Metro Detroit Photo of the Day

[Guest]

In detroit for the day heres my contributions

[Michi]

Rouge River Bridge is the best view of the skyline! Too bad there isn't a pedestrian perch or something at the summit so that people can take quality photos of the city.

[martinpon]

Is this thread still active? No new photos in a month.

[tapezord]

Lets play name that location!

[hudkina]

Is this the project that they were trying to foster in Ferndale (or whichever city it was) when they increased the height limit to five floors (or whatever it was)?

[tapezord]

nope... wrong spoke road

[Dyenimator]

Dearborn.

[hudkina]

Yeah, I would guess it's Michigan Avenue through West Dearborn.

[tapezord]

nice work, you got it

[hudkina]

Here's another one:

It's not that hard...

Edited October 18, 2007 by hudkina

[tapezord]

southfield at 9 mile, ibm building?

[Michi]

Yep, that's Crapfield at 8 Mile.

[ZachariahDaMan]

How about this one?

[Zissou]

Main Street in Royal Oak.

[hudkina]

I always think of Macy's when I see that...

[MJLO]

are there lots of builidings like that going up in Royal Oak?

[Michi]

No, not lots. But I do think that Main North Condos has a phase II project.

[Zissou]

Wasnt phase 2 changed since the theater is right there? I thought original plans were to take out the theater but enough people protested so they built around it.

[Michi]

From my understanding, the second phase (to be called Main North Terraces) will be built to the east of the current building.

http://www.mainnorth.com/terraces.htm

Then, I guess there might be a 3rd phase with the MN Residences. (??) You can see all these on the website.

[Zissou]

Ah I stand corrected. In the Terrace rendering it looks like the theater is in the very bottom in the foreground. They must be selling pretty good to justify further construction.

[hudkina]

I can't wait until the economy turns around and we finally agree to build light rail along Woodward...

[tapezord]

sooner than we imagine, i hope... the boys from URS are working hard to make it happen

[Michi]

Umm, the light rail (or mass transit) is what is going to turn the economy around. At least in the urbanized area. The exurbs will continue to destroy every aspect of our glimpses of hope as they continue to reach for the Mackinac Bridge.

Audio:

http://smartcityradio.fluidhosting.com/200...erger_bonus.mp3

[Ka3kab]

Well, if you believe what the people of my fair city of Traverse City have to say, then the Detroit suburbs only have another 100 miles to go before they reach the bridge. Listening to the radio clip you put on, the guy said there is a demand for light rail. How true is that? I imagine someone has had to have done a survey on it, any ideas where the numbers could be found? And lastly, what kind on engines will these trains be running, if they get running, gas or electric?

This could be a huge opportuninty for Detroit and its burbs and I for one hope that it becomes a reality. My questions sound like I'm a little skepital, but thats not the way I wanted them to sound so you all know.

[Michi]

Though I don't have solid numbers to support the demand for transit, I think you can get a pretty good idea of the actual demand by where all of our brains are moving...to cities with transit...just like he said in the audio. Also, I don't recall what the source was, but a few years ago, a study found that a majority of residents in the metro support funding for mass transit.

By the way, the guy's name is Christopher Leinberger. You may recognize him in the area because he is a professor at UofM's real estate program. Also, he has been somewhat active in the community by being a part of the charettes that were conducted downtown in the recent past.

http://www.downtowndetroit.org/ddp/newsroo...oCityHealth.pdf

Here's his website.

http://www.cleinberger.com/

The reason you are skeptical, Ka is because transit planning takes a very long time to impliment. Especially in this region where we've talked about the exact same things for over 20 years. It's going to take 10 just to finalize a plan, build the system, and open the first line of it for operation. It will probably take 5 to get to that point...that is ONLY if the time period between now and 5 years is NOT repeating the same 20 year old mantra of the past. So far, from my vantage point, there has been little-to-no new discussion other than a failed commuter train btw AA and Det. Much of the failure being due to the lack of evidence that this route could support transit. A complication that adds to the complexity and timliness of transit planning. Add on to that the single (ONE) shot that we get to convince the Feds that OUR line is the one they want to choose as the most viable and efficient for funding. Something I feel very negative of at this point. Mostly due to the fact that there are still small entities proposing their own transits boongoggles lately. Troy-Birmingham, AA-Brighton, Interstate Traveler, private extention of People Mover, SEMCOG, DTOGS, blah blah blah. Once you submit a proposal to the Feds, that's it. One shot. If we're lacking, prepare to wait another 5-10 years just to reevaluate a plan to submit and try again...and if we ever DO win, plan for 10 years from that point to open ridership.