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Contract awarded for Detroit streetcar line
JEFFERY GUSE,
Did you actually read this post? Private business and local organizations are footing a large part the cost of the streetcar along with a federal grant. Without this private support this project wouldn’t be getting built.
Detroit is bankrupt,right?
Normally, Detroit would be bankrupt. But don’t worry. The city has an open account to get all of that Obamamoney it needs to build a streetcar line for a city with almost no people. The way things are going in Detroit, in about 5 years, Frog Station, WI will have a greater population during daylight hours.
Detroit should invest in something it really needs. Construction equipment to tear down all those unmaintained, unowned, and unoccupied buildings. Then sell the land to farmers to plant crops where those buildings were. Or sell everything to a lumber mill to plant trees and turn the place into a forest which can be harvested for lumber in a few decades.
Don’t tell me Detroit doesn’t have any money!
They must be going to do it for free if they are doing it in Detroit. Sadly, Parsons Brinckerhoff will be bankrupt before it’s over, I predict.
Wait a minute: “The firm will also act as the city’s representative for quality assurance during construction of the project.” P-B is gonna do QA for itself on the city’s behalf!? That’s about as conflicted as interests can get.
Nobody understands more than I do that this, along with Semcog commuter rail, aren’t going to cure Detroit’s humongous ills all by thenselves but I do believe they they certainly won’t hurt any. Certainly, they’ll play at least some part in bringing that place back from it’s present abysmal state.
Detroit??? Why would good money be spent on Detroit, unless the entire dunghole was being torn down then buried. It’s beyond redemption.
I’m confused about this news item. Originally, the line was to be over 10 miles long, starting downtown and going out Woodward Avenue. Then, it was cut to 3-plus miles, starting uptown at the Amtrak station. But this item says that it will connect the People Mover line to Amtrak - aren’t they more than 3 miles apart ???
I’m sure that this 25 million dollar streetcar will turnaround this bankrupt city in no time. Is this a belated April fools joke???
Enough with the racist, cynical slurs about Detroit. 60 years ago, on visits to my grandparents, riding on the PCC trolley cars on Woodward Avenue was one of many treats one could enjoy in an elegant and prosperous Motor City. What interests me about this is that like Los Angeles and other great cities, urban rail systems are making a strong comeback, often on the same routes from which they were removed decades ago. Clean safe streetcars can be a great boon to many citizens of all stations in life, and especially those struggling to make it. No one is saying that this will cure the severe problems Detroit has, but it is a worthy project with potential real world benefits for many people…and it will probably grow once Detroiters use it. Yes, onboard security may be required but it is all part of a welcome re-energizing of a once-proud and leading American city.
It is amusing and comical to read all of these disparaging comments about Detroit from so many uninformed, misinformed and biased out-of-towners. Not one of the comments comes from a person that lives near or in Detroit. I do. I can certainly write pejorative statements about all of the cities and states from which these foreigners reside - but why would I waste my time. They have so many problems of their own. I am more interested in being one of the first passengers to ride on Detroit’s Woodward Avenue Streetcar. Just as Chrysler and General Motors emerged from bankruptcy even stronger than before, and now earn billions and billions of dollars - so will Detroit!
Detroit is broke, you know no money, what part of bankrupt don’t you understand. If there is $25 million floating around why not spend it on demolition.
Shall we laugh or cry at this folly?
It’s just too easy to spend other people’s money.
another place to be robbed while in Detroit, what waste of tax money.
@ROBERT J MCGUIRE - As has been pointed out several times, private businesses in Detroit are providing the lion’s share of funding for this venture. How much? Well, put it this way: $25 million won’t even pay for 1,000 feet of track installation.
Given the condition the city’s roads are in, I suspect the $25 million will represent a net saving to the taxpayer in the long run. In the mean time, perhaps you can give local businesses the benefit of the doubt as they, presumably, have a somewhat better idea of what benefits downtown Detroit than us outsiders.
This is another example of how the left is using your tax dollars for waste. First of all, who will ride this “dog & pony show”. There are so few people in Detroit who actually work that they won’t fill the trains even at rush hours. The people who commute in from the suburbs who work downtown will simply stay in their cars (except of course the railfans) because it will be easier and safer. No where in this article does it give the total cost of this project just that it is being partially funded by a $25 million federal grant (read our money). You can be sure with the rampant corruption within the city of Detroit that the final bill will be much more than the original estimate. Don’t get me wrong. If the people of Detroit want a streetcar to nowhere they should have it, but they should pay for it. No federal money should be involved. I’m sure that this $25 million is in addition to the $300 million of our money that Obama is already going to send them. Detroit got themselves into this mess and they should get themselves out of it. Once they do I’ll be one of the first people to visit.
Oh, and I don’t consider any of the posts on this article to be racist, they are just the truth. I guess some people on the “left” coast can’t stand the truth.
Yes, henry from California, too bad you don’t know a thing about Detroit, but then again you do live in California and get your facts from Nancy pelosi. Its a shame your entire state is in worse shape then then Detroit. Maybe you can flood Detroit with your illegals and help get this line built cheap!