WALLY Ann Arbor-Howell in the news, again!

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NYCMan
Railroadfan...fan
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Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:00 pm

WALLY Ann Arbor-Howell in the news, again!

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More news about WALLY running between Ann Arbor and Howell.

http://www.livingstondaily.com/story/ne ... /99425592/

Now, finally, an admission that everyone of the 198,000 households in Washtenaw and Livingston County are going to be tapped for an additional $60 per year per $100,000 in home value in taxes, so that 1,800 people that "prefer trains" can benefit. Seems real smart to me! (NOT!). Bear in mind that the combined population of the 2 counties is 550,000... meaning that a whopping "majority" of three-tenths of one percent would utilize the commuter rail service.

The quote by WALLY Project Manager Michael Benham is really over the top when he says that "...studies have shown that it is feasible to put trains on the tracks, move them back and forth, and build stations." Gee, I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent to determine that these three feats are "feasible." There have been trains on tracks since the 1820s. These same trains have been able to move back and forth also since the 1820s. If they needed a new study, they could have hired my 5-year-old great grandson and his model railroad, and he could have demonstrated, quite satisfactorily, how the train goes on the track, and that the train can move back and forth, and how easy it is to build little stations alongside the track.

Note that the article understates the tax consequences by referencing the effect on a home valued at $100,000; when, the average home value is substantially more than that amount.

My hat is off to George Saba of Howell, quoted in the article, who appears to be the ONLY person that has any living brain cells, with his comment that "WALLY is an absurd waste of taxpayers' money."

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