 
Ffdfd
Member
Username: Ffdfd
Post Number: 153
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 - 4:02 pm: |    |
quote:it was an afternoon game Friday, right?
It was afternoon somewhere when that game started ... Tokyo for instance (although it was Saturday afternoon, not Friday). |
Motorcitydave
Member
Username: Motorcitydave
Post Number: 85
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 - 4:05 pm: | |
I agree with Lowell, this is a GOOD 'problem' to have... and my point is that there are still plenty of 'open' paths and exits downtown to take at this point, I really don't think that this is really a huge "problem" just yet, people just need to realize that downtown is not Pine Knob or the Palace, there are more than 2 entrances to their destination!
(Message edited by motorcitydave on August 27, 2007) |
Wilus1mj
Member
Username: Wilus1mj
Post Number: 219
Registered: 05-2005
| | Posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 - 9:15 pm: | |
I Flew to New York City, saw it was too crowded....so I jumped back on the plane and went home....come on what an idiot!! |
Danindc
Member
Username: Danindc
Post Number: 3106
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 - 9:42 pm: | |
Having PEOPLE downtown is a good problem. Having a gridlock of cars so that the people can't get anywhere--different problem entirely. |
Focusonthed
Member
Username: Focusonthed
Post Number: 1277
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 - 11:21 pm: | |
Part of the problem is that the Tigers instruct EVERYONE to take the same way to the park, no matter which direction you come from (Exit I-75 at Grand River). It has never taken me more than 5 minutes from starting my car, to being on the freeway, simply because the whole damn stadium is trying to leave either on Woodward, or by getting on I-75 at Clifford/Cass.
Washington to Michigan to 3rd to Bagley to Lodge is always EMPTY getting home. Similarly, exiting at Bagley and continuing all the way to GCP is clear when arriving. |
Mpow
Member
Username: Mpow
Post Number: 273
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 2:56 am: | |
the opera people have no excuse with the people mover stop so near by. |
Gannon
Member
Username: Gannon
Post Number: 9934
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 4:23 am: | |
Gotta correct you on this one, Focus, only HALF the stadium goes that way, the OTHER half goes up to Mack and I-75.
I know this because they often will be looking at ME as I bike or walk past them...dunno why they are so stirred up to see a white fella in the city. |
Focusonthed
Member
Username: Focusonthed
Post Number: 1278
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 12:47 pm: | |
So that's where they're going on Woodward! I never understood the attraction in sitting in that 4-lane traffic jam for 30 minutes, yet they line up like sheep. |
Eric_w
Member
Username: Eric_w
Post Number: 306
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 12:58 pm: | |
Moving around in the downtown area is never easy with narrow streets & many being one-way. my daughter went to a concert at St. Andrew's Saturday & I had to drive around different streets to get there to avoid traffic for the Tiger game-just need to be able to plot out an alternative route. If next time you want to visit a good brew pub try Fort St Brewery in Lincoln Park-it's a decent spot or have a backup spot in mind downtown a bit further from the ballpark
www.fortstreetbeer.com |
Ndavies
Member
Username: Ndavies
Post Number: 2748
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 1:46 pm: | |
Woodward was closed at Campus Martius over the weekend. It was a major contributing factor to the messed up traffic. They closed it Friday night for Fourth Fridays and it was closed Sunday for the Festival of speed. |
Motorcitydave
Member
Username: Motorcitydave
Post Number: 86
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 2:21 pm: | |
"So that's where they're going on Woodward! I never understood the attraction in sitting in that 4-lane traffic jam for 30 minutes, yet they line up like sheep."
