monday night smackdown: bike lanes vs. parking

AANews revs up the public's ire in preparation for the Monday night public hearing on the proposed non-motorized plan by pitting the sacred cow of parking against the holy grail of NMT infrastructure, bike lanes. The NMT plan, prepared by Norm Cox of the Greenway Collaborative, recommends removing on-street metered parking on some streets to make room for bike lanes.

So, Batman, as an innocent child plummets toward the gaping maw of the volcanic furnace, the pendulum laser-saw of death takes aim at the love of your life. Who will you save? Rene Geff offers up the most obvious solution, explaining "I would be willing to sacrifice parking ... to get bike lanes, but it has to be replaced somewhere else." The plan actually does call for adding parking on other streets to make up for the loss.

We don't generally advocate for parking supply increases. Instead we would like to see more effort towards efficient use of existing parking and more emphasis on encouraging non-car options. However, as our downtown relies on a lot of out-of-towners for financial support and we don't offer much in the way of inter-city alternatives, now does not seem the time to cut back on the overall parking supply.

After he finishes wagging the parking-vs-bikes dog, Gantert does touch on an issue raised by cycling groups. WBWC has been working for some time to remove signs promoting sidewalk cycling routes. City staff has spent a lot of time looking for reasons they can't get rid of them while agreeing that they are not a good solution. According to the article, City Transportation Guru, Eli Cooper, pointed out that the green ad white signs are advisory, note regulatory. The implication (perhaps more from Gantert than Cooper) is that no one is forcing cyclists to use the sidewalk. But, consider other green and white, advisory signs like highway exit signs and signs directing one to public parking. We generally assume that this advice is coming from someone who knows better than we do. We do not usually question whether the green and white advice is guiding us into situations that are proven repeatedly to be the more dangerous option.

We encourage you to show up and speak at Monday. But we also encourage you to read the original report before taking the bait that the News has laid.

wanted: witty pedestrian with too much freetime

We are constantly mourning the lack of local, personal accounts of carfree life in Ann Arbor on this blog. As the sole housekeeper currently resides on the other side of the world, we don't offer as many "while biking down State St. today" stories as we'd like.

If you read this blog regularly and feel that it is either
a) a great addition to the local blogosphere that you would love to contribute to
b) severely lacking in quality content, which you could provide
drop us a line at cfa2@pedalsong.net with some ideas on what you'd like to contribute.

ann arbor critical mass

While not widely publicized, a group of cyclists meet up at the corner of State and North U at 5:15 on the last Friday of every month for Ann Arbor's Critical Mass ride. These organized coincidences began in San Francisco and now occur in cities all over the world. While the general themes are advocating for cyclist rights and raising awareness of cycling as an environmentally friendly alternative to driving, the tone can vary drastically by location, from friendly, pedaling sing-along to aggressive traffic confrontation. Not surprisingly, the A2 rides tend toward the free love end of that spectrum.

We don't hear much about the A2 CM rides. The intentional unorganization inherent in Critical Mass is partly to blame. They don't have a website. The Ann Arbor link on criticalmass.org is dead. A google search turns up a few expired upcoming.org announcements, but not much more. Local cycling and "alternative" transportation groups haven't done much (in some cases intentionally) to promote the rides either. getDowntown, WBWC, and AABTA all overlook CM rides in their events announcements. The lack of support may be because of the negative, confrontational image of CM, the difficulties in communicating with CM's leaderless structure, or concerns of inadvertently becoming responsible for the rides. Likely it is some combination of the three. The result is under-rated rides in an over-rated town.

Given the non-issue status of A2 CM rides, we were surprised to find a reprint of a NYT editorial in the AANews that labels the recent CM conflicts in New York a "losing proposition" for both sides. Cycling and public space advocates are quite aware of the stormy relationship and constant political and legal maneuvering that plagues the New York rides. But why does the AANews feel obligated to inform the average Ann Arborite of this issue, and why are they choosing this particular perspective?

