As I have read alot of comments about how people here Detroit feel about light rail going through the city and reigon I have noticed ALOT of people not really realizing the benefit to them and their pocket books form having a light rail system. I have lived in Portland Oregon for 5 years and I never had a car. It was much more affordable to spend a couple dollars to get to where I need to go (work, play, friends, grocery shopping,ect) than to pay 50 bucks for a tank of gas, car insurance, upkeep on a vehicle, or car payments. Its helps to keep the roads nicer because there are fewer cars on the road so less wear and tear on the roads and that means we don't have to pay for road improvements as often which is a savings. Since there is not as many cars on the road there is not as much carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere which is better for all our healths. The redevelopment of the radius around a light rail line tends to be very phenominal for the neighborhoods that they border and that trickles down the and revitalizes those blighted neighborhoods. It isn't to bring in white people which is something I have noticed being said by the African American community. Its to help all of us get our quality of life back to a safe and prosperous state.
If we are going to move forward we totally need to make changes in ourselves and accept things like light rail. And not even just accept it, but embrace it. If all we are going to do is put down things like light rail based on no real evidence for why we are against it when its been tried not just once but many many times and everytime its tried its successful in revitalizing the areas that it is built, then we have no right to complain that our neighborhoods are filled with crime, blight, and decay. It also is not just the local government that is needed to make it a reality. It is also us as citizens that need to support the system in everyway we can. The defeatist attitude where people say It will never happen or Why put this in so we can take it out in 10 years? is exactlly why nothing happens here in Detroit. That unsupportive of the much needed action and underminds the efforts. And negitive emotion is like cancer and it spreads just like it. So if you have a few people saying how horrible this Light Rail line is then that just gonna spread causing a city full of grumpy gus's and all hope dies.
"Two decades after Portland, Ore., built one of the nation's pioneering light rail systems, mass transit there continues to expand, with 50% more track expected in the next 18 months. Encouraged by ridership numbers -- one rail line attracted 76% more users than the bus line it replaced -- city leaders are adding streetcars and commuter rail to the public-transportation mix. Each of Portland's four light rail lines came in at or under budget, and some $6 billion in development has sprouted along the rail corridor."
"Though it is still six months from completion, a new light rail system in Phoenix has already sparked a development boom estimated at $6 billion. New condos, offices and mixed-use developments are rising all along the rail line"
The Economic Benefits of Public Transit:Essential Support for a Strong EconomyData from the American Public Transit Association, Summarized by Transportation Riders United(Sources and additional resources below)The evidence is clear: to develop a sound and vibrant state economy and to enhance Michiganders' quality of life, Michigan must increase its investment in public transportation. Through increased jobs, income, profit and tax revenue, dollars invested in public transit provide an economic stimulus far exceeding the original investment. Studies estimate every dollar invested in public transit returns between four and nine dollars in economic benefit.
Public transit creates jobs.Every $100 million invested in public transit creates and supports roughly 4,000 jobs.According to US DOT director Norman Mineta, every $1 billion invested in the nations’ transportation infrastructure supports approximately 47,500 jobs. Transit capital investment is a significant source of job creation. In the year following the investment 314 jobs are created for each $10 million invested in transit capital funding. Transit operations spending provides a direct infusion to the local economy. Over 570 jobs are created for each $10 million invested in the short run. Tri-Rail of South Florida expects its five-year public transportation development plan to spawn 6,300 ongoing system-related jobs. New York’s East Side Access project is expected to generate 375,000 jobs and $26 billion in wages. Public transit enhances productivity and reduces costs. Americans living in public transportation-intensive metro areas save $22 billion annually in transportation costs. The Altamont Commuter Express from Sacramento to San Francisco can cut annual commuting costs in half, from $5,300 to $2,700 annually. For every $10 million invested in public transit, over $15 million is saved in transportation costs to both highway and transit users, including operating costs, fuel costs, and congestion costs. In addition, efficient public transportation enhances access to opportunity, increases productivity, saves money, limits air pollution, decreases traffic congestion and protects personal freedom, choice and mobility.In short, public transportation is an investment in economic development and job creation that Michigan can’t afford to pass up. Public transit benefits local and state tax revenues.A typical state or local government could realize a 4 to 16 percent gain in revenues due to the increases in income and employment generated by investments in transit. The Washington Metrorail system is expected to generate $2.1 billion in tax revenues for Virginia over 30 years. Mixed-use development surrounding the Southwest Station in Eden Prairie, MN, will annually return over $400,000 in residential property taxes and nearly $300,000 in retail property taxes. Public transit boosts business revenues and profits.Businesses often realize a gain in sales three times the public sector investment in transit capital; a $10 million investment results in a $30 million gain in sales.In St. Louis, the public transit system modernization and expansion is expected to bring in $2.3 billion in business sales. Businesses located near the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail starter line have experienced a nearly 33% jump in retail sales in one year, compared to just 3% elsewhere in the city.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Detroit
Its a shame that this would be great city is plauged by such racism. From the local government all the way down to such neighborhoods as Highland Park and 8 Mile Rd. What does this accomplish? Maybe thats why this city is in ruins...hmmm. Nobody in the local government can seem to agree on anything that is good for the city or its citzens...just themselves. Right now we seem to have a mayor that is actually doing some good things for the city of Detroit, but alot more needs to happen. We need to be more aggresive in decesion making and implementing whats right for the city and its citizens. It all starts with elections. Why are some of these people in office. I have heard some of the most perposterous and uneducated things come out of the local government here in Detroit and it needs to stop! These people need to be afraid for their jobs and stop pussy-footin around.
