Last week's Michigan By Rail Forum at Traverse City's Civic Center, sponsored by The Grand Vision, wasn't your average community meeting. It was hands-on, passionate, purposeful -- one organizer called it a Rail Revival.
Here's an excerpt:
Roughly 130 people attended and they certainly did not sit around listening to a series of experts talk about rail. Instead, everyone broke off into groups around large sized Michigan maps. And with a variety of stickers, they got to point out where their hometowns were and where they felt are special places in the State they would like to travel to. Then with rulers and pencils they drew out where they felt the rail lines should go.
Each group then got to show off their map with their ideas about the future of rail to the entire crowd. What is special about this, is that the maps are now going to go to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to aid in the creation of of a statewide rail transportation plan.
"This is the Grand Vision in action," said Hans Voss, Executive Director of the Michigan Land Use Institute. "I think this is a rail revival we are about to participate in."
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