MyWHaT

Let’s be clear, there is no better traffic calming measure than high numbers of pedestrians and bicycle riders on the streets. That should be the city’s goal…

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Beyond bike lanes, there is a need for Traffic Calming. The recent battle over bike lane inclusion on 8th Street is shorthand for the broader discussion of what it means to treat neighborhoods as places of value. Places with a greater purposes than as a thoroughfares for the primary convenience of automobiles.

Traffic Calming, which falls under the complete street philosophy in Traverse City’s master plan, includes designing places at the human-scale as a priority. This is not only city policy, it is also part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Policy Statement, where they recommend bike & walking amenities to all road projects “unless exceptional circumstances exist.” Where they don’t fit, road diets and other traffic calming measures can suffice.

A 'neckdown' & brick pedestrian crossing in a Toronto neighborhood (Photo: http://www.pedbikeimages.org/ Dan Burden)

Why isn’t it happening?

A legacy issue in Northern Michigan is the ideology that transportation issues are solved in a vacuum. The result is that streets & roads are too often narrowly planned, engineered and, as MDOT’s strangle hold shows, financed.

Current road and street projects are designed to solve a one-dimensional question. What would make this street better for moving motorized vehicles?

There are always choices

City’s have almost limitless possibilities if they can free themselves from myopic constraints and prove the due diligence on value, safety and broader mission fulfillment. Unfortunately, if the culture of creativity and experiment are not part of the leadership in a city, the chances of having innovation as a daily priority of staff is relatively low.

It will take effort, but each new public & private development needs to be judged by the question of “place”. How does project ‘X’ support & encourage the values & the largest number of needs of the community?

For Northern Michigan, where a legacy of “playing it safe & comfortable” is endemic, this means that it is our work/responsibility as neighbors to offer support and incentive to those now in-charge. It is their challenge to accept our support. Let them know that we support stepping out of the box of what has been done in the past.

If they stay stuck and reluctant to alter the status-quo, we should nudge them along and ultimately replace them.

Wasn’t this post about traffic calming?

It’s all connected. In the coming days, weeks and months, MyWHaT will look at different traffic calming devices and designs. Some of them are spot-on and ready for use in Traverse City, while others are further down the road.

The region needs to explore items like chicanes, speed tables, pedestrian bump-outs, narrower lanes, street furniture, arch-ways, street side art, bike boulevards and why it makes sense to eliminate one-way streets downtown.

The goal is to show what is possible and where something might fit.

Despite all the talk at city hall about the goal to make Traverse City a more livable place, the vision of those charged to carry out Master Plan elements like Complete Streets have lacked a vital ingredient: creativity.

Let’s not let that stop us from applying it ourselves and pushing the discussion beyond what is comfortable & known. Many Traffic calming measures are inexpensive-some just need paint-there is no reason to not start implementing them today.  

What’s your favorite traffic calming device?

(Mine is a DIY: I like to park strategically on neighborhood streets to maximize the need for cut-through traffic to “negotiate” obstacles.)

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