Comments on: Why Would Yoopers Care About Transit in Detroit?

By: Sue Raker

Sue Raker — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:33:07 +0000

Yoopers and Transit? I’ll tell you the connection..I’m old enough to remember when up here in “that other peninsula” we could board the train and head on out no matter how inclement the weather, for Marquette, the Sault, or beyond. Rail cars were loaded onto the ferries at the Straits and journeys continued or sped into Wisconsin and beyond.

I would love it if I could board a train in winter particularly, and skip the white knuckles, salty roads and white-outs driving to the VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain, visiting friends and shopping in Marquette, or reading a book and snoozing as the train sped on toward Chicago. Why is Michigan’s only concept of improving travel to add a passing lane? And, as road salt eats our vehicles and ruins roads, we act as though that’s the only choice. It’s not. Perhaps the Michigan Roadbuilders Association could learn to build tracks instead of ripping up the ‘paths’ needed for economical, safe and affordable transportaion. Looks to me as though the auto industry got a choke hold on the State about 75 years ago and never let go. We don’t need them! Let ‘em go!

By: Yoopers and Detroit « 2010 Michigan Land and Prosperity Summit

Yoopers and Detroit « 2010 Michigan Land and Prosperity Summit — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:10:35 +0000

[...] asking “If you’ve never even been to Detroit why should you care?” Listen in at Transit in Detroit. Michigan Now is supported by the Land Policy Institute, the Michigan State Housing Development [...]

By: Chris F

Chris F — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:30:13 +0000

What Chris and Clark are alluding to is the problem is that all transit agencies are fighting over a shrinking pie. We need to make the pie bigger, not fight over the scraps.

By: chris

chris — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:33:39 +0000

Clark,

You’re saying that the state’s pot of money stays the same even if the federal government gives you extra for a project. Therefore no municipality or region should ever hope that another area gets more funding than they were before. Is this the case?

By: Clark Harder

Clark Harder — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:19:42 +0000

Interesting piece Chris. And a fair question you asked, although Ben and Erik raise good points. The state funding formula is a cost-based system. The more your operational costs rise, the more you are eligible to be reimbursed by the state. Significant increases in any agency operations will cause the amount available for everyone else to decline. Hence the concern that Ben raises. Erik is right that you probably should put this question out to some UP transit managers and legislators to address. We should also have a conversation about the upcoming MPTA Legislative Conference in February; give me a call at the office.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:09:20 +0000

All Good points Erik,

I had asked the Congresswoman “If I’m from the western UP why would I want to support light rail in Detroit?”

Thanks for responding.

By: Erik Nordberg

Erik Nordberg — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:41:25 +0000

As a former resident of Detroit, I’m all in favor of a light-rail system that links the downtown with the suburbs. And as a taxpayer living in the U.P., I think it is a legitimate thing for our congressional delegation to seek funding for. But what’s with the whole ‘yooper’ thing in this piece? You don’t interview anybody anywhere north of Lansing about this topic, certainly nobody in the U.P. Maybe you could have asked Congressman Bart Stupak for his opinion? Seems like a cheap headline which just continues some stupid stereotypes of people in northern Michigan. And guess who would probably design and design your light rail system? Faculty and alumni of the railroad engineering program Michigan Tech, few of who would call themselves yoopers. Come on, you can do better than this.

By: Ben Mallow

Ben Mallow — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:20:48 +0000

I’m a former mdot employee. Call any rural transit system. They will tell you and will have more details than me on how the formula works.

By: chris

chris — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:12:59 +0000

Thanks for your reply Ben,

Please tell us more about the MDOT transit formula. And tell us how you know this stuff?

By: Ben Mallow

Ben Mallow — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:08:35 +0000

Why should the Yoppers care? Because the way the MDOT transit formula is written, all rural-based transit systems will have operating dollars cut from their system to pay the operating costs of this rail project. Let the communitites that will get the economic development (Troy, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Ferndale and Detroit) pay for the cost to operate the service. Why should Menominee or Ontenogan?