Mary Anna, I know your love for the theater and for the idea of one downtown, but as much as I respect your judgment, I can't agree. There many ideas floating around. A grassy knoll on Main Street, as some are proposing? NO! Now is the time to use some of that money to build the multi-modal station at the Amtrak Station. Why will it take $175 million to build a bus station and a new MCC campus, for which the need for the latter is dubious. Obama's stimulus plan and new legislation are expected to improve Amtrak service on the Empire Corridor through Rochester, which had a 23% increase in ridership last year. The present Amtrak station is a terrible gateway to Rochester. There are plans out there (See Dewain Feller's plan)for a new station that would accomodate trains and inter-city buses. Now is the time to bring them to life and let the private developer's plan bring city living and small retail to Main Street.

Thanks for your comment, Doug. I wasn't plugging for the theater (and lord knows, I've had plenty of criticism about it). Once upon a time, I was excited about the possibility of a true Performing Arts Center, with three or four theaters. But that was long ago and far away, and... Now, I was simply pointing out that we're going to get the bus station and the MCC campus. Those of us who opposed the total project have a tough decision: Do we fight the theater? Or figure it's better than nothing? The two other pieces are a done deal.

Thanks, Mary Anna, for responding to my comment. It would indeed by nice to have a Performing Arts Center in the culturall district of Downtown Rochester, ideally in the property opposite the Eastman Theater, but not on Main, combined with a bus station. As you know, I have advocated for a multi-modal station for years and continue the campaign from my computer in Knoxville. I sent the following e-mail to Representative Louise Slaughter several weeks ago:" Doesn't the fact that Trailways will spend its own money to build a pre-fabricated modular bus terminal at the Amtrak Station vindicate the argument that I and many others have been using for years, abandon the RenSquare project and use the money to build a permanent, well-designed and architecturally attractive intermodal station on the present Amtrak site? Having Trailways and other inter-city buses at that site will allow easy transfer of the ever-increasing number of Amtrak passengers to or from the bus lines. A new station, served by a City bus stop, which could continue to transfer on Main or at the proposed facility on Mortimer, would also serve the new volume of Amtrak passengers arriving or departing from Rochester and the suburbs. According to figures released by Amtrak, ridership in the Empire Corridor through Rochester increased 23% over last year and is expected to continue the increase under the Obama administration. Easy transfer between train and bus is especially critical to the many students of nearby colleges, such as Suny Geneseo and Suny Brockport, as well as U of R, MCC, and RIT. This should be pointed out Senator Schumer as a guide for him to use in allocating the money now committed (unwisely) to RenSquare. Rochester needs an attractive rail gateway to the city." I hope the City Newspaper will now support a new station. Moreover, explore the proposals for making St Paul Street a boulevard between the new station and Main, in order to stimulate growth on the North Side of Main Street.:

They just keep trying to polish that turd.