Matthew Moroun is a Stand Up Kinda Guy

[Gannon]

And I mean COMEDIC. Really. He should take his act to Ridley's Comedy Castle instead of the State Legislature.

Here's a nice peek from the Freep article:

“Let free enterprise work. It’s worked for 83 years, and there’s no reason to get the government involved,” said Matthew Moroun, whose company is fighting a state plan to build a second bridge south of the Ambassador Bridge jointly with the Canadian government.

IF what he thinks his father did to achieve his fortune was because of FREE ENTERPRISE, then he must be joking.

Of course they don't want the government involved...LOL. Especially a Canadian one that wants to foot the construction bill for the competing span to his daddy's.


What a complete crock of bullshit. I'd go further, but I feel it would be piling on with this lame-brain rich kid trying desperately to maintain the family monopoly.


Oh wait. I lie. There IS one juicy morsel I simply cannot pass on:

The Moroun family argues a second, state-owned bridge would unfairly compete with the Ambassador Bridge or twin span the company wants to build next to it. Matthew Moroun said it already competes for U.S.-Canada traffic with the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel.

Uh-huh. ALL the truckers want to drive all the way to Port Huron to avoid their bridge and the relatively quick access to the 401 in Canada. And, of course, they can ALL use the tunnel...right?! Nope, only cars there.


Where's your love of free enterprise NOW, Matthew?! LET them build the competition, and may the best one win. Go play tennis with yourself off that damned illegal beginning of daddy's scheme of a second span.


Cheers

[Gannon]

Geez, I just re-read the article and there IS one more...

Moroun said his company would begin buidling a new bridge next to the Ambassador Bridge "the next day" after Canada issues environmental permits.

I'd be checking the bank accounts of any Canadian governmental environmental authorities, it sounds as if they might have someone in their pocket, heh.


So, he is at least a dreamer as well as a comedian. Tragic.

Keep your day job, Matthew. Stay in daddy's good graces, you don't want to be cut out of the will. Not so sure you'd make it in the real free world of enterprise.

[Gistok]

Um.... Gannon.... you're correct except for 1 minor detail.... Sarnia is 1 hour closer to Toronto than Windsor is....

So yes the Blue Water Bridge is competition against the Ambassador bridge... especially for folks traveling from points west and southwest [[such as Chicago and Indianapolis)... where taking I-69 to Port Huron is often faster to get to Toronto than taking I-94 all the way to I-96 and the Ambassador bridge. That's why all those trash trucks from Toronto go thru Sarnia to get to the Wayne County landfill....

Sarnia - Toronto 280 km [[3 hours)
Windsor - Toronto 360 km [[4 hours)

[Gannon]

Where is the Wayne County Landfill?!

Distance and time from Toronto to Chicago is roughly identical between the two routes...per MapQuest.


Heading into Wayne County, the obvious choice is through Detroit...unless there are fewer delays at the Bluewater. For the landfills in Oakland County, the far better choice is Bluewater/M-59.


Either way, the Morouns are such champions of free enterprise...ahem.


I always thought the logical place for another bridge would be where Southfield Road hits the river, because the continuation into Canada basically puts you right ON the 401. River might be slightly wider...but there is another island they could use as a footer to jump the shipping channel well.

Oh, and my old occasional mentor, the late great Heinz Prechter, REALLY wanted it to be closer to Eureka Road...


Cheers!

[DetroitPlanner]

Wayne county is full of landfills out in van buren and canton townships.

Free Enterprise?? If he does not want the government butting in why did they takr $200 million for improvements for the Ambassador Bridge Gateway Projects then squander it by building a gas station in a place where it makes it impossible to finish the job?

[p69rrh51]

Let's see you want the state of MI, Wayne County the city of Detroit the Province of Ontario and Windsor to have control of the bridge?? I cannot think of 5 worse management units than those! Yes the Morouns are a pain but you have a reasonably well kept bridge with competitive but not great toll the is stable and fairly well run, and you want to have the 5 previously mentioned "very well run" entities control the new bridge? Time to take a good look at what is really best for the area.

[Brian1979]

I agree with the area where Southfield hits the river, it's a perfect shot to the 401 in Canada but would need some upgrades on the U.S. side. First of all I think Southfield would need to be upgraded to a freeway at least to I-75 and if this site was chosen and the upgrade done I think all the way to I-94 would be the best. That would ease the Toronto to Chicago and vice versa traffic, putting Chicago bound traffic right on I-94 on the U.S. side and putting Toronto bound traffic right on the 401 on the Canada side. There is a sizeable gap between the river and the current terminus of the 401 though and would require a new freeway to be built but looking from an aerial view I don't see much standing in the way on the Canada side, on the U.S. side though it's much more densely populated in the area where you'd have to build a freeway along Southfield Road. The island which is on the Canadian side could be used to move the crossing into the Canadian mainland farther downriver since there is some development near the area that the crossing would come into.