I hear you.... actually, I can see the parking lots behind the fox from my bedroom window, and after games and events, we've been calling them LEMMINGS!!!  |
Goat
Member
Username: Goat
Post Number: 9736
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 6:21 pm: | |
Now people are bitching there are too many people in downtown Detroit. What a bunch of assholes. So what do you whiners really want? |
Zephyrprocess
Member
Username: Zephyrprocess
Post Number: 454
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 11:04 am: | |
Well read, Goat.
quote:I was secretly excited... quote:That's cool... quote:I'm thrilled... quote:Our problem is actually a very good thing... quote:This is a golden opportunity... quote:It is simply great to hear about my city being so crowded downtown... quote:Our challenge is how do we make more of these problems? quote:Having PEOPLE downtown is a good problem. Having a gridlock of cars so that the people can't get anywhere--different problem entirely. |
Tigers2005
Member
Username: Tigers2005
Post Number: 139
Registered: 02-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 1:12 pm: | |
I remember thinking the same thing during Super Bowl weekend in Detroit. It was so packed that I couldn't get into the places that I always go, but at the same time it was great that downtown was alive and all of these people who never spend time here were experiencing downtown and finding out what I already knew, Detroit is a great place to have a great time. And these improvements come in the midst of some of the worst economic conditions in this area in a long time. Imagine if the economy would turn around how this turnaround of a great american city would accelerate. |
Royce
Member
Username: Royce
Post Number: 2369
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2007 - 12:33 am: | |
Won't there be more parking spaces for Tiger's games next year when MGM opens its permanent casino and when Greektown Casino opens its parking deck next year? If fans use these sites, then congestion should be less since these sites offer different ways of getting to and from the CBD.
(Message edited by royce on August 30, 2007) |
Crash_nyc
Member
Username: Crash_nyc
Post Number: 1001
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2007 - 5:26 am: | |
This is exactly the kind of "problem" that Detroit has been longing for! Downtown congestion hasn't been a problem since, when -- the 50's or 60's?
Well-deserved growing pains. |
Bagman
Member
Username: Bagman
Post Number: 90
Registered: 06-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 1:52 am: | |
"not everyone who has had problems navigating downtown traffic is an ignorant suburbanite"
This is true, but you will notice that those who don't know where they are going, let alone how to get there, ARE suburbanites. Many of whom have not been downtown since they did away with Kennedy Square or worse since they tore down Hudson's....imagine how it looks to those people. I guess if you come downtown once every 5, 10, or 15 years you will have no clue as to where you are at. Hell they added a "Detroit version" of a traffic circle and people complain they are lost because WOODWARD turned.....I used to call these people out-of-towners but I think some of you have pointed out that they are really SUBURBANITES.....
One of the major problems I have noticed as a Cass Corridor resident and Tiger patron is that the DPD close some streets some days and not others, so you never know if Cass/Clifford is open northbound or will the FORCE you to get on the freeway. I have twice now risked arrest when heading north on Cass/Clifford, as I get to I75 they won't let me go north, one time the PIG (yes, you act stupid I have no respect for you) says "you need to take the freeway back to the suburbs" That pissed me off. I put the car in park, got out took my drivers license and held it for the officer to see....mind you it does say 645 Griswold, the address of The Penobscot, but most pigs are to stupid to know such a historic address. I then SCREAMED at the pig, "all white people don't live in the suburbs, but with your attitude it sounds like a good place to be, Now I am heading North to go home and if you don't want to spend the night doing paperwork I suggest you get the hell out of my way" I then got back in the car and did as I said I would. I did lie and went and went to file a complaint at the CENTRAL DISTRICT (old #13). When I got there I knew the desk SGT and told him what happened. He laughed and had me repeat it for the commander who had just walked in...We had a good laugh, I told him I would forgo my complaint because I didn't want to create more work for my good friend......
