Quote:
Originally Posted by urbancharlotte
Peacechild
Stop wasting your time. I used to be an over the road trucker. I also used to live near Columbus, Ohio. I am familiar with Detroit, Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, and just about every other town in the snow belt. You are trying to educate someone who has seen and lived in your general area. I am sorry to say, but I was NEVER impressed with Detroit. It is a city that has lost EVERYTHING to its own suburbs and you know it. Most of Detroit looks and feels like the Beattes Ford Road area of Charlotte. There are also many areas of Detroit that look like Charlotte's 36th Street and Parkwood areas. These are some of Charlotte's worst hoods. The one thing I hated the most about Detroit was the fact you can not make a left turn at major intersections. To make a left, you have to go past your turn (one block), wait for a light to change, and hang a u-turn. Then you have to make a right at your street. This was the dumbest design I have ever seen!!! And that's saying a lot because I have seen the entire Nation.
BTW, Cedar Point is more of Cleveland and Toledo's park than it is Detroit's. Where I used to live, Kings Island near Cincy was closer.
And here is a photo of the LYNX train. Trust me, it is not a downtown people mover. LOL
photo by James Willamor
The only thing I will say is that Detroit is more urban than ANYTHING down South. However, I would highly suggest you make a trip to some of the larger southern cities before you attempt to defend Detroit against them. Atlanta pretty much blows Detroit away when it comes to parties and such. Seriously!!!
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I didn't want to get in a p*ssing match with you, but since you insist.
Yes, we have decaying neighborhoods in Detroit(started after Detroit riots in 1967), lots of them for that fact, but, it also has Indian Village & the Boston Edison District and other neighborhoods that are nice. Oakland county(the county I live in--adjacent to Wayne county) is one of the wealthiest in the nation. Bloomfield Hills is one city among them. Look it up.
I forgot about the Detroit Zoo, but most large cities have them and it is in my town of Royal Oak, but owned by city of Detroit.
Ever hear of the Woodward Dream Cruise? It is the largest in the nation. over 40,000 muscle cars from past decades. People come from all over the world each year. Jay Leno comes here for it sometimes.
http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com/images/DCoakpress_0814.pdf (broken link)
You also have to remember that Detroit is the 4th or 5th largest area-wise city in the U.S. It is not just a couple miles square. Why am I telling you anyway? You should know that already, since you have been here.
We have many first time visitors to downtown Detroit that are a little surprised on what they see and what they expected. Especially, from all the bad media we have received over the years and righteously so, but they usually only show the bad and not the good that happens here. Makes a better story. It may be flat, but there is still a lot to do. You are pretty safe down there.
Government officials have been talking about putting in some kind of mass transit system for a while now, but with the economy the way it is now, it probably won't be for a while. We do have Amtrak though.
You are referring to what is known as "Michigan's turnarounds." Just seen other poster's post. lol
I never heard anybody complain about them, except for a few out-of-state people. Maybe you just don't how to use them and we have many intersections that allow left-hand turns. Buses, big trucks are not required to use them. At least buses anyway.
I don't know why they built it like that. Maybe because of all the traffic?
I found that Chicago's rail system down the middle of the freeways a little odd too, but hey, if it works for them, more power to them. Love Chicago.
By the way, do you know where the first paved road was at?
I never said we owned Cedar Point. I said it is 3 hours away(by car--you can also boat to it) and that you see a lot of Michigan license tags there. We all love going there. It's a Summer tradition for a lot of us. I would find it hard to believe that Ohio would want us to stop coming there. King's Island compared to Cedar Point? No offense to people from Ohio, but there is no comparison. They will tell you that themselves, if they have been to both of them, especially if you love roller coasters.
Like I said before, the "People Mover" is used for parking purposes. Not to get from one town to another. I will admit, I don't know anything about the Lynx, but it looks good. Wouldn't mind trying it out, if I ever visit.
Have been through Georgia a few times on way to Florida, but never stopped. I went to the Fayetteville, AR, "Blues, Bikes and BBQ Festival" a couple years ago and had a great time. Crowds were big to what they were used to(some of them said that), but I found it kind of a nice change, when you compare it to Detroit's crowds at events downtown. It is usually wall-to-wall people and loud. We are known for that. Atlanta doesn't even come close to cornering the market on that one. Sorry, we have it beat.
Our "International Freedom Fireworks Display" we have each year with Canada(set them off on barge on Detroit river), used to bring a million spectators. I don't know what it is now. Too many people for me. Not getting any younger.
We also have a motion picture industry building up here(don't forget to click on the link for "Detroit's Ruins." I'm sure you will and throw it in my face. I never said we were perfect.):
Postcard from Detroit - TIME
By the way---"Gran Torino" although based in Detroit, was actually filmed in nearby Highland Park, which is much worse than Detroit. My husband was a cop there for almost 30 years.
You are only looking at a tiny part of Michigan in the Southeast section of the state, not the whole picture.
Every state has its good and bad points and we as natives should be proud of where we are from.
Some of our paved roads here are actually being reverted back to dirt roads here(economic reasons) and many gardens in the city are sprouting up where houses once sat. Maybe they are right that sometimes good things come out of something bad.
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