Thanks to Translogic, we’re able to take a closer look at some of the possibilities of future transportation infrastructure in the city.
Most of us already know the story of how Detroit became the Motor City after it fell in love with roads and highways thanks to the car boom of the 1950s. Thanks to that subsequent shift in mindset, and promotion of the very industry that put Detroit on the map, options and ideas regarding mass transportation were neglected.
The Detroit News put together a nice photo gallery documenting the best of Detroit’s historic downtown art deco architecture.
From the Penobscot Building to the Book Cadillac Hotel, many of Detroit’s oldest buildings have withstood the test of time while others have received thorough restorations.
Sure, some would never dare to venture out into the city on two lowly, human-powered wheels, but then again, many more than you probably would expect are.
It turns out that the Motor City is becoming increasingly more friendly to bicyclists and the 10th annual Tour de Troit is a prime example with more than 4,500 bicyclists taking to the streets this weekend.
Tour de Troit, which began and ended at Roosevelt Park, offered two ride options Saturday morning. A 22-mile slow-paced, police-escorted ride allowed bicyclists to go at their own pace as they explored the city. The Metric Century was a 62-mile ride for 250 of the more experienced riders.
Detroit now has more than 40 miles of bike-friendly lanes with more scheduled to be built and although the amount of bike commuters in the city—about 1,200—pales in comparison to places like New York or L.A., biking in the city is on the upswing.
That community has helped spur construction of a growing network of bike lanes on some of the city’s main streets, including Michigan Avenue. Detroit has about 40 miles of lanes, and more are scheduled.
Despite its reputation as the Motor City, many cycling enthusiasts see Detroit as being built for bikes, with flat, wide roads and a relative lack of motor traffic.
Nolan Finley summed it up pretty well in this past Sunday’s Detroit News. Finley’s column this week discussed a subject that is far from original but one that still manages to stir some good emotion.
I know right here on this blog, I’ve talked several times about why I love Detroit and why I choose to blog about it and promote it and I know I’m not the first and definitely won’t be the last.
Finley borrowed a line from one of my favorite authors William Faulkner in his attempt to describe his love with the city.
William Faulkner wrote of the South, you don’t love it because, you love it despite.
And ain’t that the truth. We love Detroit even when Detroit doesn’t love itself, even when it seems like every force imaginable is working against it there are still plenty of people out there who’s love affair with the city continues. We just continue to stick it out.
So maybe we love Detroit because it needs us so much.
Or maybe it’s enough to just say there’s a lid for every pot, and we’re Detroit’s.
It has been quite entertaining this past week watching the food cart story catch on around Metro Detroit. Entertaining because it was over a week ago that little ‘ol Crain’s Detroit Business broke the story first and since then the Detroit News and The Free Press have all finally hopped on board.
Being in (or at least attempting to become a part of) the news business here in Detroit and being able to watch this story grow from something my editor proposed to me a week and a half ago (that had never even crossed my radar beforehand) to now something that is going to be a major narrative in the city going forward is pretty exciting.
But nonetheless, the more exposure this issue receives the better because, simply put, it is just one more facet to the ever-growing resurgence we are seeing taking place in and around the city. I can only hope that it continue to pick up momentum as the summer wears on and that changes will be made soon. But in the meantime, keep an eye on Crain’s coverage.
Apparently Chrysler had tried to resolve the issue out of court but Pure Detroit refused to budge.
“Chrysler has repeatedly attempted to resolve this matter without involving the court. It has repeatedly asked (Pure Detroit) to stop, and has sought to have a portion of (Pure Detroit’s)’ ill-gotten gains contributed to charity.”
After the company refused, the Auburn Hills automaker said it had “no choice but to bring this lawsuit to prevent (Pure Detroit) from deceiving and confusing the public and harming Chrysler’s goodwill.”
The bottom line to take away from that clip: Michigan is indeed screwed and democracy as we know it is being kicked to the curb. (You can watch the full clip below.)
Now, if we could all take a minute to collectively breath and shake off the hysteria, I’d like to share today’s columns from the Freep and Detroit News that address the two issues of business taxes and the financial manager law.
On cutting business taxes
The Detroit News editorial board points out that, in the midst of all the shouting and ballyhoo, a major point has fallen on deaf ears. Cutting business taxes and simplifying the Michigan Business Tax is meant to create jobs and put Michiganders back to work.