a few weeks later the same scenario repeated itself, this time I rolled down the window and said "I live on W. Willis come write me a ticket, if you can catch me" and sped through the intersection NORTHBOUND on Cass and the cop was not leaving his post and had no radio so what could he do? |
Vetalalumni
Member
Username: Vetalalumni
Post Number: 646
Registered: 05-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 11:17 am: | |
Another funny post Bagman. |
Oldredfordette
Member
Username: Oldredfordette
Post Number: 2480
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 11:36 am: | |
My friends and I went to Sweet Lorraine's last night for dinner, got a table, enjoyed a delicious dinner then strolled to Hart Plaza for some Cuban jazz, then fireworks on the Straits. It was crowded, just crowded enough to have a great time. The poor city just can't win, can it? |
Docmo
Member
Username: Docmo
Post Number: 293
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 11:41 am: | |
Like Motorcitydave, I also live one block from Comerica. I park in the Opera House garage. I commute out to the suburbs every day. I rarely have any difficulty navigating downtown. I live here and it is very easy to alter my course to avoid game day or event traffic. The only problem I ever have is leaving the Opera House garage right after a game lets out.
I'd guess 90% of the people coming downtown know only one way into the city. Why else would people wait in 2 mile backups just to get off on the I-75 Grand River exit? If you're traveling down I-96 and see the backup for I-75, detour to the Lodge and get off at Larned. Larned to Randolph to Broadway. You're there.
Gannon, the Madison exit off I-375 is never as crowded as the Grand River exit from I-75 N. I have to believe more people come in to Comerica off the Grand River exit. I don't know why. It is definitely the worst way into the City during game days. |
Vetalalumni
Member
Username: Vetalalumni
Post Number: 649
Registered: 05-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 12:12 pm: | |
Very cool that posters here are sharing alternative routes for navigating downtown Detroit. |
English
Member
Username: English
Post Number: 571
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 2:40 pm: | |
"As far as missing the Detroit Princess because of lack of parking, boo effing hoo. Plan ahead next time."
LOL! Wash_man, are you sure you don't work for the DP office? That's their attitude about refunds!
Anyway, nothing in my post was a complaint. I'm a native Detroiter who loves the city, and everyone was in good spirits that evening. It was a wonderful night to ring in my 30s. Perfect weather, a Tigers win, and lots to see and do. I just hope this continues, on weekdays/nighs too, because it's very good for the city!
(Thanks, Bumble -- I don't have as much time to keep up with threads here as I'd like. Prelims have been a real beast this summer! :-() |
Mani
Member
Username: Mani
Post Number: 132
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Monday, September 03, 2007 - 10:00 am: | |
This post started out interesting but by the time I got to Bumble Bees post...what a waste of time! The Bumble Bee wants others to show some respect because he has 'seniority'...what the hell does this have to do with someone's experience of a traffic jam in the city?
Also, people who think they are some kind of hero because they live in the city and like to complain about suburbanites really need to get a life! These comments are really dated and stupid. It is also hypocritical to want the city to thrive and then complain about how people drive in the city, I guess if you have nothing better to talk about then things are not so bad, or people are not that bright? And, people should be careful about comments like "my city", sounds kinda racist (read up on the history of Detroit). Anyway, what makes it your city? You were probably born in the burbs and are rebelling! Before long, you'll be back in the burbs! |
Parkguy
Member
Username: Parkguy
Post Number: 113
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Monday, September 03, 2007 - 10:15 am: | |
Drive in Manhattan. Drive in Chicago's Loop. Drive in DC, just about anywhere in town. Drive in Central Seattle. |
Mani
Member
Username: Mani
Post Number: 133
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Monday, September 03, 2007 - 11:41 am: | |
Yes! Good point. |
Dan_the_man
Member
Username: Dan_the_man
Post Number: 34
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 3:45 pm: | |
In reference to Bagman's post, does anybody know why the DPD always seems to close streets for the tigers games. It seems as if they are forcing all of the traffic into certain areas rather than letting people go where they want to. If they just left everything open it seems to me that it would work out better, and I wouldn't be forced into traffic jams. |
Sec106
Member
Username: Sec106
Post Number: 10
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 6:57 pm: | |