On one hand, we are happy to see the local press reflecting the interests of the large cycling and carfree communities in town by initiating discussion of national events like the New York Critical Mass fiasco. The issue highlights how cooperation might accomplish more than conflict in advocating for biker's right on the road.

On the other hand, the inclusion of this editorial suggests that the New York issue informs our local context in some way. Certainly Critical Mass in Ann Arbor is not worthy of such attention. The majority doesn't even know the ride exists. Is the News suggesting that other bike-car conflicts require that "everyone gear down a notch" as the NYT editorial suggests?

Consider these closing recommendations from the borrowed editorial:

The police should pay more attention to the real problems - everyday cyclists who ignore red lights and one-way street signs, and motorists who crowd and cut off bikers.

and

Law-abiding bicyclists could win a lot of hearts if they focused more on bad behavior by fellow bikers.

Now replace the words "cyclists" and "bicyclists" with "motorists" and "drivers". Does it make any more sense to hold cyclists in general accountable for the law-breakers who share their mode of transportation than to hold all drivers accountable to those who speed? Similarly, would cracking down on motorists' rolling stops and lack of lane-change signals be considered an effective solution to dangerous driving?

Our biggest gripe with the above quotes are the implied similarity between coasting through stop signs on a bike and using your vehicle to bully cyclists. The editorial seems to overlook the disparate levels of danger between the two.

Noticeably lacking in the proposed solutions are better education & outreach on sharing the road, as well as structural improvements that recognize and accommodate cyclists' and pedestrians' use public space, including our city streets.

As many commenters on Arborupdate and AnnArborIsOverrated have pointed out, Ann Arbor is hardly comparable to the Big Apple, and we should stop pretending it is.

new year news round-up

In the first few days of the new year, while the cfa2 editorial board was loafing on the sunny beaches of a tropical island, a few noteworthy news items surfaced in the local rag.

Cagers will be issued brand new tracking identifiers this year. They'll be trading in the blue license plates for plates that are more visible at night. This would have been a perfect time to include a cycling & pedestrian awareness requirement for renewal. The we would know which drivers have at least some education on sharing the road, and by the end of the year, all car owners might be enlightened. Sadly, there is no mention of including such a program (which should probably be linked to driver's licenses anyway).

Amtrak reports some happier news in the new year. Michigan, and Ann Arbor in particular, had record Amtrak ridership this year. Ann Arbor was up 22% from last year! Amtrak confesses that they have no explanation for the jump other than the assumed reaction to rising fuel costs. In addition, SEMCOG continues talks with Amtrak about a demonstration commuter rail to Detroit. Given the glacial progress of SEMCOGs Ann Arbor Detroit Transit Study, we're not holding our breath. We'll report more when something definitive comes out. With or without the commuter rail, we hope Amtrak will consider the increase a good omen and make a resolution to get more people on more trains (is asking for a lower ticket price going too far?) this year.

There were also a number of car crashes reported over the holidays. While our sympathy goes out to anyone who suffered at a time we should all be celebrating, we were happy to note that none of the crashes included pedestrians and cyclists. But one odd event is worth mentioning. Apparently, some pervert tried to break into the bathroom stalls of a couple young girls, failed, and escaped. The interesting point for us is that he was spotted by the father later that day in the parking lot, where the father reportedly hit him with his car, repeatedly.

The father drove toward the man and tried to block him in, striking him twice and sending him onto the hood of the car, reports said.

The suspected pervert escaped again. Police continue the search for the pervert, but there is no mention of pressing charges on the father for assault with a deadly weapon. We are in no way condoning the bathroom incident, but we wonder how the police's response to the father's vehicular attack reflect authority's view of vehicles as potential weapons. When, exactly, is it acceptable to intentionally run someone over with your car?

