MyWHaT

I’m writing because…

your letters to the Traverse City City Commission part II… (part I)

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We oppose any improvements to 8th Street that don’t integrate bricked cross-walks and “share-the-road” signage, regardless of the implication to our stimulus funding. Doing so, borders on negligence. We’re shocked this wasn’t addressed in the initial plans submitted to the State. — John, Rachael, and Helly Taylor

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I am writing to express my concern about 8th Street renovations.  I live in Central neighborhood and work at NMC.  I would love to bike on 8th Street to work, but unfortunately I can’t because of the current design, it is just not safe.  It would be a real shame to think the City would spend the time and money to renovate 8th Street without considering bikers/bike lanes. — Michele Howard

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Much of its length is lined with residences and small businesses, bike shops and hair salons, grocery stores and art galleries. Its commercial nature is mixed with a slow/local character. This is a street which should reflect the image the City wishes to project to the community….Paving 8th Street without creating a safe, and reasonable access to the street for bicycles and pedestrians will not serve either the mission or the goals of the City, and will only serve to enhance the quality of life for those who choose to drive a car through it. This, in turn, will continue to promulgate the perceptions of many in the driving community that bicycles do not belong on the City’s streets.– Bill Palladino

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While not an avid bicyclist, I still love to ride my bike as a mode of transport, especially now that I live in the central neighborhood. And I am concerned about the overall well-being and progressive growth of my hometown, and the place I’m going to call home for the rest of my life. Making this city safer for folks who love to bike/walk/run is of utmost importance to me. It’s also important to me to make this city safe for those who don’t have a choice but to bike or walk. I am fully supportive of taking a closer look at this issue, and I would like to trust that those who are leading our city feel the same.–Abby Walton Porter

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As an 8th Street business, Planned Parenthood of West and Northern Michigan would like to speak on behalf of both our clients and staff who utilize our busy street. Many of our clients commute in all seasons via bicycle or as pedestrians – sometimes in conjunction with public transportation. Approximately half of our staff commutes across town during the summer months via bicycle.–Jennifer Kirkpatrick Johnson

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There have been major improvements since the 1980’s, when I was growing up here—we now have the TART Trails, bike lanes downtown, and many improved curbs and sidewalks. But we need to keep improving. Depending on which direction you’re coming from, it can still be difficult to get across town easily and safely by bicycle or on foot. Many neighborhood streets don’t connect, are interrupted by the Boardman River or Lake, or otherwise don’t easily get you to where you want to go. That’s why so many pedestrians and bicyclists, just like motorists, travel using Eighth Street: it’s a convenient way to get across town quickly. –Linnaea Melcarek

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I live one block south of 8th and Rose and use the street nearly every day.  It is a challenging road to cross, even for something as simple as going to Glen’s, because it is simply a speedway-with cars consistently exceeding the speed limit.  I’d love to see a second design option that incorporates design for use by families, the elderly, cyclists, pedestrians, buses and cars.  That would create more livable, desirable, safe and economically sound neighborhoods. — Christine M. Sleeman

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I have nothing against cars, they play an important role in my personal life as well as my business, and I want traffic to run smoothly, as well. But I believe that the tide is turning and many individuals and families are looking for communities in which to live and work where they have safe, reliable and consistent access to alternative transportation. That means bike lanes on all the main streets in town. — Emily Bert

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The cities that are attracting the young workforce of the new economy recognize the driving factor in the 21st century economy is creating a sense of place that gives residents choices for how to get around, and more and more people are specifically looking for communities that prioritize walking and biking… I assumed that given the extensive planning we’ve done in recent years bike lanes and pedestrian crossings would automatically be part of any new street — particularly one as important as 8th street. Given the controversy over how the plans have been developed, it’s obvious that the citizens of Traverse City cannot assume anything is a given, not even something as fundamental as bike lanes.– Hans Voss

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Many factors contribute to “creating community.” But one of the most effective ways is to create more opportunities to smile, meet and greet other people in a convivial way face-to-face. Cycling, walking, and rollerblading create opportunities to create social interaction, strengthening our community and our neighborhoods…. Excessive excuses for ignoring our needs are no longer tolerated. We are have grown weary of waiting. The time is now. It is never wrong to do the right thing. Make 8th street safe for me to ride my bicycle across town on this spring. We will all thank you for your consideration. If you ignore us, we will hold you accountable.– M’Lynn Hartwell

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Ultimately, to me, a city full of bike and pedestrian friendly avenues which foster a more socially and culturally connected quality of life is a much bigger win than a couple more turn lanes which do little other than to enable higher speeds of traffic through residential areas.  We should all be able to see 8th Street as a community thoroughfare, rather than simply a car and truck access road.–Ross A. Hammersley

