Rosa Parks Transit Center

[Atticus]

Got it, low income people don't deserve good lighting and modernist architecture designs. Let them all have Detroit Amtrak stations!

I am not saying it is right. I am just saying that is what happens. And the leaders that be can either make decisions living in reality and know that the maintenance dollars won’t be there, or they can live in a fantasy world and assume they “should” be there [[when they won’t be), and make decisions in ignorance. Again, not saying it is just or right, but being a realist.

There is not enough tax dollars to go around as is, and every 8 years or so when the Republicans get in control they will push through another tax cut. Which means 8 years from now there will be less tax dollars to fix things than today, and so on, and so on. And the truth is.., the majority of the population like tax cuts. The majority don’t want taxes raised. So it continues. Again, not saying that is just or right, but being a realist.

And thus because there is a dwindling amount of tax revenue, money for maintenance is scarce. Obviously the wealthier people have more influence on the government, and tend to direct those limited tax dollars to address issues that impact them. Since there isn’t enough tax revenue to address all of those “wealthier people issues” anymore [[note Michigan roads as evidence A). So there definitely is not going to be enough spare tax dollars to address maintenance issues for a bus station used by low income folks. Again, not saying that is just or right, but being a realist.

[Atticus]

I wouldn't go that far.

A real central point for all of the bus routes that terminate downtown was desperately needed.

RPTC meets that need. But like everything else run by the COD, the management of it is mediocre at best.

It is a good location for the central bus stop. Arguably moving it from Capitol Park allowed that neighborhood to gentrify, and fill the abandoned upper floors of the buildings.

And a central bus depot was needed, as you pointed out. But like everything government related these days,,, tax revenue has been reduced so much now that it is difficult to find enough money to even fund a bare bones operation.

[Bham1982]

And a central bus depot was needed, as you pointed out. But like everything government related these days,,, tax revenue has been reduced so much now that it is difficult to find enough money to even fund a bare bones operation.

I can't imagine that nighttime lighting would be an exorbitant expense. I mean, how much does it cost to put in some LEDs?

Is there still the issue of cat washing in the restrooms?

[Atticus]

I can't imagine that nighttime lighting would be an exorbitant expense. I mean, how much does it cost to put in some LEDs?

Is there still the issue of cat washing in the restrooms?

It’s the “staw that broke the camels back” situation. Yes, a camel should easily be able to carry the small weight of an extra straw when the straw is just a few lights at a bus station...

And if enough people do complain, this “straw” will eventually get some attention at the expense of another straw. There isn’t enough money in state and local governments to meet the maintenance needs anymore, so attention only goes to squeaky wheels... and lighting for the bus stop is not a squeaky wheel. Yes it could be fixed, at some other need’s expense.

[DetroitSoldier]

It’s the “staw that broke the camels back” situation. Yes, a camel should easily be able to carry the small weight of an extra straw when the straw is just a few lights at a bus station...

And if enough people do complain, this “straw” will eventually get some attention at the expense of another straw. There isn’t enough money in state and local governments to meet the maintenance needs anymore, so attention only goes to squeaky wheels... and lighting for the bus stop is not a squeaky wheel. Yes it could be fixed, at some other need’s expense.

I would bet that replacing the lights at the bus station would cost less than two of the green wraps they are putting on the buses. I would take that trade off.

[K-slice]

And if enough people do complain, this “straw” will eventually get some attention at the expense of another straw. There isn’t enough money in state and local governments to meet the maintenance needs anymore, so attention only goes to squeaky wheels... and lighting for the bus stop is not a squeaky wheel. Yes it could be fixed, at some other need’s expense.

And how would one go about getting more attention or money to handle the straw? By getting more people to care about it.

It's the same old problem transit here has always had; there has never been [[at least not for 50 years) a system big enough and efficient enough to make anyone care about investing in it.

The People Mover could have been a huge success, but it was too limited in scope to begin with, public opinion turned against it, so any real interest in extending it died off.

The RPTC was beautiful and modern when it opened, but it only served a limited few, and now it's a borderline eyesore, neglected and lacking any interest in saving it from continued deterioration.

