Comments on: Heritage Row, Sidewalk Tax Intent in Limbo

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:57:11 +0000

RE: #2, wow indeed. Mr. Partridge is slacking off.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:58:08 +0000

Amtrak's service will indeed be improved and it does currently run trains between here and Detroit. But the proposed "East-West" commuter rail is not part of the Amtrak system, and it has no current funding. SEMCOG's website [link] indicates that most progress has been on refurbishing of the train cars from Great Lakes Railroad. This has been funded by MDOT. The E-W train has no operating funds at present. Here is what SEMCOG says about this: "Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officials indicated that given the study results, the region should consider suspending the formal federal process on a preferred alternative and initiate a locally funded project to demonstrate that costs and ridership would be in a range to better qualify the project in the federal New or Small Starts program." Where will the local funds to run this rail line come from?

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:22:04 +0000

It looks like the State is going to buy the tracks from Dearborn to Kalamazoo. I’d been assuming commuter rail couldn’t happen here in Michigan but it seems now it might be possible. If it does happen, I sincerely hope we don’t make the mistake of putting the station at Fuller Park.

The ideal train station is in the center of town, with a plaza in front surrounded by shops, restaurants, bars, and hotels. Our tracks don’t go through the center of town, so we’re somewhat constrained. But the current location isn’t too bad, with a restaurant / bar across the street and Kerrytown in easy walking distance.

The Fuller Garage is not walking distance from anything, and isn’t near anything. Imagine a visitor from out of state arriving at Fuller Park after dark, looking around, and trying to decide what to do next. They will have a very bad first impression of Ann Arbor, and will want to just get back on the train and try the next stop instead.

By: Barbara Bach

Barbara Bach — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 03:16:06 +0000

Referring to the Fuller Garage… (aka “station”) “Garage” is the only way to define the current project the city and UM is engaged in at the foot of the UM Medical complex. There have been no public hearings. There has been no leasing arrangement proposed.
So…. is this truly a fantasy and therefore I can “breathe” easily? or is this something that is happening behind closed doors and therefore irregular? If so I find this menacing as a symptom of our city’s culture and failure to plan and care for our park or public lands.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 02:18:50 +0000

I believe that Mayor Hieftje's remark regarding the Fuller Road Station as reported here is erroneous. The money granted by the Federal Government is to pay for an environmental and planning study for the train station, not for the first phase of Fuller Road Station. I've heard the train station described as Phase 1a. but the "first phase" is simply the parking garage (with some amenities such as bike parking and a couple of bus bays) that have been planned in conjunction with the UM. Please see my blog post [link] for some specifics. If I read the comments here properly, Mayor Hieftje seemed to be implying that the Federal Government is paying for construction of the currently planned Phase 1 (which has never been explicitly approved by Council, except for a Memorandum of Understanding, which most would take as a preliminary documents).

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 02:15:37 +0000

Each annexation included a public hearing. Thomas Partridge spoke at only one of them.

The very fact that this needs to be said, makes me go wow, just wow.

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:25:28 +0000

Can we please stop calling it the “Fuller Road Station”? The current proposal is for a parking garage.