I remember the bad old days when we had all of Downtown to ourselves. I am thrilled that people are coming down. But, I figure knowing our way around and having the ability to avoid traffic because we have been driving around here forever is a PERK. And I am to darn selfish to give out alternate directions. Let the people learn on their own like we did. |
Gistok
Member
Username: Gistok
Post Number: 5270
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 1:06 pm: | |
I agree completely Mani... all those stupid anti-SUBURBAN posts do get tiresome. In fact I bet that suburbanites are no less knowledgeable about downtown streets than Detroit residents who live outside the areas near Downtown and Midtown. |
Jackie5275
Member
Username: Jackie5275
Post Number: 4
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 2:22 pm: | |
I work for Wayne County and have to do alot of business in the Greektown & downtown areas by the County Bldg. I'm not bother so much by event attendees driving, but by their walking. As pedestrians, they are NEVER watching the traffic as if everyone will stope for them. They don't know where they're going, NEVER obey the traffic signals, run across a street into oncoming traffic to catch up with their buddies, bitch at you if you make them wait to cross the street, etc. It was particularly brutal getting around a few Thursdays ago when the Tigers had a day game & the Lions had a night game. I'm surprised no one has been hit yet. |
Dan_the_man
Member
Username: Dan_the_man
Post Number: 36
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 3:51 pm: | |
very true, it pisses me off so much if I'm trying to drive through a green light and pedestrians keep running through the middle of the street whenever they feel like it. |
Steelworker
Member
Username: Steelworker
Post Number: 981
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 5:03 pm: | |
cant always obey the traffic lights if they are not working. |
Jt1
Member
Username: Jt1
Post Number: 10016
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 5:04 pm: | |
quote:cant always obey the traffic lights if they are not working.
Not too prevalent of a situation downtown. |
Ray
Member
Username: Ray
Post Number: 1004
Registered: 06-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - 11:48 pm: | |
It's great that downtown is more crowded.
Parking and driving in downtown Detroit is a Breeze compared to Chicago or other major cities.
When I go to the Tiger's games, there are lots all over the place to park. Maybe I'm missing something.
I think people in SE michigan are parking babies. They can't walk and they can't pony up the $20 or $30 that parking costs.
I just despise this kind of weakness. I'd like to force them to live in Manhattan for a month with a car and maybe a 120 minute reverse commute to New Jersey, driving around in circles for an hour after work every night looking for street parking. Toughen these little candy asses up. |
Chitaku
Member
Username: Chitaku
Post Number: 1593
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - 12:01 am: | |
if you lived in those places you wouldn't need a car |
Ray
Member
Username: Ray
Post Number: 1006
Registered: 06-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - 12:23 am: | |
yes, unless you have the misfortune shared by many of having a job in exurbia which requires a lenghty reverse commute by car. The outbound Kennedy is packed at 6:30 am every morning with tens of thousands of yuppies trucking out to Hoffman Estates or wherever.
I'm only kidding by the way. I do not really dedspie the parking babies. But they are a problem. I tried to move our company to downtown Detroit last spring from Troy. Howls of protest. So I said, okay, how about downtown Birmingham? No way. Parking was going to cost $35 -- not per day -- BUT PER MONTH! And would require a walk of an entire city block. Oh my God, you'd think they were being sent off to war. This parking issue killed the deal. To avoid $35 per month and a 300 foot walk, they would rather grind away 80% of their waking adult hours in a soul-destroying shit hole of Troy.
So, I do harbor some contempt for the SE Michigan parking mentality and think it is definitely holding us back.
Btw, I am sensitive to the proposition that money is tight, but its a question of priorities. Everyone has some luxury that they spend at least $35 per month. For example, almost all of these employees had cable TV. To me, it's just incredible. Like if I had to wear rags and do without TV, if that's what it took to scape together $35 per month so I could be in an urban environment every day, that's what I would do.
But these people see no value in it. they'd rather buy clothes or drive an SUV or have cable or do anyone of a million different things with their disposable income than relish in the exquisite joy of at least working in a high density high energy urban environment.
To me, it's an inexplicable mystery.
One day soon, I will quit my job and start a new company just so I can work downtown. |
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