Detroit
 

I would like congratulate FIRST for picking Detroit the 22nd most dangerous in the WORLD to host champ.


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/...c3X6t#image=30

Re: Detroit
 

As opposed to the 19th most dangerous?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/...c3X6t#image=33

Re: Detroit
 

All major cities have their foibles...

Sorry, I just can't help myself: https://youtu.be/Ny4a-oxOndo

Re: Detroit
 

Maybe didn't think that one through...
eh, it's improvement!

Re: Detroit
 

Top banter m8

Re: Detroit
 

we already did this bit when we first found about two champs, way to beat a dead horse. :deadhorse:

Re: Detroit
 

16% improvement in safety...

Re: Detroit
 

Yeeee :cool:

Re: Detroit
 

Homicides per capita isn't the best metric, I imagine almost all the crime that happens at Champs will be theft.

Re: Detroit
 

Same area, same facility as the Shell Eco Marathon:
http://www.shell.us/environment-soci...-marathon.html

Re: Detroit
 

And the MLB Allstar game, and the Superbowl, and the NCAA basketball playoffs, and who knows how many NHL playoff games, and the NCAA Football bowl games, and the North American International Auto show.....oh, and who knows how many FIRST teams at the MEZ.

Totally unsafe. Don't hold it here. /sarcasm

Re: Detroit
 

I absolutely agree with the point you're making.

However, there is one significant difference between those events and the FRC Championship. While those sporting events may draw a larger number of total people (especially the Super Bowl), they are not predominantly youth competitions. The immediate area around the venues is safe, but it's a question of how many hotels that teams will actually be staying at and the transportation to/from those hotels. It's not an issue for the largely adult crowds for the Super Bowl/Final Four (the other sporting events largely attract locals), but it takes on a different dimension for elementary-high schoolers on field trips.

Re: Detroit
 

Every city has violence and thievery in it. FIRST aimed to host one of the 2 championships in Detroit because it is a major city. Every major city in the US and the world has crime.

FIRST teams should do their part and stay safe, as they did in St.louis and Atlanta at past championships.

Re: Detroit
 

That, and for those of you who don't know, Detroit's infrastructure is a nightmare. It's reasonably well-maintained, sure, but there aren't left turns. You see, all those things that look like left turn lanes are actually u-turn lanes, so it's all rights and u-turns. I can't wait to see a few hundred trailers and buses driven by people who have never gotten the Detroit driving experience.

Re: Detroit
 

Oh god.

Re: Detroit
 

Hmm...how do I respond to this positively, (this regards St. Louis) I am from St. Louis I was born here and I've lived here for my entire life. First of all I understand that more than a few people have had their cars broken into during the weekend of world champs and this doesn't represent my city well, but this is a deeper issue, I may be taking this too far but it's an important issue to me. St. Louis city has a higher unemployment rate than Detroit, St. Louis city is slowly losing many of its large businesses and it's somewhat resulting in the downfall of it. St. Louis city is not as bad as it is made out to be (I live in the county area) I spend a lot of my time in the city. I've attended so many city events and there is so much potential in our city for success, I may sound immature, but I have a lot of pride in my city and I just don't appreciate when people throw jokes around about the safety our our city.

Re: Detroit
 

Then you know how Michiganders feel when people poke fun at Detroit.

Re: Detroit
 

Don't think anyone's joking though - the numbers are objectively bad on paper.

Re: Detroit
 

I don't think anyone is joking, however the statistic being used doesn't fully examine the situation. Yes, a lot of people have been killed, but it doesn't say who/what/where/when/why it happened. I highly doubt there are people running around out to hurt kids in a robotics competition.

For example last year in Chicago there were 425 homicides. This number is significantly more than Detroit (which had 309). The reason Chicago wasn't on the list is because of the massive population.

So a question I have, Is a city "safer" if it has more homicides along with a larger population? Does a place become "safer" because there are more people but on average less are getting shot?



EDIT:Sidenote
Please Remember forum rules regarding reputation and when to give negative reputation.

Re: Detroit
 

This is exactly what the problem is with this argument.

Re: Detroit
 

What? No love for the Michigan Left? Most of those U-turns have their own traffic lights so it isn't really that bad.
At least it's not like Chicago where you can be driving down the highway and run into a literal 2-lane wall of cars entering from an on-ramp on the right only to immediately cross all 5 lanes of traffic to get into the off-ramp on the left (a true masterpiece of urban planning). :rolleyes:

Re: Detroit
 

The Michigan left isn't nearly as bad as it has been made out to be. It is unique but it certainly works.

Re: Detroit
 

This topic was annoying the first time it went through CD. It's not much better the second time.

Half Champs in the two cities is / are / will continue to be a done deal.

This is not the place to complain. Address all complaints to these nice people:

Sheri S. McCoy - USFIRST Co-Chair; Chief Executive Officer & Director, Avon Products, Inc.

Robert M. Tuttle - USFIRST Co-Chair; General Partner, 1848 Associates

In your complaint letter, remind them of how many extra hours you can work on this for free and how many sponsors and how much sponsorship dollars you have.

Remember it's better to complain to people that can change things.

Now get off my lawn....

Re: Detroit
 

There are a pair of Michigan Lefts on Jefferson Ave just down from Cobo Hall. Other than that, there aren't any in downtown.

They get semi after semi into Cobo to set up for the auto show. I think they can handle getting team trailers in.

