Troy Transit Center - the Real Cost of the Footbridge
Now that the Troy City Council has made the controversial decision to proceed with the scaled down $6.3M transit center, it’s time to support them in further value engineering of the project.
The footbridge could be eliminated completely, since freight trains only take about five minutes to pass by. This would be a $1.6M savings. I’ve lived within a mile of the tracks for 20+ years and you can tell the northbound trains by the sound of the engines laboring up the grade. I’ve never seen one stopped.
Canadian National confirmed by email that there are about ten freight trains per day. Assuming half run on the east tracks, this means the east track would be blocked by a train five times a day for five minutes. However, as a matter of standard practice and for safety reasons, CN does not allow grade crossings at new passenger stations.
People will be forced to take the bridge; there will be no possibility to cross the tracks on foot to bypass the bridge. If people had the option, 90% would just walk across the tracks if no train was coming rather than take the time to go up and over on the bridge.
The objective is to get passengers safely from the station to the platform. Currently 66 people per day use the existing Birmingham station. Annual payments on this $1.6M bridge will be $115,000, which works out to $4.78 per passenger. That would be nearly a $50 per passenger subsidy if they had the option to bypass the bridge and only 10% used it!
This is really about liability and lawsuits, not public safety, since grade crossings can be made safe for pedestrians and cars. Unfortunately we live in a litigious society with lawyers who are happy to sue everyone involved in a tragic accident. So I can understand CN's policy; one lawsuit and the bad publicity from it could easily eclipse the cost of the bridge, which is being funded by the U.S. government anyway.
It would also be foolish for the city of Troy to allow a grade crossing. A few years ago plaintiff attorneys filed a suit against the road commission, the railroad and everyone else they could think of on behalf of a drunk driver who slammed into the side of a freight train with red lights flashing at a grade crossing.
So to defend against possible lawsuits, taxpayers must pay for an unnecessary bridge to protect people from themselves. Anyone who has stood within ten feet of a freight train moves back from the fear; it’s not like sitting in a car waiting for the train to go by.
Extra costs for construction projects pale in comparison to medical costs, which are skyrocketing from rising malpractice insurance and the extra tests that are ordered to guard against possible lawsuits.
Plaintiff lawyers serve a useful purpose – compensation for people who could not afford to sue a large company. But the mindset that is encouraged is not good: I had a bad outcome, therefore someone should pay. Can we as a society afford the hidden tax and does this way of thinking enrich us? Better to have the attitude of Kimberly Anne Gillary’s family, who started a foundation to get AEDs in Michigan high schools after her death in 2000 from sudden cardiac arrest. They are doing something positive with their grief and have donated AEDs to over 500 schools in her memory.
Also, it would be nice to have a break in the fence for bicycle and pedestrian access from Birmingham. If people wanted to rent bikes, it would be easier for the nearby bike shop (1.2 miles away from the current station) to deliver bicycles there than to go all the way around to the less bike-friendly Troy side. Then people could choose to ride either in Birmingham or Troy. Passengers could also be dropped off there. Please see the attached file for an aerial view of both sites and the location of the bike shop.
The transit center is frustrating because it does nothing to improve the bus or train service. The only things added are a warm 2,000-square-foot building for people to wait in, which will sit empty all weekend when no buses are running, a footbridge with elevators to gather dust and be patrolled by police, and profits for the construction companies with jobs for their workers for a few years. Then the U.S. taxpayers pay $450,000 per year for the rest of the 30 year mortgage at 4%.
I hope the Troy Chamber of Commerce agreement will fund the footbridge and transit center roof replacement in 20 years so Troy taxpayers won’t have to issue bonds then. The saddest part is that the council majority ignored the proposal to upgrade the existing Birmingham station, which could have been done at no cost to taxpayers. And $115,000 per year, the annual cost of the footbridge alone, could have funded a shuttle bus from a remote parking lot at Kmart’s vacant headquarters if demand ever exceeded the 20 sites at the existing station.
Perhaps my name for Troy’s iconic bridge should be lengthened: Troy’s Monument to Big Government and the Trial Lawyers.
Sharon MacDonell
2:41 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
So you are a civil engineer?
Sharon MacDonell
2:43 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
So you want children to have access to walking across the tracks?
Abbey
2:56 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
Oh, goody...another viewpoint looking only at now and the past, not the future.
cath
3:13 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
The use is going to increase by the existance of this center vs the existing platform... so figure that into your equations please
Sharon MacDonell
3:20 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
Mr. Murrish, the decision to save the Transit Center was only "controversial" to you and your friends who apparently do not bother listening to the rest of the modern world. Our governor supported it, the Detroit News supported it, every vote of council for the last 10 years supported it and the majority of THIS council supported it. ALSO, although Janice Daniels claimed people were against it, she was not telling the truth. 90% of emails to the city supported it, as did a majority of the businesses in Troy. So what on earth are you continuing to gripe about??? It's not controversial, it is well-supported, far more well-supported than mayor Daniels.
Sassafrassy
4:51 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
Mr. Murrish, in a previous blog you authored you said, "We should cooperate with our elected officials, not try to undermine them. Continuing to battle after decisions are made helps no one and only divides us further." Perhaps, you should follow the advice that you are telling your fellow residents to follow.
concernedcitizen
5:38 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
How does analyzing piston pins and crankshafts make this guy a transportation industry expert. I've watched a lot of planes fly over my house in my lifetime. I guess that makes me an aerospace expert.