Finally, in this season of resolutions, we encourage you to add a carfree component to the list of commitments. A great one for people who are already carlite is to try winter cycling. It will add a little exercise to your January hibernation and hopefully winter will fade before your resolve does, meaning you don't have to feel guilty about another resolution failed come July. Since much of our carfree lifestyle is heavily impacted by municipal policy, committing to contribute to a bike, ped, or transit issue would be great. WBWC has lots of ideas and is only lacking the people power to move them forward. Attend a meeting and see for yourself. For inspiration on what kind of carfree communities are possible, see this article on a carfree neighborhood in Germany.

And of course you could finally muster up the courage to post an ad on craiglist and sell your car...

tracking the Ride with AATA

Homeless Dave tipped us off to the new goings on over at AATA. They have released a way to track the buses from the AATA website. You choose a route and AATA tells you the most recent timepoint, the status (behind or ahead of schedule), and the next timpoint, for both ingoing and outgoing buses.

After trying it out, our immediate reaction was, "Awesome! We're half way to a useful tool for bu riders." We saw two improvements that would make this great tool a whole lot greater: RSS feeds and mobile phone interface, and displaying the time the bus will arrive at my stop instead of the arcane timepoint-status-timepoint format. So we wrote to AATA and told them so via the comments/suggestion link.

Bobbie MacDonald, IT Manager at AATA, offered a speedy and helpful response to both queries. As for the RSS and mobile interface, she says, "we do have plans for PDA and cell phone interface, but all this takes money and right now it's tight."

The second issue requires a little journey into the guts of transit scheduling. First of all, it is really difficult to accurately predict future arrival times based on the current location of a bus. And the further out you try to predict, the worse it gets. It is much easier to mark a few spots along the route with expected arrival times and report whether the bus was ahead or behind schedule at that point. AATA calls these timepoints and uses them to measure schedule adherence on a route. A timepoint isn't the same as a bus stop. Timepoints may be bus stops, but not all bus stops are timepoints. As McDonald explains,

"We do not guarantee that we will be at all stops at a certain time, just timepoints as listed in the ride guide. Therefore, what we are displaying is the last timpoint the bus passed, what the schedule adherence is to that timepoint, the next timpoint on the route and the SCHEDULED departure time from that timepoint."

This timepoint system has been in place at AATA for quite a while. It's used in the paper guides and pdf versions of the schedule as well. The GPS system the implemented a while back incorporated to same concept and now it has been similarly passed on to the web tracker. So it's a little like the rocket based on a horse's ass.

We now understand the reason behind the format. And based on the "status" reports we've seen, you can pretty much expect the bus to be within a couple minutes of schedule anyway. However, all that doesn't keep us from wanting to know when the bus will pick us up at our stop.

We'd love to hear other's thoughts on the new feature, and so would AATA. Be sure to give some feedback when you try it out. We should also remind folks that UM buses offer a similar feature in a different format as we mentioned before.

For those reading this hot of the press, Bobbie warns that they are moving servers in response to high volume and this may affect service for a brief period. So don't give up if it fails on your first try.

shoe tips, tricks, and crafts

Flitting around the Internets today, we came across a few shoe tips that might be useful for those who get the most out of their footwear. We've even thrown in a witty (or snarky) comment for each!

fix freyed laces
Note that plain ole scotch tape will also work, though it wears out faster.

boot drying rack
Call us lazy, but we just prop our boots up against the heat register.
Note smart people say that you shouldn't dry leather with forced air!

a faster knot
Ian offers what he swears is the fastest shoe knot known to man and 17 other ways to tie your shoes.

shoe size conversion chart
Yes, your size 10 foot is a a 44 European. But did you know it is 273 mm, the measure used in Korea? Print this one out for your next shoe-shopping binge in Tokyo or Mexico City!

shoe snow chains
Shockingly, the comments on the Lifehacker post actually rave about this slip on foot traction. Worth a try?

DIY reheeling
For those dedicated DIY folks, Mother Earth News shows how to resole your shoes with a tire.

ann arbor alley cats

we're slipping over the edge to bike-junky posts again!