Re: Detroit
 

I survived New Jersey Jug Handles and New England Roundabouts. Bring on your left turn! I can take it!

Re: Detroit
 

Well, at least we can go watch the Tigers.

Re: Detroit
 

The "Michigan left" as the transplants call it, is probably the greatest invention in traffic history. Yeah, it's a little weird to outsiders, but it is amazing how much it helps traffic flow. I'll never forget the time it took me 17 minutes to go about 700 feet getting back to my hotel from the IRI thanks to no Michigan lefts, but I can go about 12 miles in 17 minutes on Telegraph in rush hour with about twice as much traffic.

Re: Detroit
 

Well, All I have got to say is that I have been to Detroit thousands of times in my lifetime and never ever had a problem. It is true things are getting much better very fast as the revitalization of the city is astronomical.

Both times my team went to St. Louis we have been broken into, in the parking lot right next to the stadium, right in the parking lot marked for "team parking". As for safety for our youth, both of my daughters were sleeping in my SUV hooked to the trailer when they broke into it at Championships this year. And the worst part.....there were security guards sitting in their cars at the parking lots!

Basically, you are safe nowhere....

Re: Detroit
 

Cool stuff! Miss those days.....:)

Re: Detroit
 

Went to Comerica Park a couple of times when they first opened. Great stadium!

Re: Detroit
 

I learned to drive in New Orleans, which is also short on left turns. As we say down here "Two wrongs may not make a right, but three rights make a left."

Re: Detroit
 

Okay, perhaps I exaggerated how bad the layout is. It might make traffic more efficient, but it's very disorienting the first time you go through it. As a whole, I think Detroit is a great, if dysfunctional city. It has its quirks, but it is certainly not the cesspool that it is often portrayed as.

Re: Detroit
 

Some neat things that may be in place by the time FRC World Championship arrives:

M1 Rail project. this is a streetcar system started last year that will offer streetcars north of Wayne State and DIA and... It is slated to be finsihed in 2016, which means there is a decent chance it might be done by April 2018 :p

Many of us in the area hope this project will eventually connect Pontiac, Michigan to Detroit via a transit system, but that requires a significant amount of political and financial coordiantion...

There is a beautiful Firehouse across from Cobo being turned into a 100 room hotel that should be pretty neat.

There are a lot of neat projects underway that hopefully will continue to show dividends. I will say the change the last 5 years has been really impressive to me compared to the first 10 years I was in the Metro area.

Ironically, Cobo is close enough to Windsor that I would not be shocked if many people end up staying in a whole different country for the event... Taking a bus load of kids back and forth across the boarder 2 times a day might not be the easiest, but could actually be an option. I have worked with Canadians that commute daily into Detroit for many years.

Many teams will likely do what I will be doing, Commuting from Oakland or Macomb county. Both are part of the Detroit "urban sprawl", and a really nice places to live. I lived for 5 years at 9.5 Mile and Woodward (IE 1.5 miles from the infamous 8-Mile road...).

Biggest issue (IMO) with Detroit is that being the Motor City, you have to drive to pretty much anywhere you are going.

If I was a team, coming to see the sites. On my list would be:
Henry Ford Museum (a bit of a drive, but really cool for any budding engineer types)
Fox Theatre (gorgeous old theatre)
Comerica Park for a game
Possibly an Auto-Plant tour (it is truly amazing the first time you see one).

For individuals, there is a lot of other neat resteruants and very particular things like Old buildings/factories....

Re: Detroit
 

I'm from the Macomb area and for the past week (and next 4) I'm commuting to Detroit for an internship. Driving here may be somewhat stressful at times but as long as you pay attention to road signs and your surroundings there should be no issue. I mean teenagers are arguably the worst drivers so if I can do it then I have full confidence in the FIRST community. Just my two cents on the topic.

Re: Detroit
 

So proud of Brazil, we are really good at this! :ahh:

Re: Detroit
 

That's what a few Canadian teams are planning on doing, mostly because the exchange rate is pretty unforgiving.

Re: Detroit
 

I love Detroit and given the density of Michigan teams, I think it was a good choice.

What I don't get is the opening ceremonies being held at Ford Field ~1 mile from the main event at Cobo. We really don't have a valid public transit system to move people from one to the other. If you pick the right route it's not a bad walk, pick the wrong one and it might be a little more educational.

I am also a little worried that Cobo while certainly large enough, does not really have an appropriate venue for the finals/Einstein matches -- after the renovation there is no "arena", so stadium seating will need to be installed?

Re: Detroit
 

Nah, we joke around about Detroit all the time

It should be noted that the jokes are exaggerated and not meant to be serious, and Detroit is really getting better (less crime, more money)

Einstein may very well be held at Ford Field. Since closing ceremonies are already happening at Ford Field, and we're already moving everyone over there anyways, this would make a lot of sense. As long as FIRST plans out the logistics for getting the Einstein teams/equipment shuttled a mile well, this could be a viable strategy. (Note: Same can apply to Houston).

Finals for Divisions are certainly gonna be tight for both Detroit and Houston. With that said, if you get the right people, you can really transform any big convention space and make it work. I'd give that aspect a chance and see what happens.

Re: Detroit
 

I'd guess that they're going to run shuttles, just based on the history of the multiple venues and extra social events in St. Louis. I'd also hope the path is clearly labeled for those of us who'll want to hoof it. FIRST is usually good about having greeters everywhere (airport, hotels, around the venues, etc).