[KOMPOST]

Let's see you want the state of MI, Wayne County the city of Detroit the Province of Ontario and Windsor to have control of the bridge?? I cannot think of 5 worse management units than those! Yes the Morouns are a pain but you have a reasonably well kept bridge with competitive but not great toll the is stable and fairly well run, and you want to have the 5 previously mentioned "very well run" entities control the new bridge? Time to take a good look at what is really best for the area.

You cannot think of 5 worse management units?
The Marouns are "a pain, but..."?
Bridge is "reasonably well kept"?
Time to take a good look at what is best for the area?

Wow. The stand up just got even better.

[DetroitPlanner]

[QUOTE=Brian1979;252379]I agree with the area where Southfield hits the river, it's a perfect shot to the 401 in Canada but would need some upgrades on the U.S. side. First of all I think Southfield would need to be upgraded to a freeway at least to I-75 and if this site was chosen and the upgrade done I think all the way to I-94 would be the best. That would ease the Toronto to Chicago and vice versa traffic, putting Chicago bound traffic right on I-94 on the U.S. side and putting Toronto bound traffic right on the 401 on the Canada side. /[QUOTE]

Brian Brian Brian..... where to begin?

[Meddle]

Within a few years, the Bluewater will be the primary crossing. When I-69 is completed it will be designated as the international route from Mexico to Canada and will carry a great deal of truck traffic. The only trucks using the Ambassador will be those with local deliveries or pickups. Even north/south traffic will be using US23 to bypass the entire Metro area to hit 69 and the Bluewater. Once the downriver span is complete, much of the north/south traffic will use it to avoid the city.

Ambassador could end up #3.

[rb336]

Let's see you want the state of MI, Wayne County the city of Detroit the Province of Ontario and Windsor to have control of the bridge?? I cannot think of 5 worse management units than those! Yes the Morouns are a pain but you have a reasonably well kept bridge with competitive but not great toll the is stable and fairly well run, and you want to have the 5 previously mentioned "very well run" entities control the new bridge? Time to take a good look at what is really best for the area.

Well kept? not according to the latest safet tests. 10 years or so ago, maybe 15, inspectors said the bridge could easily last 100 more years. lack of upkeep, basic maintenance, etc, has made it's structure weak. good management. Please show me one area, except his own wealth, where maroun has shown he is a good manager

[Gannon]

Well, he manages to keep government off his case with his many abuses of property crime...or is it modern ruin-making?!


He manages to stay out of the spotlight pretty well.

[Bham1982]

:

Uh-huh. ALL the truckers want to drive all the way to Port Huron to avoid their bridge and the relatively quick access to the 401 in Canada. And, of course, they can ALL use the tunnel...right?! Nope, only cars there.

While I don't disagree with some of your sentiments, isn't Port Huron already more convenient for most folks than Detroit, assuming your destination is Toronto or thereabouts?

It's certainly a shorter and faster drive from most parts of the metro.

I mean, Windsor is well south of Toronto. It makes no sense to go to Windsor, except maybe if you're coming from Downtown or Downriver, or if your destination is Windsor-Leamington area.

[Autoracks]

it has worked for 83 years. Worked for him. C`est la vie. I'm not even mad tho. Dont even care. Too bad he doesn't rehab the MCS to a condition where it is viable to be occupied. Move his business in there until he can find someone to buy it. Reason he wont do it is he would almost certainly take a bath on it. Bad business deal. Too bad the city and state dont have more powerful claws they can sink into absentee land/building holders. Levy fines on these property owners and take the money directly from the bank accounts of those being held responsible. Garnish wages and bank accounts. Make it that as long as the owner is making EFFORTS to rehab or maintain the property they are not targeted.

[Richard]

Well I can only speak from personal experiences.

While trying to bring a project to Detroit I tried to establish contact with what is considered the norm in any other city and state and this is the result.

Gov = No response
MEDEC = Thanks for attempting to bring business and employment to the city and state but thats what we can offer thanks and good luck.

At the city level.

Mayors office = Returned emails that really made no sense.
City council members whose district covered the area where the property was located. = No reply

DEGC = No reply to emails and after countless phone calls finally an answer with a phone conversation that I think the person on the other end was distracted with something else.

Wayne county EDGE = was most help-full in providing a cell phone contact number for MEDEC to actually get a response.

So at that point it was painfully clear that the city and state really had no interest in promoting business and employment I decided not to give up and actually contact other large business owners and see how they got through the mess.

So what I needed was a property appraisal as the property is large and unique it was hard to find someone that could handle it.

Quicken had an article in the newspaper that stated that they were going to be a conduit to help other business in weeding through the red tape in doing business in Detroit .

Perfect right up my alley , so I got a contact for the person to speak to in Detroit that could assist ,15 emails of yea okay we can help with that but never helped.