The COBO Deal
This deal would of taken financial burden off of Detroit allowing them to put the money into things that would actually help the citizens (services) and preserve the auto show that is one of the major money makers here in Detroit. People that do the show have been complaining about the size of the place and the condition of the building itself. What happends if they decide to stop having it there? How much is that gonna cost us?
"The downtown convention center is home to the lucrative North American International Auto Show, which brings in an estimated $500 million to the region each year. The auto show is committed to Cobo through 2010, but organizers have said the deteriorating facilities at the undersized venue could force some vendors to bypass the annual event."
"The state plan signed in January by Gov. Jennifer Granholm would have expanded the facility, given a $20 million payment to Detroit and relieved the cash-strapped city of Cobo's annual operating deficit of about $13 million to $15 million."
Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers, JoAnn Watson, Barbara Rose Collins, Martha Reeves, Alberta Tinsley-Talabi all need to be in fear of losing their jobs. They are gonna put this city in a position where we are going to hemerage more money and they don't seem to know how to do their jobs, so some that does should be in their place before the damage they do is irrevesible.
Cockrel said transferring the Cobo to the authority would eliminate the city of the convention center's $100 million debt.
When a reporter asked Conyers if eliminating Detroit of the $100 million debt Cobo has would be good for the city, she responded by saying, "What debt? That's all fictitious."
And just one of the thing I have found that quote the ignorance in which our lives hangs in the balance. One of these people Alberta Tinsley-Tablabi is on record saying that she voted against this deal and that if we lose the auto show at the COBO then we all should blame the ones who created the deal. Has anyone informed Alberta about the fact they we are gonna lose it if we don't do something? Its very clear that if we don't take the deal we are gonna lose the show altogether and then we won't get anything in revenue and we will be paying on 100 million in debt and trying to get something else to replace it. Haven't we lost enough revenue from businesses leaving Detroit? Maybe it's this kind of awkward thinking that has started that trend. Its undermining anything that is gonna help us in the now or near future.
However, Cockrel tells us what we have to gain from this deal: the $279 million expansion of Cobo will not add new costs on taxpayers. It will be paid for by extending an existing regional hotel and liquor sales tax, the Cobo deal protects Detroit's interests by saving the city $15 million a year, money that currently comes from our general fund, the $20 million the city will receive as compensation for Cobo parking garage income can be used to pay for essential services, in our police and fire, Detroit will not give up control of how Cobo is operated. The authority's decisions must be unanimous, which gives each member veto power and makes regional cooperation critical. My appointee, Waymon Guillebeaux -- a development expert who is a vice president at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and a lifelong Detroiter -- is ready, willing and able to ensure Detroit's best interests will be served.
The COBO Deal
This deal would of taken financial burden off of Detroit allowing them to put the money into things that would actually help the citizens (services) and preserve the auto show that is one of the major money makers here in Detroit. People that do the show have been complaining about the size of the place and the condition of the building itself. What happends if they decide to stop having it there? How much is that gonna cost us?
"The downtown convention center is home to the lucrative North American International Auto Show, which brings in an estimated $500 million to the region each year. The auto show is committed to Cobo through 2010, but organizers have said the deteriorating facilities at the undersized venue could force some vendors to bypass the annual event."
"The state plan signed in January by Gov. Jennifer Granholm would have expanded the facility, given a $20 million payment to Detroit and relieved the cash-strapped city of Cobo's annual operating deficit of about $13 million to $15 million."
Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers, JoAnn Watson, Barbara Rose Collins, Martha Reeves, Alberta Tinsley-Talabi all need to be in fear of losing their jobs. They are gonna put this city in a position where we are going to hemerage more money and they don't seem to know how to do their jobs, so some that does should be in their place before the damage they do is irrevesible.
Cockrel said transferring the Cobo to the authority would eliminate the city of the convention center's $100 million debt.
When a reporter asked Conyers if eliminating Detroit of the $100 million debt Cobo has would be good for the city, she responded by saying, "What debt? That's all fictitious."
And just one of the thing I have found that quote the ignorance in which our lives hangs in the balance. One of these people Alberta Tinsley-Tablabi is on record saying that she voted against this deal and that if we lose the auto show at the COBO then we all should blame the ones who created the deal. Has anyone informed Alberta about the fact they we are gonna lose it if we don't do something? Its very clear that if we don't take the deal we are gonna lose the show altogether and then we won't get anything in revenue and we will be paying on 100 million in debt and trying to get something else to replace it. Haven't we lost enough revenue from businesses leaving Detroit? Maybe it's this kind of awkward thinking that has started that trend. Its undermining anything that is gonna help us in the now or near future.
However, Cockrel tells us what we have to gain from this deal: the $279 million expansion of Cobo will not add new costs on taxpayers. It will be paid for by extending an existing regional hotel and liquor sales tax, the Cobo deal protects Detroit's interests by saving the city $15 million a year, money that currently comes from our general fund, the $20 million the city will receive as compensation for Cobo parking garage income can be used to pay for essential services, in our police and fire, Detroit will not give up control of how Cobo is operated. The authority's decisions must be unanimous, which gives each member veto power and makes regional cooperation critical. My appointee, Waymon Guillebeaux -- a development expert who is a vice president at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and a lifelong Detroiter -- is ready, willing and able to ensure Detroit's best interests will be served.
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