While most folks think of century rides, time trials and Tours De [Insert Location] to be the epitome of cycling prowess, there is a special place in our hearts for the raw, unadulterated thrill of alley cat races. Finally, a semi-organized effort to promote and organize the cyclist version of Main street drag racing has hit Ann Arbor, and we couldn't be happier about it. Jimmy Rigged has set up two races already, and he talks about them on the teeter-totter.

We wish him the best of luck with this important addition to A2 cycling culture and look forward to hearing about the next race.

platewire: reporting bad (and good) drivers

Our holiday web surfing introduced us to a new site called platewire. This blog allows road users to post complaints and praise of other drivers by posting a license plate number and brief message. Platewire describes itself as a place where "commuters can communicate their thoughts and feelings in regards to driving on today's roadways."

Naturally, our thoughts drifted to the potential for carfree commuters to express their many gripes about drivers. We could report cars parked in bikelanes, drivers who block the crosswalk while waiting to make a right turn, vehicles that don't yield enough space to cyclists on the road, and other various complaints. The site sort of assumes that drivers will be reporting other drivers.

We see two potential benefits to Ann Arbor pedestrians and cyclists posting here. First, it would generally raise awareness that roads are not reserved for automobiles and that cagers behavior on the road has an impact extending beyond other drivers. Secondly, lots of reports from Ann Arbor would help build our fair city's image as supporting and consisting of a carfree community. One might argue that a third benefit is that this is a good forum to make direct appeals to the driving community. But the level of discourse on the threads we've read suggests that advocating the non-motorized position is just troll bait. Don't expect to teach many lessons.

There are only a few posts about pedestrians and cycling so far. As you might imagine, those threads don't offer much intelligent discussion on sharing the road. Here is an example. The question is whether an increase in bike/ped posts would indicate the dangers that automobiles pose to other road users, or jsut come accross as whining from people who don't pay gas tax.

the weather outside is frightful...

We've been keeping an eye on the weather report for Ann Arbor from our temporary home office in Bangkok, Thailand. It appears that a brisk Christmas walk through the crisp new-fallen snow is out again this year. weather.com is repeatedly advertising our Midwestern winter days as "a slushy accumulation of one inch or less."

So hopefully you can snuggle up to a fire that is so delightful for the next few days with friends and family and enjoy the holiday season despite the rain and slush. If there is a tip buried in this post, it is that sometimes the weather wins; trips out are dismal.

Yet we find that bad weather tends to relax most obligations to hurry around and get things done. These days can be considered a sort of "get out of jail free" card for all sort of obligations. If you can find an excuse to stay indoors and celebrate, do it. Before you know it the weather will break and you'll have missed your chance.

Merry Christmas!

who will Google bring to town?

A recent AANEws article announces that Google is moving downtown, at least for the next four years. The seemingly good news for the city is followed up by another article pointing our that the addition is not all wine and roses. Specifically, parking is an issue again (yes we agree that it probably never stopped being an issue; the framing is just different).

In an effort to accomodate Google's four year stay in the McKinley Town Centre and show a commitment to providing infrastructure that will allow them to stay downtown as they ramp up to 1,000 employees and look for permenant offices in four years, the city guarenteed the internet giant...
go!passes for all employees?
expansion of the Zipcar program to include downtown locations?
increased funding to AATA to expand routes and extend service hours?
a commitment to improving bike and ped facilities downtown?

Sorry gang. The city took the easy way out (or, rather, foolishly dug themselves further into a parking hole) by offering 200 guaranteed parking spaces. Promising 200 parking spaces at a time when permits for downtown parking have a waiting list is a pretty clear indication that Ann Arbor is planning to build more parking.

The article poses the question "As downtown evolves with a flurry of development and visions, one question stands out: Does the city have enough parking to support it?" Hopefully this narrow perspective is to representative of Ann Arbor's view on mobility. By viewing parking as the major constraint to increased density, the reporter boxes us into a one-track (or lane) mobility solution. More people = more cars = more parking.

