Over the years I've been writing this blog, I've occasionally come out with a list of New Year's wishes for the Quad Cities. Other years I intended to, but never got it done. For reference, here are 2006 and 2008's wish lists. Apparently this is an even year tradition. So, here we go with the 2010 Quad City Images New Year's Wish List. In the past I've done a small number of more ambitious wishes, so this year I'm going to change it up and do a list of things, both probable and improbable.
In no particular order:
-WIU QC's riverfront campus makes good progress
-Amtrak to the QC begins construction
-The Forrest Block stays on track the rest of the way out
-Downtown Moline's Kone Centre begins construction
-Davenport finds a new casino operator willing to invest in downtown
-The Blackhawk Hotel continues its redevelopment into one of the highlights of downtown Davenport
-A new mixed-use building is announced for downtown Davenport
-Another major downtown residential renovation somewhere in the QC
-Continued progress on Prairie Heights, including the new library
-A (relatively) problem free construction season for the sewer tunnel
-Davenport and the QC surprise many with a big 2010 census population increase
-More money comes in for the new I-74 bridge
-A new employer brings 500+ new jobs to the metro area
-The (slightly) new council continues being professional and productive
-All this snow doesn't cause major spring flooding
-A continuing decrease in crime
-Non-stop flights to Phoenix from QCI Airport
-Dave and Busters comes to the QC! (unlikely)
-Davenport and Rock Island host a riverfront New Year's part for 2011
-Calm and logical debate about Davenport's one way street decisions
-No more big layoffs or closings
-Better marketing and positive national exposure for the Quad Cities
-That I don't take a month off from blogging next year!
That's it for this year. If I missed anything major I'll add it later. Feel free to add your own wish lists in the comments.
12 comments:
In Rock Island, the Goldman Lofts and Retail building are in the works.
Whittling down the list early maybe?
I'd prefer that the Amtrak and airport parts not come true.
Nitrous55
I wish the new council would allocate more money towards the demolition of more of the boarded up properties that have been in disrepair for years. If there's no chance of anyone ever repairing them, then the city should get them torn down, and give the land to the neighbors at no cost. That way someone will mow, and the city won't be forced to pay a crew to maintain it.
Why do you say that Nitrous? I think easy access to the rest of the world is a big selling point when trying to convince people and businesses to move here.
Global warming is the reason. Dropping rail and air service(outside of freight) does a lot more good than Cap&Trade. Sure, there will be people without a job, but at least we will be doing something about global warming.
Nitrous55
1) Kudos to QCI for correctly asking for non-stop service to PHX (not "direct" service, which is pointless).
2) Nitrous, people are going to travel no matter what. By providing a non-stop option to one of the most popular destinations from the QC, you actually reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the second take-off. And by providing a rail link, you save carbon emissions from the far-more-polluting cars and planes that people would otherwise take. Not to mention the economic benefit to the region itself by making it easier to do business. Deere, for example, isn't going to stick around Moline forever if they can't get top managerial talent to come work for them there.
Eliminating the first takeoff cuts down on even more pollution. Interesting that this "crisis" takes a backseat when it affects our interests.
Honestly, I forward to the raillink. As long as it make money after a few years.
Nitrous55
The completing the rail line to Chicago is one of the most important things this community can do to ensure it continues to grow.
There is almost no down-side to increasing the number of people who can easily travel to and from the Quad-Cities. Connecting us to one of the most important cities in the country will have immense economic benefits, not to mention the positive environmental aspects of the transportation system.
Just to build and run the system will add even more to the carbon footprint that has already put the planet on the brink of destruction(according to envirmentalists).
Like I said, I don't have a problem. Just that they make money. My original comment was about the envirmental impact. It seems that everyone is for it as long as it doesn't affect them like a lot of things.
Nitrous55
Very few liberals or environmentalists take it to the extreme that you're exaggerating it to though. The right wing folks make it seem that all of us are crazy, but there are plenty of practical people who believe in living more sustainably. One of those practical "green" things is using more rail.
Not to mention the fact that I can attend concerts and ball games even in bad weather without a care in the world regarding my car.
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. Of course, there are trips to Chicago that are less practical to take the train, like picking up a bookshelf at IKEA, but for a trip to any of the museums, sporting events, or downtown Chicago shopping it will be great.
The real trick will be how well we can lure Chicago people to take a day or weekend trip to the QC. The new Loop bus should help, as they could take the train to downtown Moline, and either stay at the Moline Radisson, or take the Loop to any other downtown hotel. Then using only that bus they'd have access to 2 casinos, 4 downtowns, the East Village, iWireless Center, Modern Woodmen Park, etc. All without using a car or trying to figure out which bus to take.
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