Ann Arbor is working toward construction of a new commuter rail line. Set to be placed near the University of Michigan hospital on Fuller road, the appropriately named Fuller Road Station has become a bit controversial. As annarbor.com points out, “the city is wrong to consider permanently repurposing a chunk of city parkland for the project located in front of the University of Michigan’s medical campus without going to voters for approval.”
Furthermore: “The city’s charter requires any sale of city parkland to be approved by voters, and the proposed location of Fuller Road Station technically is part of Fuller Park. The Sierra Club and others argue the city is circumventing the law by entering into a long-term agreement with U-M for a five-level, 977-space parking structure expected to stand for several decades.”
So the city is circumventing the law by giving the University of Michigan a new parking garage for the sake of a new commuter rail line. As a proponent for public transportation, you might expect me to praise the new line and berate people for trying to stop my grand vision of state and national transit.
However, this seems a bit fishy to me.
Using loopholes to appropriate parkland is not a good thing in my book. It looks bad, and might make other people think, “What’s going on here?”
With that thought in mind, what kind of support will the line receive if it’s completed? Bad publicity and sneaky underhanded dealings are not the way to reshape America.
Besides, the commuter rail line itself seems more of an afterthought, with a bus depot and the parking garage looking more important then any train-based system.
An article from the Ann Arbor Chronicle actually states: “Fuller Road Station is a large parking structure, bus depot and possible rail station.”
The idea getting touted the most by its supporters – the commuter rail line – is the one least on the minds of those that want the thing built. I smell fish, all right.
The land’s acquisition is also questionable. The charter states a public vote must take place to sell parkland. However, it appears Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje and some council members found a way to circumvent the law. If the law says a vote needs to be held, either change the law or have the blasted vote.
Don’t skirt it just because the land is “technically” a park.
But is a commuter line necessary? Wouldn’t expanding the Amtrak system make more sense? Commuter distance tickets cost less than $25. Granted, a commuter line would cost less, but altering an existing system is sometimes easier than building a new one, especially if the new system is based on shady dealings and circumventing laws.
Mayor Hieftje seems to be aware of the controversy. In response to the criticism over the station’s construction, he said in a letter to annarbor.com why the station was a good idea.
“It will serve the park and facilitate job growth at one of the fastest growing employment centers in our region, the University of Michigan Health Center, where 24,000 people go every day,” Hieftje wrote, adding it will also serve downtown and U-M’s north and central campuses.”
If the land is acquired legally and properly, and if the rail line is actually built and proves successful, then I see no problem with the future of Fuller Road Station. So far, all we’ve seen is half-truths about the station’s purpose, questionable land obtainment and shady dealings with University of Michigan. No one is going to want a station smelling so strongly of fish.
