people living in each of those towns than even lived in Detroit in it's heyday 50 years ago.
The idea of dcmorrison12's so called "TODs" is a nice dream but cannot be "sustainable" in the reality of the business world. Nobody is going to invest money to open stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues that cater primarily to folks who live within walking distance. There would not be enough profit to "sustain" the business. And there would have to be duplicate businesses every mile or so because most folks won't walk more than a half mile to get to said businesses. And what about the disabled or the senior citizens? They certainly aren't going to walk to the grocery store and lug heavy grocery bags back home.
I've said it before, if a good business case could be made for public transit we would have it here. Let's face it, this is Detroit, not Chicago or NYC. As much as some would like it to be [[and I would too), it is not. Adding more bus and rail lines will not suddenly cause an influx of people moving into Detroit. We need to clean up the schools, neighborhoods, crime and myriad other problems before we worry about building rail and bus systems that virtually nobody will use.
I'm not trying to sound negative and I am not trying to bash Detroit. I am merely looking at the reality of the situation. I lost my rose colored glasses a while ago. I now see clearly.