Sense what I was doing involved rail and transportation on a whim I decided to contact the bridge company I was directed to most highest profile person.
I sent an email explaining what I was attempting to do and the problem I was having ,immediate response was received and problem was resolved.
I was a nobody and they took the time to help without sending me to the lowest rung on the totem pole.

To me that says allot about ones dedication towards the city they do business in
and I am not trying to justify anything just relaying an experience for what it is worth.

[Meddle]

^^ What are you talking about?

[Gannon]

Geez, Meddle...thought you had better comprehension than that.

He is saying the Bridge Company is better managed, more communicative, and WAY more useful than every branch of government he's contacted with his GREAT desire to make something positive happen in our fair city.

Richard is a man of ideas, who really wants to engage them into action!


Cheers

[Gannon]

Even our 'savior' at Quicken, with the special person who is supposed to specifically help with this sort of thing didn't respond. So, while it totally deserves another thread...his extended explanation seems designed to say that perhaps the Morouns are better than some of us give them credit.

I know I'm one of those...LOL! But all I see is the results...the 'fruit' that is borne from their efforts.

[esp1986]

The Moroun family argues a second, state-owned bridge would unfairly compete with the Ambassador Bridge or twin span the company wants to build next to it. Matthew Moroun said it already competes for U.S.-Canada traffic with the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel.

They're correct. They compete with the tunnel and Blue Water for auto traffic and with the Blue Water for truck traffic. Unless you're in the city or downriver, the time to London [[where 401 and 402 from Sarnia meet) is the same. So he is competing directly with them. Any traffic jam or accident in the area of the bridge usually causes most of the traffic bound for North/East of London to head to Port Huron/Sarnia. He is the one that stands to lose the most from this new bridge, given the proximity. Unfortunately for him, Ontario won't grant him the necessary permits to build his second span until after they get the NITC. Also, Ontario has already started building the parkway from 401 to the NITC site, so they are not about to let the NITC go down without a fight.

[p69rrh51]

10-15 years ago how about more recent tests? Sounds like you are more jealous of his wealth! You think the state county and city can do a better job?? Not a chance! Just ask those on Bridge 9340 how well govt. control of a bridge works.

[Brian1979]

Within a few years, the Bluewater will be the primary crossing. When I-69 is completed it will be designated as the international route from Mexico to Canada and will carry a great deal of truck traffic. The only trucks using the Ambassador will be those with local deliveries or pickups. Even north/south traffic will be using US23 to bypass the entire Metro area to hit 69 and the Bluewater. Once the downriver span is complete, much of the north/south traffic will use it to avoid the city.

Ambassador could end up #3.

I'm sorry but taking US 23 to I-69 to hit the Bluewater Bridge is going wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy out of your way. You'd hit I-69 in Flint and still have to travel over 60 miles east to Port Huron. Staying on I-75 in Ohio and coming into Michigan to the Ambassador Bridge is going to be a lot quicker to get to Toronto than taking even I-94 all the way to the Bluewater Bridge. And the only way anyone could avoid the city is if they didn't have any stops in Detroit or the Detroit area. Detroit is a large U.S. city even though it sometimes doesn't function like one.

[Meddle]

And the only way anyone could avoid the city is if they didn't have any stops in Detroit or the Detroit area.

Exactly. And that's the case for millions of through trucks. US23 to I69 may or may not be farther, but it's a lot faster with less risk of slow-down or traffic jam in Motown.

Whenever I give directions, I always advise either US23 or I275/I696 depending on where they want to go so they can completely avoid Detroit, even if it might be a bit farther.

Friends don't let friends drive through town if it can be avoided.

[Meddle]

And that's the same for Atlanta, St. Louis or any other big city. If I can go around, I will, even if it might be farther, and even if I might have to use secondary routes.

[Novine]

"Sounds like you are more jealous of his wealth! You think the state county and city can do a better job?? Not a chance!"

The major government run bridge crossings in Michigan are the Blue Water bridges, the Mackinac Bridge and the International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie. All are run by government authorities. By all accounts, all are managed fairly and efficiently and the bridges are maintained through tolls collected at the bridges. I don't recall any of those operations running around dumping money into the pockets of lawmakers every election year like Manny does. Government-run versus Manny-run? The government operations are far superior in every way.

[Gistok]

There's little merit in arguing about which route to take... yes if you're coming up I-75 from Ohio then the Ambassador Bridge is likely the fastest.... but if you're coming up from Indiana or Illinois, then the I-69 route from where it crosses I-94 near Kalamazoo would be quicker.

And if you're originating from say Jackson or Ann Arbor, then it's a crap-shoot.... depending on the traffic report. Sometimes the M-14 to I-275 to I-696 to I-94 to Port Huron is quicker,... other times just stay on I-94 to I-75 to the Ambassador Bridge is quicker.

The point is Toronto is 4 hours from Sarnia and 5 hours from Windsor... so it really often depends on the traffic situation [[even in Canada)..