Bing considers Belle Isle Entry Fee

[Tig3rzhark]

http://michiganmessenger.com/26759/b...isle-entry-fee

It is very important that the public raises out their voice on this.

Personally, I'm against the idea of an entry fee for Belle Isle. I would be more agreeable if there was a fee for vehicles not for bicyclists and pedestrians.

However, we already pay for it with our city taxes. Why should we be forced to pay more when we already pay for its maintenance?

[dcmorrison12]

Fantastic idea to charge automotive vehicles only. The Isle desperately needs an income stream so that regular upkeep can be maintained. I love this park and would love to see it upkept to a higher standard, which will only come with more money.

Plus, a fee for automotive vehicles only may decrease the amount of vehicles coming onto the Isle, thus making the experience at the park THAT much better - less noise, less music blaring, less street racing and most importantly, LESS POLLUTION

[crawford]

However, we already pay for it with our city taxes. Why should we be forced to pay more when we already pay for its maintenance?

You already pay for city buses. Why should you be forced to pay more when you ride a bus.

You already pay for city streets. Why should you be forced to pay more when you park at a meter.

You already pay for city pools and recreation centers. Why should you be forced to pay more to visit a recreation center?

Should I go on? Museums, City Permits, Cobo, etc.

[izzyindetroit]

The city should find a way to charge people for crossing the city border.

[Retroit]

I support it. It may be good to have a higher fee on the weekends and evenings during the summer months.

[Tig3rzhark]

Fantastic idea to charge automotive vehicles only. The Isle desperately needs an income stream so that regular upkeep can be maintained. I love this park and would love to see it upkept to a higher standard, which will only come with more money.

Plus, a fee for automotive vehicles only may decrease the amount of vehicles coming onto the Isle, thus making the experience at the park THAT much better - less noise, less music blaring, less street racing and most importantly, LESS POLLUTION

I'm glad you agree with me. I'm sure that by looking at the island that most of the park would be a lot cleaner with less cars. I just hope that Mayor Bing can agree to that. However, should the pedestrians and bicyclists have to pay a fee, it can become a problem.

[dcmorrison12]

We should truly have toll roads - statewide and disperse the earnings to expenditures such as Road repair, MASS TRANSIT and parks

[Retroit]

The city should find a way to charge people for crossing the city border.

To discourage people from entering or leaving?

[Mipade]

It's disappointing to hear but understandable. Hopefully the charge will be at a minimum for residents, while non-residents have to pay a inflated entrance fee.
Conservatory is one my favorite parts of the city.

[kraig]

If utilized properly, Belle Isle could be self-sustaining. It's funny to see Authority's and Corporation's thrown together with spit and barbed wire to run Cobo and the Eastern Market. Yet, an organization such as the Friends of Belle Isle has been around for decades, doing good work, and receives little or no consideration from the powers that be. They could probably turn the island around if given just half the resources that already exist.

[Detroitnerd]

Cutting bus service? Charging to get onto Belle Isle? Hmmmm. Do you guys get the sense that Bing is a little clueless about rank-and-file Detroiters?

[izzyindetroit]

To discourage people from entering or leaving?

When was the last time you were discouraged to travel to Chicago or Cedar Point because there was a fee to use the expressway?

[MotownSpartan]

Or maybe he's just "clued in" to the fact that city expenditures, as they exist now, are unsustainable and that some painful choices have to be made or else it's receivership.

[cman710]

Cutting bus service? Charging to get onto Belle Isle? Hmmmm. Do you guys get the sense that Bing is a little clueless about rank-and-file Detroiters?

I agree with Motown Spartan. I think the reality is that Bing is facing an enormous deficit, and is trying prevent the city from going into receivership or bankruptcy. As a result, some measures like this might be necessary. I think it is very important, however, that when considering new fees like this, that they not be set at a rate that will discourage people from visiting.

[Neilr]

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.

Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, 1849
English novelist [[1812 - 1870)

[Jason]

In one of the other threads about this, the math was done, and if there were a small fee for vehicles, it would raise a ton of money for the island, and the island needs money.

[One Shot]

I think its a good idea and bad. I wouldn't mind the small fee but wouldn't want the hassle to pay for it. Maybe a yearly pass? On the other hand maybe this fee would filter out the riff raff that has no respect for the island. These are the kind that WOULD have a problem with the fee.

[Danny]

It it means to save Detroit from going broke, so be it. Have that entry fee for Belle Isle Park established.

[Lowell]

I think a automobile fee + an extra fee, if non-resident, is fair. My main concern would be that the city budget for Belle Isle would be cut by whatever revenue is generated such that BI budget would remain flat.

All in all I am happy to say that BI is in the best condition it has been in decades. The only real 'eye sores' are the zoo and some of small abandoned maintenance building on the east end of the complex. However they finally pull down the ivy and painted the main building. IMO they should demolish the zoo and return it to forest. It could also do with a major Canadian goose 'harvest.'

[Detroitnerd]

Only the riffraff will have a problem with the fee? You guys, if you're serious about this, and want it passed, should probably shy away from those sorts of comments. You know, keep it tight. We've all got to make some sacrifices. It will improve the park for everybody. That sort of stuff. Or else you might sound like PERSON 1 and PERSON 2.

[vetalalumni]

...
He also said he's open to fresh ideas for closing the city's budget gap, including an admission fee for Belle Isle. "You'll constantly hear folks say Belle Isle is a gem," Bing said, "and it was, and maybe it can be again, but I don't think it is today."

The city clearly can't afford to maintain Belle Isle as a top-notch park, but Bing's not charging a fee yet.
...

By Tom Walsh
Free Press Columnist
[Bing to Detroit: 'Change ... or get left behind'] 9/23/09-->
http://www.freep.com/article/2009092...t-left-behind-

Almost shed a tear while reading this article this morning. Belle Isle has always been a Detroit treasure to me. Not perfect, but that has been part of the appeal.

Rather than questioning Belle Isle [["...maybe it can be again..."), I'd rather hear voices defending it. However, dire circumstances apparently compel.

Are they talking an annual pass, for say $5? Or, pay each visit?

[kraig]

Has the Belle Isle Master Plan been revised or updated? It appeared as though the same plan and same amount [[180 Million) floated around for over a decade with nothing ever happening. If memory serves me correctly, Archer wanted a fee on Belle Isle. That way, a bond could be taken out and the proceeds from the entrance fee would be used to pay back the bond. If that is Bing's plan, he's going to have to do some serious updating, in order to, account for inflation and our current bond status. At the time Archer developed the plan, Detroit had an excellent Bond Rating.

[Todd_Scott]

I personally think it's a great idea for motor vehicles. Parks generally don't charge admission for peds and bikes. Charging fees for public use can make it more difficult to get certain grants, but I imagine that would be especially true if peds and bikes were charged.

Someone mentioned this might make Belle Isle sustainable -- perhaps, but likely not. Parks rarely survive just on user fees unless you're pulling in big bucks from camping or other fee-based facilities.

[Fnemecek]

Does anyone have any projections as to how much money such an entry fee would generate?

Or any current estimates as to how many people visit Belle Isle on an annual basis so one could make at least somewhat reliable estimates?

[Stosh]

The city should find a way to charge people for crossing the city border.

And vice versa.