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I am writing to you not only as a regular commuter but as someone who has delivered over twenty-five-thousand pounds of Higher Grounds Coffee to local businesses, citizens, and governmental centers (including your office). To deliver this amount of coffee to eager coffee drinkers I’ve traveled over nine-hundred miles on the roads, side streets, sidewalks, and bike paths around TC.  From experience I know that a bike lane along 8th st. would be a huge step for Traverse City’s bicycle friendliness, and simply asking us to go around is not a good option. 8th st. needs a good bike lane.  Also, I think we should all keep in mind that these types of developments are what will move local Businesses toward starting bike deliveries for themselves, which is a great notion. Traverse City, the Portland, Oregon of the Midwest. –Dan Mills

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While a revision to the project may be inconvenient to those who made the decision and proceeded without including bike lanes it is incumbent on City management to provide direction to the City departments involved: 1) What will it take to include bike lanes and maintain the timing and funding of the project? 2) The correction of this serious oversight must be made with the same kind of urgency as if the water treatment plant caught on fire.  Correction of this error is expected and a plan to achieve it must be delivered in a matter of hours and days not weeks or months. 3) Take to heart the question posed by Derek Bailey, Tribal Chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians at last week’s Traverse City Tomorrow forum: “What kind of ancestors will we be?” The nearly 500 members of the Cherry Capital Cycling Club and others in the cycling community expect results! — Fred Schaafsma, The Cherry Capital Cycling Club

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My preference is for making 8th Street usable for cyclists, even if it creates minor inconvenience for automobile travel.  Communities that surrender to cars do not thrive.  We only need to cast our gaze on Detroit or Flint to see what happens to cities that focus on traffic volume and speed.  Yes, you move more cars, but the city dies.– Chris Campbell

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If the hundreds of letters written in support of Complete Streets isn’t quite compelling enough, here are an additional 28 Reasons compiled by the University of Central Florida – the majority of these reasons are especially relevant to you in your positions.( 28 Reasons to Bike and Support Biking) — Jessie Alan

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Please join us for one of the largest cycling events in Traverse City

At the Traverse City Commission Meeting discussion about the 2010 8th Street debacle

Monday, February 8 at 7:00pm
400 Boardman Avenue Traverse City, MI – 2nd Floor

Click Here to Email all City Commissioners

A pre-gathering of neighbors and citizens is meeting at 8th and Fern at 5:30 for coffee, hot chocolate, friends, and then walking, riding or otherwise moving to the meeting. Details at Facebook Event http://bit.ly/dzB9av or Traverse Alive

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If you see something you like, please subscribe to this BLOG’s feed and also pass this link on to a friend.

I am writing because…

That’s how many of you started letters voicing concerns over the 2010 8th St. Kerfuffle. Rumor has it that the city has received an unprecedented 200 plus letters, largely in favor of a Complete Streets approach to Eighth St–Not in 20 years. But now.

In place of the normal Monday quote and posts, here are snippets from letters people shared. There were too many, so this is I of II.

What stands out, is how different each of these letters approach the issue.

(Emphasis occasionally added)

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We all need to take a moment to be thankful for the passion and care our fellow citizens are showing on this subject of Eighth Street. The “bigger picture” is a demonstration of the love we have for our wonderful town…. Isn’t that wonderful?  We are so blessed with citizens who care, not about themselves, but with the city they choose interact with. Your responsibility is to represent and assist the citizens desires.”—John Robert Williams

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Along with redesign there needs to be a culture shift in town to accept, encourage and protect non-motorized transportation. Launch a PR campaign to coincide with these road transformations (I am including Division) that will let the public know that their city leaders stand behind keeping this city walkable/bikeable and in turn a great place to live. Include in that campaign an element that gets residents involved and excited. Shifts like this will ensure that TC is one of the best small towns in America for years to come.” — Tracey Kukla-Aleshire

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Just wanted to say thanks for the bike lane on 8th from Garfield to Munson. I ride it everyday to work and back and it has been fantastic. I hope you will continue to help TC be a more bike friendly town by adding a bike only lane in the upcoming repave of 8th. How nice would it be to be able to someday ride safely down 8th from Munson to say Union?“– Ty Schmidt

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In 2009, we delivered over 15,000 pounds of coffee and road over 500 miles delivering around Traverse City. We are very proud of this successful program and we get a lot of praise from our clients. We don’t have to deliver by bike, but we are committed to doing it year-round…I’m writing because we need your support to make sure that this is a safe, comfortable and expanding program. Our rider’s main route is the length of 8th Street. Part of our incentive for moving into Traverse City is because we recognized that it wasn’t perfect, but that improvements for all modes of transportation were being aggressively pursued. The fact that a main route through town is taken off of this agenda is unacceptable. — Chris Treter, Higher Grounds Trading Co.

