Ms Hodges: Why don't you go back to your city and fight for it there. I do not want the
transit and neither does a lot of people I know want it. I have rode them in New York,
and California. when I was in China, I had a driver take me all around. And I bet that the kids of today wouldn't take them to work, they are to use to driving their own cars.

Dear Audre , Ms Hodges is right on target . The need for Troy to be hooked to rapid transit planned from Cleveland to Chicago is urgent for attracting business . There are some business people (including me who welcomes less hassle by getting on a train in Troy and connecting with rapid train line to other cities. Whenever we travel the world it is apparent that we as a country are very far behind the rest of the industrializd countries and very handicapped by our auto oriented society . If the new council votes to drop the transit plans they are showing me that they are being zealots and not educated on the needs of the future .

Abandoning the Transit Center would be a major mistake. If Detroit is to become a revitalized city it will need effective public transit -- that means transit that extends into the suburbs. Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, New York, Washington, DCSan Diego, Atlanta, and even LA, which is a car haven, have had or have developed effective mass transit systems. This has proven to be a benefit for the urban center and the suburbs. This is an opportunity for Troy to be at the right place and the right time for what should be effective mass transit -- including the train -- to Chicago and elsewhere. Rejecting this system is backwards thinking -- 1950s thinking to be exact. The President of the Troy Chamber is right on the spot.

Audre, Ms. Hodges appears to be writing on behalf of the Troy Chamber of Commerce. I surely hope you don't want the hundreds of businesses the Chamber represents to leave town as well.

As for whether the "kids of today" would ride transit, you might want to talk to the thousands of young Michiganders who have left our state for Chicago over the last few decades. Chicago has a robust transit network of heavy rail, light rail, and bus service that the "kids of today" absolutely love.

I lived in Japan for four years, in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Tokyo that still had lots of rickety buildings and farmland. The last year a new train station oepned near to my apartment. When I visited 5 years later I could barely recognize the area surrounding the station because there had been so much new business development. Everyone who lived in the area had done VERY well for themselves as the value of their property skyrocketed. Of course the transit center would not bring such huge change so quickly, but it would be a sign of Troy modernizing, preparing for an exciting future. Why does this new city council and mayor want to stop a very hard-fought-for project in its tracks? Why are they so anti-progress?

If there are no jobs to come to, then why do we need a fast transit??? Let's get the jobs here first, and people in the houses that are vacant, The only thing the fast transit
would be for is getting to the airport (if it goes that way) and that means a job out of
this city and state. Give the voters the right to vote on it and see what happens.

http://keeptroystrong.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-are-people-mad-about-troy-transit.html

Don't complain about the Transit Center of you know nothing about it. Read the hostory.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/73206634/20111121-Agenda-O-01-Troy-Multi-Modal-Transit-Facility

The Maglev slows down to 300 km/hr at night because of the noise. It also costs $8 to ride from the airport to the business district, OK if you’re on an expense account. But if you’re traveling with your family, you might prefer to take the subway for $0.50. Shanghai’s population density is higher than America’s most crowded city, which makes mass transit more viable there than here. It is 14 times that of Troy!

Troy is not a city, but a suburb without a downtown area. New Yorkers may want a walkable city; people everywhere want personal mobility. A Chinese coworker of mine is a native of Shanghai and has never been to the Great Wall. Travel in China is difficult & crowded, requiring much planning. He loves to drive and see national parks, preferring America because of the freedom to go where you want when you want. He spoke of arriving in Sioux Falls, SD the same day they left Michigan on their trip to Yellowstone.

As someone who enjoys bicycling and has cycled over 7000 miles in Europe, I find the idea of a European from Copenhagen or Amsterdam coming to America and renting a bike at Maple and Coolidge in Troy laughable. If someone were to rent a bike, it would be at an existing bike shop or at a tourist attraction like Greenfield Village. There are plenty of car rental places at airports and car dealers; I can’t imagine anyone renting cars profitably at Troy’s proposed train station.

I’m not opposed to taxpayer funding of infrastructure. I believe government should own roads and bridges and invest in our future. I would be interested to see what the Mackinaw Center for Public Policy thinks of high speed rail’s effects on Michigan’s economic development. California is backing out of high speed rail and Florida refused the money. We already have a functional train platform less than a mile away to serve our 3 Amtrak trains a day. There is no need for a bus station. In this case it would be better if this federal money went unspent. We’re running 40% over our intake as a country and borrowing the rest for our kids and grandkids to repay. This is $8,485,000 that doesn’t need to be added to our rapidly growing $15,000,000,000,000 debt.

Dale, I've actually read about this transit center. It's a little dinky spot to improve the use of trains and buses and light rail that are all needed in our area. We are not talking about bullet trains, so how about having a relevant conversation?
I started working just 4 months ago and hate my 40 minute drive to work and 50 minute ride back. But I feel sorry for the people I see waiting for buses standing out in the elements. One of your friends said that you lose freedom if you take a train instead of a car, but if you have no car you have NO freedom in public transportation poor America.
When I lived in Tokyo it was so great to take a train to work and read a book or magazine as I traveled. Maybe you just don't know how good THEY have it. Have you ever considered that?

Sharon, are you from Tokyo?? or did you just work there. That would make a
difference in how you think.