Upcoming WaMI Events
Social Hour at Café Liv
Saturday March 16 from noon to 2pm
Café Liv
This month we’re meeting in Café Liv, a cute little coffee shop in Downtown Ypsilanti. Come meet local transit advocates, discuss local and county issues, and hopefully make some friends!
It is a block away from Ypsilanti Transit Center which is serviced by the 3, 4, 5, 6, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, and 47 lines. As for biking, it also is close to various sections of the Border to Border trail.
March Organizing Meeting
Monday March 25 from 7pm to 10pm
Ypsilanti Senior Citizens Center
This time around we will start to discuss our first campaign. Right now we can start our first canvassing initiative and/or start soliciting donations. Additionally we will explore how we can connect with areas of Washtenaw County that are beyond Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. Organizing meetings are open to all.
The Ypsilanti Senior Center is accessible via the 6 bus and has a small bike rack out front.
Ann Arbor Comprehensive Plan meetings
The City of Ann Arbor and Downtown Development Authority (which is part of the city government) are hosting a series of public workshops at the AADL Downtown Library. They want your input on the future of downtown and future land use policies for the entire city.
Add to your calendar:
RSVP is not required but helpful
More information about the projects:
That damn bridge
The City of Ann Arbor has unfortunately decided to move forward with widening the E Medical Center bridge for cars. The city has approved funding for the project and agreed to share half the cost of rehabilitation of the bridge with University of Michigan. However UofM is fully paying for the widening of the bridge.
Its unlikely this project could have been stopped at this stage, but it is unfortunate to see yet another major piece of car-centric infrastructure go up in Ann Arbor in the midst of the cities initiatives to reduce vehicle miles traveled within the city and improve pedestrian safety. This was also a missed opportunity to address the extensive bus and emergency vehicle traffic in this area by adding a dedicated bus lane to this area so busses are less prone to getting stuck in traffic.
Maybe most frustratingly, this is one of the very few corridors leading into North Ann Arbor / UofM North Campus and it is very hostile to pedestrians and cyclists as is, necessitating UofM to run so many busses to keep up with student traffic between the two campuses. There was an opportunity to build an underpass for pedestrians and there was an opportunity to connect the Border to Border trail via the Huron River instead of via Fuller. Instead all we are getting is more lanes. It remains to be seen if this will even improve the traffic flow in this area, or if it will benefit the UofM hospital system.
Its really a shame this came to pass and we need to make sure projects like this do not get approved by the City of Ann Arbor or University of Michigan in the future.
US-23 Gallup Park path / Border to Border Trail closure
MDOT is back at it again with trying to disrupt Ann Arbor’s non-motorized transportation and recreation network. This time, they want to close a section of the Border to Border trail in Gallup Park while they rehabilitate (and possibly widen) the US-23 bridge passing overhead. They want to detour trail traffic to a AAATA bus, which is annoying for commuter route, and ridiculous for a recreational trail.
Their proposals are a bit silly in the face of Amsterdam frequently building temporary pathways and bridges for pedestrians and cyclists during construction. There is certainly a way to keep the path open during construction. If they want to do this right, they should build a sidewalk canopy with protective walls on either side. If it works in New York and Chicago, it should work here.
Otherwise, they should just build a detour route starting from the far end of the Gallup Park pathway and running it within the Geddes Rd right of way until it connects up with the existing infrastructure along Geddes. Not only would this keep a route open now, but it would improve the cycling and pedestrian network into the future and fill in a large sidewalk gap.
Bus services improvements incoming!
Your tax dollars at work! This spring, AAATA/TheRide will be introducing a number of long-needed service improvements as part of TheRide 2045 plan and the millages pass in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti in 2022.
A2Ypsi Express
Projected to start in Late April, AAATA is introducing a “new limited-stop express bus route between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti along Washtenaw Ave.” This bus will run weekdays every 30 minutes from 6am to 6pm with only 4 stops along its route.
- Washtenaw Avenue at Summit Street in Ypsilanti
- Washtenaw Avenue at Golfside Road in Ypsilanti Township
- Washtenaw Avenue at Arborland Mall in Ann Arbor
- Central Campus Transit Center on the University of Michigan’s Central Campus
End-to-end, the route is expected to take 30-35 minutes mid-afternoon and 35-40 minutes in the late afternoon and early evening.
Note: A2Ypsi is no the official name of the route. I just made that up.
Extended operating hours and improving weekend frequencies
In late August, the 3, 4, 5, 6, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 62, 66, and 68 are all getting service improvements!
Weekday Fixed-Route Bus Service:
- Extended hours of service: 6:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. (first/last departures)
Saturday Fixed-Route Bus Service:
- Extended hours of service: 7:00 a.m. – 11:50 p.m. (first/last departures)
- 30-minute frequency from 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- 60-minute frequency after 6:00 p.m.
Sunday Fixed-Route Bus Service:
- Extended hours of service: 8:00 a.m. – 9:45 p.m. (first/last departures)
- 30-minute frequency from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- 60-minute frequency after 6:00 p.m.
Additionally, routes 4, 6, 24, 43 are getting adjustments to their route and timing and FlexRide will be extended to all of Ypsilanti and a large chunk of Ypsilanti Township. FlexRide will also get extended hours of service and additional vehicles to reduce wait times.
Washtenaw County Recreation Master Plan
Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission has started the process of creating its 5-year Comprehensive Master Plan. Many of the recreational areas controlled by WCPARC are only safely accessible by car and don’t have interconnected path or trail systems. More projects like the Border to Border trail could provide both recreational and commuter benefits, allowing safe travel between cities and recreational areas using off-street paths without using a car.
Submit your feedback to WCPARC on the project’s website!
UofM construction is damaging Ann Arbor streets
If you’ve been on or near Division St in Ann Arbor, you will certainly notice its completely covered in dirt. UofM contractors are running massive construction vehicles over city owned roads, and instead of cleaning their wheels on the way out from the construction site they are just circulating street sweepers, which do less to clean up the dirt and more to just spread it around evenly.
My main concern here is that the heavy industrial traffic and dirt is damaging S Division and nearby roads, and that Ann Arbor taxpayers are paying for it. Are we subsidizing UofM’s construction projects by allowing their machinery to use our roads free-of-charge? UofM does not pay taxes to the City of Ann Arbor. As far as I know, there is no agreement between the city and UofM to compensate the city for the increased maintenance costs caused by construction traffic. With so much construction on the UofM campus in recent years, maybe we should start taking these hidden infrastructure costs more seriously. Food for thought.
That’s all for this month. Hopefully I didn’t miss anything important. See ya next month on The Watchlist!
– Kiera
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