Great things happen when you dump your Teabagger mayor.... [View all]

[marmar]

(Detroit Free Press) Groundbreaking is planned Tuesday for a federally funded $6.3-million regional transit center in Troy after nearly a decade of debate.

"It's a great time for our city to do this," Troy Mayor Dane Slater said, adding that the center will spur demand for employment and housing in Troy and nearby communities.

The 2,000-square-foot center will go up near the southwest corner of Maple Road and Coolidge Highway, next to an Amtrak rail line that connects Pontiac to Detroit, Dearborn, Ann Arbor and Chicago. The rails form the border between Troy and Birmingham at that point, and the new center will replace an Amtrak platform on the Birmingham side.

The center will not only board rail passengers but also be a hub for taxis, SMART buses, and passengers on foot and bicycles, city officials said. The U.S. Department of Transportation has set Oct. 1, 2013, as the deadline for the center to open if it's to qualify for federal funding. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20121126/NEWS03/311260024/Groundbreaking-set-for-Troy-transit-center?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p