Now we stand at a fork with the Q line, will it get extended and improved upon to maximize its usefulness? Or it will it be allowed to languish in it's current state until public opinion turns totally negative and it becomes yet another piece to a puzzle that doesn't exist.

[poobert]

I wouldn't go that far.

A real central point for all of the bus routes that terminate downtown was desperately needed.

RPTC meets that need. But like everything else run by the COD, the management of it is mediocre at best.

I actually agree with you 100%. Forgive the hyperbole, but it was frustrating to watch something overbuilt, overly ambitious an counter-intuitive show up in a situation where something utilitarian and functional was clearly needed.

Although Capitol Park in the days before RPTC did certainly have more...character...in a bad way.

[wolverine]

I was cautiously optimistic when it opened because I know how transit agencies don’t care much for high maintenance lighting or remarkable cleaning.

I’ve observed from the CTA the weatherproofing and abuse resistant materials that seem like a great benchmark:

Aluminum railings that can’t break or rust
Painted steel structure in standard colors
Easy to access LED lighting for workers [[but high enough out of reach of passengers)
Polished Granite floors everywhere
Perforated stainless screens laminated over glass to be crash resistant and vandal resistant.
You-can’t-see-the-grime translucent skylight panels that are cheaper to replace than clean.

Stations will last like 80 years with minimal maintenance.

A tensile structure can require a frustrating amount of maintenance. And when it gets dirty, it looks really bad.

[EastsideAl]

Back when the RPTC was going up I posted here that those tent structures would look old, dirty, and worn out within a few years. Despite the vehement disagreement that statement was met with at the time, I am now quite unhappy to see myself proven correct.

The whole place now needs a good cleaning [[or a lot of fresh canvas), and some degree of rethinking. But first it needs a lot of remedial maintenance for things like lighting and basic public facilities to make it at least seem like somewhere that someone would feel safe and wouldn't mind spending a few minutes waiting on a bus.

[Tig3rzhark]

Back when the RPTC was going up I posted here that those tent structures would look old, dirty, and worn out within a few years. Despite the vehement disagreement that statement was met with at the time, I am now quite unhappy to see myself proven correct.

The whole place now needs a good cleaning [[or a lot of fresh canvas), and some degree of rethinking. But first it needs a lot of remedial maintenance for things like lighting and basic public facilities to make it at least seem like somewhere that someone would feel safe and wouldn't mind spending a few minutes waiting on a bus.

I'd have to agree.

I remember being there when there was once a gumbo restaurant. It was ok for a while, but it eventually closed and so did the second floor.

Now the only time the second floor is open is when DDOT has Community Input every month.

There still lies a place where people could use some of the area for retail or room for a restaurant.

Every Friday, the city closes the transit center in the morning to fully clean out the inside.

Of course the inside is still in need of improvements. The mobile app, Transit, keeps better track of the buses than the center can.

A functioning vending machine should be placed in the center so people don't have to wait until the morning to purchase bus passes from the cashier.

As well as phone chargers for every phone.

The transit center is named after Rosa Parks, it should function to respect what she fought for: The rights of bus-riders everywhere.

[stasu1213]

This center was domed from the beginning. Mayor Bing had tried closing in inside of the center during the coldest month of the year having riders wait on the outside for the bus until I and others had exposed the idea and the center was reopened. You would think that after GM laying off of Detroiters and high insurance rates that transit would had improved in the last ten years including the center and bus stops but it appear that Detroit had gone or is going backwards when it comes to it’s only so called mass transportation system. Mayor Dugan is going to the State trying to sue for high auto insurance but what he should do is find a way to improve mass transit within th city which include finding another location for a transit center and improving these bus stops with multi holed panels in the booths instead of breakable glass. The stops should be removed from the side of the city county building on Larned to a more better location that could handle the busses pulling up at one time. The city is still not serious about its alternative mode of transportation but would rather make it inconvenient for anyone to catch the bus so that one would be forced to purchase a car and pay the high ass insurance

[Zacha341]

Yes, YES! I think that factor has been forgotten.

The transit center is named after Rosa Parks, it should function to respect what she fought for: The rights of bus-riders everywhere.