Really, there are lots of programs in our fair city that support alternatives to driving. We are reassured by programs like the DDA sponsored getDowntown program, which advocates and promotes a variety of transportation options. We are expanding our cycling facilities, the Link is up and running, and the Mayor is pushing for rail service to neighboring areas. It seems feasible that increasing density with the right mix of transportation services could reduce Ann Arbor's car/household ratio.

Yet the policy and infrastructure will do little if the new residents and employees coming to town are only interested in having a parking spot. When wooing Google and other potential business to Ann Arbor, and particularly to downtown, we would like to see a greater effort by the city and business associations to promote the city's complete mobility package, instead of just throwing a stack of parking permits on the bargaining table.

McKinley CEO Albert Berriz says he's ready to house goolites across the street from the office. By promoting the mobility and flexibility of a go!pass, safe bike/ped experience, and a Zipcar membership to new residents and employers, we take a good first step to attracting the kind of people who are more likely to support and use the facilities we want to build and improve.

cycling through West Hall arch

The diag is one of those cycling short-cuts that can really cut time off your trip, unless classes have just let out and you find yourself caught in a sea of pedestrians chatting on mobile phones. But even if the way is mostly clear, the path funnels at the Southeast corner as you pass through the West Hall arch. There are doors on either side inside that arch where students step out without much thought as to cross traffic.

Despite the politely phrased sign requesting that cyclists walk their bikes through the arch, we see a lot of bikers ride right through. A recent email to WBWC members mentioned that a girl was recent hit by a bike in the arch. Apparently the cyclists didn't even stop.

We've talked previously about the pointless bickering between pedestrians and cyclists. This is one location where cyclists can vastly improve both pedestrian's safety, and pedestrian's image of cyclists. When you ride the road, you can own it. But when cutting through the diag, you're on pedestrian turf. Please slow down and dismount in the arch.

carfree and drunk in Ann Arbor: getting home

As the season's festivities pick up pace and the snow (hopefully) falls thick and cold, carfree folks around Ann Arbor gain a distinct advantage over cagers. With mulled wine, eggnog, and a variety of other social lubricants flowing freely as we gather repeatedly with friends, families, and co-workers in jovial celebration, drivers are faced with drunk-driving concerns. How on earth is anyone supposed to get home from a drinking binge if they aren't allowed to drive?

Fortunately, while cagers have raged the year away behind the wheel, we've grown quite accustomed to traveling (drunk or sober) without a car. We tend to visit local bars within easy walking distance from home. We are already familiar with the bus routes for events that end before AATA service does. We've got a few cab companies already programed into our phones and we know that we can get a flat rate cab by calling Nightride (734.528.5432) once AATA service ends. We all likely know a few designated drivers who are willing to offer a ride. And a few of us have, for better or worse, probably become somewhat adept at operating a bicycle after a few drinks.

In regards to the last, we certainly don't advocate biking drunk, even if it is a helluva lot safer for others than drunk driving. Besides, it is against the law to operate a bicycle under the influence, even though we have never heard of anyone getting pulled over for it. The biggest risk for an apres-soir cycists is likely to be (as usual) cars. Despite increased enforcement and a media blitz reminding the public of the dangers, there is a significant increase in alcohal-related car crashes every holiday season. We're not saying sobriety will save you from these idiots, but it may give you that vital edge in veering into the bushes to avoid cars drifting from the opposing lane. Remember that it would be easy to call a cab or catch a ride and come back tomorrow to grab your bike. Just make sure it is locked up.

Also, keep in mind that non-car options are likely to be a little more in demand. You may want to call your cab a little earlier (or later).

Amtrak business class, worth the ten bucks?

There is a good chance that you weren't even aware that Amtrak offers business class seating from Ann Arbor to Chicago. If you're anything like us, it gets overlooked in the mad dash to the weekly specials page. A BC upgrade to Chicago only adds $11 to the one-way ticket price. However, you can't upgrade from the drastically reduced fares in the weekly specials. As a result, we've never taken the upgrade, but many people have recommended it.