Adding jobs to reduce Michigan’s 10.1 percent unemployment rate — that’s the official rate; the real number is likely much higher — is as crucial a priority as providing a quality education, maintaining roads, manning prisons or any other function of state government.
What that means is that the plan shouldn’t be viewed as a tax break for business as much as a bailout for Michigan’s beleaguered workers in the form of more jobs and better pay.
The Freep’s Stephen Henderson points out the weaknesses of the state’s current “rubric” for dealing with these types of emergencies which explains why cities like Pontiac and school districts like DPS were so far gone by the time emergency financial management stepped in.
For years, local governments and school districts have been able to walk right up to the brink of financial disaster without any intervention from the state. So when state officials do rush in, they face horrific conditions with too few options for balancing the books.
The state’s current rubric for dealing with financial emergencies is weak to the point of flaccidity. Legislators are right to firm up the consequences of inaction.
Henderson does acknowledge, and rightfully so, the fact that the plan does indeed tread on the democratic process and calls for tweaks to those aspects of the proposal. Henderson also addresses the critics claiming the proposal is an attempt by the right to take over.
That’s not to say the current proposal is perfect. Wiping out elected officials, as both the House and Senate versions call for, is decidedly anti-democracy...But overall, fixing the law makes good sense. And it’s overdue, given the number of jurisdictions in financial trouble.
It’s also worth noting, for the benefit of those who characterize this effort as some right-wing attempt to take over the state’s cities, that most of these ideas come from Dillon, a Democrat, who was talking about them well before he was appointed to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s cabinet.
back on February 8, 1985, Stroh’s, born and brewed in the D, announced it was shutting down it’s brewery after 135 years?
The plant, at Gratiot and the Chrysler Freeway, topped out at 1 million square feet and had a 7-million barrel capacity. Stroh’s, Stroh Light, Goebel and Signature were made at the 71-year-old building. The company was the third-largest beer maker in the U.S. at the time.
How about a 20-bedroom, 11 1/2-bathroom mansion only walking distance from Ford Field???
Neal Rubin writes in today’s Detroit News about a divorced couple’s hopes to sell their 11,000 square foot, renovated, late-19th century home on Winder Street just off Woodward in Detroit.
To put it into perspective, as Rubin does, $2.5 million bucks can buy one a lot more than a single home in the city of Detroit…heck, in some cases, that kind of money can buy you an entire square mile of Motown.
It’s an interesting story, also considering my cousin owns a home just down the block on that very same street. It’s a beautiful tudor-style home he purchased and renovated a few years back, equally as luxurious and beautiful, and probably a steal at the time—though don’t quote me on that.
I suppose the question is: Would anyone really be willing to pay that much money to live in Detroit, when they could spend their money elsewhere? That remains to be seen.
Picture credited to John T. Greilick/Detroit News.
All this talk recently of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg donating $100 million to Newark, NJ public schools got me thinking about how great an opportunity that would’ve been for Detroit Public Schools to capitalize on had we been offered a gift like that.
So, how appropriate was it then that I came across this Nolan Finley piece today in the Detroit News discussing that very situation? Detroit, was in fact, offered a great deal of money (two times as much as what Zuckerberg donated) back during the rule of Kwame some six years ago and it was turned down.
Who was this generous figure you ask? Apparently, a man by the name of Bob Thompson who worked as a road builder in Plymouth wanted to donate half is wealth after retirement to build 15 state-of-the-art, high-performance charter schools in the city.
Instead of grabbing the money and doing a happy dance, Detroiters, as is their custom, wailed about a suburban outsider taking away their schools and stealing their children.
Then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick told Thompson to just drop off the check and let Detroit Public Schools decide how to spend it. Gov. Jennifer Granholm stood in the schoolhouse door, assuring unionized teachers she wouldn’t allow Thompson’s charters to come in and take their jobs.
So, six years later, does it really matter what might have, could have, should have happened? Does it really do us any good to dwell on the shortcomings of a mindset in Detroit that seems, for the most part, to be ceding to a more positive and welcoming outlook that is staring to take hold? Perhaps not. But then again, it’s sometimes compelling to dwell on what might have been.
