ELPC’s Brubaker to Detroit News: Beckmann column on Michigan rail plans misleading
Thursday, June 23, 2011
In a Detroit News Letter to the Editor, ELPC Deputy Director and High-Speed Rail Program Director Kevin Brubaker calls out a columnist for his misleading column.
Frank Beckmann’s May 13 column, “Politicians pick pork over facts on Michigan rail plans,” conveniently ignores the obvious facts in support of enhanced passenger rail for Michigan.
Trains are the only mode of transportation where speeds are consistently increasing, a key reason why rail ridership in Michigan has reliably posted double-digit ridership increases on the most popular routes.
Amtrak’s Wolverine service connects Michigan with Chicago, quickly and affordably. The very real improvements in service, speed and time savings that Beckmann so casually dismisses are a bargain for taxpayers, particularly when one considers the $150 million projected cost of the planned seven-mile M-231 near Grand Haven, which travelers will use paying more than $4 a gallon for their fuel.
Gov. Rick Snyder, a true conservative, correctly sees the value in transportation infrastructure because the easier it is to get to Michigan, the faster the state can return to prosperity.
Fortunately for Michigan taxpayers, Gov. Snyder put the interests of his state above blind ideology.
Kevin Brubaker
Deputy Director
Environmental Law & Policy Center
Tags: High-Speed Rail, Media Center Op-Ed Articles, Michigan