[merit1sje]

There is plenty of news about Mr. Patterson for most people to form an opinion of the man;L. Brooks Patterson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I think that its important to take a look at all things concerning an individual before making a decision to put them in a position of power. As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Patterson has no place as govenor of this state.

[beadster]

People just don't get it do they? Nor does Patterson. The better development of mass transit and the development of Cobo Hall benefits all of us in the region. It means a better and larger auto show and more conferences and more people in the region spending money at local businesses and hotels. People come to the auto show and spend money and stay in hotels around detroit. That is a beenfit for all of us. It is a benefit for detroit to be in good shape. It helps the rest of the cities surrounding it. It is a benefit for our counties like oakland county to spend money to help development the region and detroit itself. It is proven that regions with mass transit have less problems with pollution less traffic congestion. It also bring money into those regions, through taxes and fees etc. it also helps develop those cities all along the mass transit routes. It helps people move around and spend money and get to their jobs easier. Patterson is anti all of that and so much more. That is what makes him obstructionist

[walls]

urban planners have been consistently wrong for the last 75 years, and have destroyed downtowns, commerce and neighborhoods in the process,and stealing private property, not to mention wasting tax payer money and causing the tax base to shrink as a result of ill planned "visionary progression"..... some never learn,and the whole concept is nothing more the a Gov't make work program...... Failure all around us, yet we will not see.......more destructive implimentations by the statists among us.

[magellan]

Anyone know what the "L" stands for?

At a time when Michigan needs new ideas and to be out in the forefront, now is not the time to put someone in office whose formative adult years were shaped from the post industrial WWII era. Those days are gone and aren't coming back.

And just because our current governor might be on people's "F" list doesn't mean we should just take whoever will take the job. Eesh.

[walls]

not sure about "new" ideas..... I want tried and true free trade/market ideas, with Gov't taking a giant leap backwards out of our lives.....they ARE the problem. A major priority is to become a right to work state. Even having to fight to get the right back is an insult to the Constitution. Who ever understands that concept will get my vote.

[walls]

this will probably be my last post here, there is a bias and censorship in this forum as it is handled that I find unfortunate,unethical and unworthy of further effort.

..... three cheers for the Great Lake State....Michigan.

[Bhaalspawn]

Originally Posted by merit1sje

There is plenty of news about Mr. Patterson for most people to form an opinion of the man;L. Brooks Patterson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I think that its important to take a look at all things concerning an individual before making a decision to put them in a position of power. As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Patterson has no place as govenor of this state.

Care to elaborate on that? What did he do that you find objectionable?

[Bhaalspawn]

Originally Posted by beadster

People just don't get it do they? Nor does Patterson. The better development of mass transit and the development of Cobo Hall benefits all of us in the region. It means a better and larger auto show and more conferences and more people in the region spending money at local businesses and hotels. People come to the auto show and spend money and stay in hotels around detroit. That is a beenfit for all of us. It is a benefit for detroit to be in good shape. It helps the rest of the cities surrounding it. It is a benefit for our counties like oakland county to spend money to help development the region and detroit itself. It is proven that regions with mass transit have less problems with pollution less traffic congestion. It also bring money into those regions, through taxes and fees etc. it also helps develop those cities all along the mass transit routes. It helps people move around and spend money and get to their jobs easier. Patterson is anti all of that and so much more. That is what makes him obstructionist

That's all very touchy-feely, and it sounds good, but if you dig deeper, does it really make economic sense?

I don't remember all of the detail about the Cobo expansion, but might part of the reason for his not wanting to send Oakland County taxpayer dollars to it be that the corrupt and failed City of Detroit government would manage it?

As for mass transit, folks need to realize that Detroit is not New York City or Chicago. It really wouldn't make sense to build a real subway system for this particular city since a great many businesses are in the suburbs and subways only really make sense when a bunch of people congregate on one large business district. However, Detroit doesn't have the amount of businesses that other large cities have to make it worthwhile. An improved busing system might not be a bad idea, but would it be financially viable?

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

That's all very touchy-feely, and it sounds good, but if you dig deeper, does it really make economic sense?

I don't remember all of the detail about the Cobo expansion, but might part of the reason for his not wanting to send Oakland County taxpayer dollars to it be that the corrupt and failed City of Detroit government would manage it?

As for mass transit, folks need to realize that Detroit is not New York City or Chicago. It really wouldn't make sense to build a real subway system for this particular city since a great many businesses are in the suburbs and subways only really make sense when a bunch of people congregate on one large business district. However, Detroit doesn't have the amount of businesses that other large cities have to make it worthwhile. An improved busing system might not be a bad idea, but would it be financially viable?

Question:

How does Detroit compare to any of the following cities (population and density wise):

Salt Lake City
Portland
Seattle/Tacoma
San Diego
Minneapolis
Tampa
Charlotte
Denver
Austin
Houston
Little Rock

Most good transit systems aren't built in a few years. They take decades to plan, fund, and build out. Shoot, if Grand Rapids can make a case to the federal government and win approval for expanded mass transit (a Bus Rapid Transit line and a streetcar line), are you telling me Detroit can't? Hmmm.

I do agree that the Detroit metro is getting a bit sprawled out for mass transit like light rail to operate as effectively as other cities, but the metro area is not going to get better and become more dense, it's going to get worse without better transportation planning put into place. It's about giving people viable choices other than automobiles.

Either way, Patterson and people like him view Detroit and metro areas like a bunch of autonomous units all out for themselves. What he doesn't get is the rest of the world doesn't care who Oakland County is, and never will differentiate the two. They only see Metro Detroit as one big heap of sameness with a bad reputation, despite metro Detroiters insisting that they don't live in "that" Detroit.

[MI-IRISH]

maybe it's just me reading some of these stories about patterson wrong,i get the feeling he was the kid on the short bus who was licking the window as it passed by?