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Mr. Bifoss, in his agenda summary infers 8th street is a concern of bicycle “advocates”.  Respectfully, I suggest 8th street is a concern of all of us who are “community” advocates, all of us who seek a shared community that we are proud of. This battle is not about bicyclist, it is about livability and sustainability. It’s about a corridor that touches most city neighborhoods and how it can be enhanced to make its businesses inviting and usable by all.  Our “community voice” is advocating dealing with the issue of how 8th Street looks and feels today, not a decade from now. –Michael H. Dettmer

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The current cross section of much of 8th St. has 13.5’ lanes. Such wide lanes encourage motorists to drive faster. Lanes two feet narrower would provide sufficient space while encouraging motorists to drive more slowly and carefully. As a frequent user of 8th Street, both as a motorist and a bicyclist, I would much prefer traffic that is not rushing through town…I’m pushing 80 and find it harder when on foot to hurry across streets in the time allowed by many crossings. I love Front St. where motorists mostly realize the cross walks are for pedestrians and do readily yield to folks on foot. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could make crossing streets throughout Traverse City more like Front St. than Division St. or Grandview? — June Thaden

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As one of these cyclists, I need to be able to go everywhere, and prefer routes that are safe, direct, and scenic, in that order. A complete streets design of 8th Street is an opportunity and should not be missed to make our city safer, by slowing traffic, reducing noise, and encouraging a variety of modes of travel…The City Commission took positive steps when re-striping the eastern most end of 8th Street, and I am amazed that this was not continued along the corridor. In closing, please remember that to disregard the needs of all users along this corridor is discriminatory, and leaves the most vulnerable unprotected. — Laura Otwell

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“As a resident who walks and rides his bike year round through the city, I feel it is important to consider all pedestrians when designing 8th street. This street has a potential to be wonderful through-way for vehicles, foot and bike traffic. Please do it right.”–Will Havill

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As you are well aware, 8th Street is another one of the key transportation corridors identified in the Grand Vision. 8th Street is the best east-west arterial to make into a complete street.  It presents the best opportunity to accommodate all transportation users, whether they are walkers, bikers or drivers, in a safe and calm street…While I understand that there has been concern about stimulus money and whether MDOT would agree to these changes, I would remind you that we were presented with those exact same challenges on Division Street and were able to overcome them.  I am confident that with the proper support from the Commission, the City staff will be able to work with MDOT and make this project happen the right way.– Scott Howard

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This section of 8th Street is slowly becoming less bike friendly, which in TART’s opinion is not in the best interest of our community…Historically there were two driving lanes between Woodmere and Garfield, and sufficient lane width for a comfortable biking experience. The third lane between Rose and Garfield was added 5 years ago, and now a third lane is proposed at Barlow. We have been designing our communities for cars fro the past 50 years. The pendulum has been swinging the other way in many cities, and our citizens are asking for the same. –Bob Otwell, TART Trails

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We were perplexed and disappointed when we recently learned that the resurfacing project slated for the spring of this year for 8th St. between Garfield and Barlow does not include bike lanes or any new safe crossings for pedestrians. Please pay particular attention to the East 8th St. plans and be sure they are implemented in such a way that support our Master Plan and the overwhelming demand for safe bike and pedestrian use.  The long-term gain of doing this well will be greater than the short-term pain of potentially needing to take more time or even to spend more money. –Jennifer Jay

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To me, bicycling is a way of life. I own a car and frequently drive it, but I also bike and walk as much as possible. “Everything in moderation.” I recently moved to the east end of Eighth Street, the section that was put on a “road diet” last year. What a great neighborhood! We have bike lanes and the traffic is much calmer with two lanes plus a turn lane than it is on the four-lane sections of Eighth. I feel much safer biking or crossing the street here than I do anywhere else on Eighth, and it has helped restore some of the “small town charm” that is Traverse City.–Kate Jaquish

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The Traverse City Master Plan, which the Michigan Land Use Institute heartily endorsed when it was redone last year, also calls for streets that accommodate pedestrians and cyclists safely. It is important that the city follow its own master plan, because it reflects the wishes of the community.  It begs the question: if we’re not going to follow the plan, why have one in the first place?…Furthermore, study after study clearly shows that the young, new economy workers of the 21st century are drawn to places where they can easily live without having to drive a car for their daily commute.  If we as a city truly want to compete in this new environment, we must do everything we can to accommodate these young professionals, who are looking for such attributes in a place to live.”– Brian Beauchamp, Michigan Land Use Institute

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I am urging you all to have the forward thinking to include a bike lane on 8th Street as part of the repaving plan.  Those cities with healthy and safe alternative transportation options are the true cities of the future.  The time is now!–Kim Gribi

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Traverse City has beautiful natural resources to offer; a healthy and picturesque environment, away from big city stress. People visit and move here to relax and breathe…To support them and to create more value for the people working in tourism, a working net of bike lanes and street crossings will help to increase these values. The backbone of a working city is the infrastructure. With times changing and becoming more diverse than individual car transport, it is eminent to set the stage for new possibilities.–Sally Trombly

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Please join us for one of the largest cycling events in Traverse City

At the Traverse City Commission Meeting discussion about the 2010 8th Street debacle

Monday, February 8 at 7:00pm
400 Boardman Avenue Traverse City, MI – 2nd Floor

Click Here to Email all City Commissioners

A pre-gathering of neighbors and citizens is meeting at 8th and Fern at 5:30 for coffee, hot chocolate, friends, and then walking, riding or otherwise moving to the meeting. Details at Facebook Event http://bit.ly/dzB9av or Traverse Alive

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If you see something you like, please subscribe to this BLOG’s feed and also pass this link on to a friend.