Light rail in Cincinnati and Detroit

[DetroitPlanner]

Cleveland had a couple of Heavy Rail lines operating for quite sometime.

A light rail line opened in the early 1990's that linked the Terminal Tower with the Lakefront [[Museums and Football). Cleveland also used highway dollars [[ a federal program named CMAQ) for a pedestrian link between Terminal Tower and the new Gund/Jacobs Field complex around the same time that the light rail line was opened.

The Silver Line is a BRT [[Bus Rapid Transit) which opened up a few years ago that links terminal tower with the Cleveland Clinic and beyond.

The only light rail that is currently planned for in Detroit is the link from New Center to Downtown via a trolley. Detroit's trolley is different in that it is in a sense being funded mostly through private interests. This of course does not preclude planning from changing in the future. Ways to expand this system would be to show that it is successful enough to find ways to provide a public source of funding, which has been one of Metro Detroit's largest challenges to operating a system.

[professorscott]

Ways to expand this system would be to show that it is successful enough to find ways to provide a public source of funding, which has been one of Metro Detroit's largest challenges to operating a system.

It's simply a lack of will on the part of the political class. The voters of metro Detroit have never been asked formally, by referendum, whether they are willing to pay for a real transit system. I don't consider that a challenge, just a failure to act. Here is why I think of it this way: I played organized baseball as a kid.

In baseball, if you are playing, say, second base, the ball is hit right toward you, and you simply stand there chewing gum while the ball sails by, you aren't charged with an error. In order to be charged with an error, you have to attempt to make a play.

[Hypestyles]

It's simply a lack of will on the part of the political class. The voters of metro Detroit have never been asked formally, by referendum, whether they are willing to pay for a real transit system. I don't consider that a challenge, just a failure to act. Here is why I think of it this way: I played organized baseball as a kid.

In baseball, if you are playing, say, second base, the ball is hit right toward you, and you simply stand there chewing gum while the ball sails by, you aren't charged with an error. In order to be charged with an error, you have to attempt to make a play.

fire everyone in public office.

[Wesley Mouch]

fire everyone in public office.

Except that they keep getting re-elected. People get the government they deserve, as someone said. Anyone know who?

[professorscott]

Except that they keep getting re-elected. People get the government they deserve, as someone said. Anyone know who?

I like Mencken better, but the quote you're referring to is commonly attributed to Will Rogers, though I can't find any truly reliable source for it.

[Wesley Mouch]

I like Mencken better, but the quote you're referring to is commonly attributed to Will Rogers, though I can't find any truly reliable source for it.

Thanks, gents.

Mencken or Rogers -- says more about Detroit government than a thousand forum posts by us little folks.

At least today I see the beginnings of willingness to ignore demagogues and elect people for better reasons.

But back to this thread... the discussion of how to move goods and services [[that includes people) around our cities isn't unique to Detroit. What is unique is that Detroit is like those African villages who can make the leap from no phone service right to smartphones. No reason to install landlines. Hey, how about peer-to-peer phones that network automatically?

Detroit can go right to next-generation public transit.

Rail on Woodward? Rather early 20th century. But a spine there won't stop us from doing much more modern on 3rd & Chene, or Lafayette & Davison.