Jerry Mangona
7:29 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
Putting aside any flaws in Mr. Murrish's proposal to save money by eliminating a footbridge for a moment, I think we're missing the big picture here. Yes there is a deficit. Yes, it is a problem.
But the Department of Transportation budget was $79B in 2011.
Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security/Military = $2,260B in 2011.
So for every $35 spent on Transportation, we spent $1000 on everything above.
I'm all for fixing our budget problems. But I think this footbridge at $1.6 million is distracting us from the real problems our budget face. Not to mention that it is fair to raise the question that this is a federal issue, not a municipal issue...as no resolution passed by the Troy City Council will have any effect on the federal budgeting process. Might make more sense to call the Office of Congressman Peters since he at least actually has a vote on the federal budget.
Dale Murrish
7:16 am on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
After 30 years of writing letters to people at the proper level of government and reading their replies on the taxpayer dime, I've finally learned not to waste ink and effort with some of them. Gary Peters' idea of economic development is more debt for small businesses, not reducing taxes or regulations. So I worked on Rocky Raczkowski's campaign last election and will support Peters' opponent again this time.
It's true that $6.3M is small change compared to the amount we spend on Social Security and other programs. But it's large compared to the ~$200K we could have spent fixing up what we had in Birmingham, perhaps none of it coming from taxpayers.
I was not proposing eliminating the footbridge from this project. That was my original thought, but after checking into it and realizing the liability involved (half the article), I realized that was unwise. My point was the effects of the hidden tax of lawsuits and the mindset behind them on our society.
I wrote the cooperate with public officials comments in mid-January when I thought the decision was made and we could move on to the next issue. All my experience is in the private sector where deadlines mean something. But I guess I can learn persistence from the other side, that it's not over until the dirt flies from the shovel ready projects.
Thanks for reading my profile. I added to it if anyone is interested in knowing more of my background.
Will Curtis
9:47 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Too bad about Rocky. Problems with Star Tickets Plus and all. But did you see who his pal is with Star Tickets? Jack Krasula, who's in tight with Robert Ficano, Turkia Mullin and all that fishy stuff going on with those Democrats in Wayne County. Please do your due diligence and find a better candidate this time around.
David Gifford
1:08 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
66 people per day is not a lot but becomes crowded with the limited parking spaces and the bus stop shelter they currently call a train station, an upgrade is needed. My personal feeling is that the route really needs 10 electric trains a day as Amtrak only runs three times a day. You run into issues with the shared track and demand (which will go up when gas spikes again). I don't know the cost difference, but wouldn't a tunnel be cheaper? I haven't done too much research into location but from your map, why would they try and sqeeze a transit center behind a shopping center? Pontiac should really be the regional transit point with it's large parking lots and access to major freeways, not the middle of Troy/Birmingham where everyone drives cars.
Dale Murrish
4:32 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
I think a tunnel was considered and rejected; maybe someone with more knowledge of the project can comment on the reasons. It's hard to get project details. That's why I went to both sites and took pictures when proposing upgrading the Birmingham station in December:
http://troy.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-improve-current-transit-center-don-t-build-new
You can see the pictures and proposal in the same letter. The Birmingham station upgrade could have been done at much lower cost (~$200K) and perhaps with no tax money.
David, I like your profile picture with the Great Lakes and see you're from Rochester. From there you're more likely to drive to Pontiac with its larger parking lot than Troy or Birmingham anyway.
You're right that this is a regional issue; the debate in Troy was very Troy-centric. Testimony from a patent attorney about the high subsidy costs for mass transit and trains in particular was dismissed because he moved from Troy to Birmingham and is now an outsider.
Thanks for taking an interest in our controversy. It really is all of our controversy, since we are all Americans and happen to live in Michigan.
Sharon
4:48 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
No, actually, the patent attorney's argument was ignored because his presentation -- even his Power Point presentation! -- was laced with terms such as "Mugger Mover" and "Heroin Express." It seems like the region he was concerned with was Detroit. I wouldn't be quoting that guy, if I were you.
Dale Murrish
5:57 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
Roads cost $.032 per passenger mile, mass transit $.71 ppm ($.53 subsidy), with light rail a $1.73 ppm subsidy. Most of the road costs are recovered from license plate fees and gas taxes. (according to Wisz' Powerpoint presentation)
Crime is a legitimate concern, since the police can't impound the car of a bus rider. Empty elevators with no people around will make people less willing to shop nearby regardless of how well it's patrolled. There have been muggings on Rochester's Paint Creek Bike Trail. No wonder the shopping center has filed the lawsuit.
Extreme language is unfortunate but quite common on both sides. Just read the blog comments attacking Mayor Daniels. It's up to our elected officials to filter out the hyperbole and make decisions based on data. And the majority chose to go ahead with the scaled down $6.3M project. So I support them even though I disagree with the decision.
I didn't attend Mr. Wisz' presentation but was drew my conclusion from the Troy-centric debate that he would been viewed as an outsider. Perhaps a transit center proponent from another town would have been welcomed by supporters.
Does anyone know why the tunnel was rejected?