Transit Stations May Actually Cut Down on Crime

Last month the small city of Troy, Michigan, earned some national attention when its local leaders terminated plans for a transit center several years in the making. Troy Mayor Janice Daniels - who somehow kept her job despite posting a strong anti-gay slur on Facebook, and who's back in the news for another intolerant remark - objected to the transit center on the grounds that she didn't want to accept $8.5 million in federal funding that would go toward its construction.

But the Tea Party mayor's fiscal ideology wasn't the only reason behind the decision to cancel the Troy transit center. There was also a strong fear among local residents that the 24-hour building would become a criminal hangout. One city councilman worried it would be a "place where people who don't have another place to go hang out," according to the Detroit News.