According to Amtrak, the upgrade includes:
electrical outlets for every pair of seats
complimentary, non-alcohalic beverage
newspaper
in-car Railfone
lots more leg room

Now, coach is already quite comfortable. Those who associate "coach" with the cramped quarters on airplanes will be pleasantly surprised at the space Amtrak offers. The seats also recline much further than the airline variety. So unless you need lots of legroom, coach will do the trick. Railfone isn't a priority for us. Your cell phone will work at least at either end of the journey (we tend to lose signal in Southwest Michigan) and paying for calls by credit card is a pain in the ass, especially since Amtrak says those calls may cut out just like your mobile. Electrical outlets are nice, but can usually be found in coach as well; they just aren't guarenteed in every seat. That leaves a glass of juice and a newspaper, which isn't worth the $10 to us.

But we forgot to mention one important benefit to BC. You get a reserved seat. Regular Amtrak riders may recall that familiar knot that forms in one's stomach as the train aproaches the Ann Arbor station and passengers begin jockeying for position. Coach riders have a guarenteed seat, but that seat doesn't have a location. When you board the train, chances are that most pairs of seats have one person either pretending to be asleep or making every effort to look like an unpleasant seatmate in hopes that they can ride next to an "empty". God forbid that you are traveling with someone that you actually want to sit next to. The staff will sometimes act as negotiators in seat trades, but don't count on it. In comparison, sauntering on to the BC car and being shown to your seat is worth a little extra.

In a recent teetering interview, Homeless Dave gives BC upgrades the thumbs up. If he says it is worth the money, maybe there is more to gain than juice and paper.

The galsguide gives a full rundown on riding from Chicago to Detroit. She opts for the BC upgrade. Her advice includes choosing the side of the train for sun exposure (in Michigan the north side of the train will almost always be the shady side) and priceless tips like "doubling as a scarf, a Pashmina is a chic way to stay fashionable and warm at the same time."

If you've got any thoughts on riding business class on Amtrak, let us hear them in the comments.

contribute to survey of winter bike racks

Why do cyclists give up their bike commute in the winter? Well, it certainly couldn't be the weather. After all, we're Michiganders, right? We're used to the cold and look forward to the invigorating freshness of a winter morning, the snow crunching crisply under our wheels...

We have a sneaking suspicion that parking might play a role in deterring winter rides. We've seen a number of plowed-in, drifted-over, and otherwise unaccessible bike racks around A2 in the winter. The UM racks are some of the worst examples. We've seen bikes crumpled by the force of a plow that left a rack buried in a mountain of brown, salty snow. Unfortunately we can't prove it. So we're looking for descriptions and/or photos of winter bike racks around town and campus. Prove us wrong or back us up with your own stories and images. Send photos to cfa2@pedalsong.net or just post a comment here.

We don't have anything to give away as a prize for the best entry, but if we did, it would be mittens.

pedestrian hit by car on Packard

The Michigan Daily is reporting that a student is in serious condition after being hit by a driver while walking in the bike lane on Packard St. A reprotedly elderly woman swerved across the road, striking the pedestrian, and then back across both lanes eventually running the car into a tree.

There are no details on how this all happened, and we won't be the ones to speculate. However, it is frighteningly similar to a crash that Urbana-Champaign Bicycle Commute reported about a woman who was downloading ringtones when she ran over a cyclist. That driver killed someone with their car through their own care(or reck)lessness and got ticketed for improper lane use.

As Ann Arbor works to develop the Share the Road educational program and we continue to expand our bike and pedestrian facilities, we wonder what role enforcement will play. Will AAPD and the courts consider this assualt with a deadly weapon or a minor driving error? Since this wasn't a cyclist, we thankfully will not have to endure inane inquiries into whether she was wearing a helmet when she was run over. However, we are not above making our own snarky inquiries as to whether the driver of the car was wearing one.

Be assured that we will keep on top of this story. We encourage anyone with more info to add it to the comments here. In the meantime our healing thoughts are with the victim.