MyWHaT

No news coverage of the 8th Street issue as there is little news to cover. It’s moving forward.

The Chatter:

The City will vote to hire the firm URS to prepare the engineering & design behind Your Bay, Your Say. The decision was in large part based on the walkability expertise they bring to the table.

• Exploring Boardman Lake Trail
  
• Dan Burden audits the Walkable U.P.
• TVC to Denver from MI’s 4th largest airport
• Go Utah! Yield at stops for bikes
• If only Obama did say this…
  
• U.S. Driving more,  yet
• FHWA sees increased active transportation
• While Toyota Sucks fumes (testimonial)
• The Hummer dies, so now what?
  
• Can you see yourself in one of these?
• Or, do you go straight to the jet pack…
• motor vehicles -greatest contributor to climate crisis
• Streetfilms: Fixing the that Great Mistake
• Some ask: Raise My Taxes, Please! (& provide choices)
  
• Sustainable Communities, finally a cross-dept. priority for Feds
  
• Even the Federal Transit Administration is talking livability

To wrap up, as Traverse City aims to connect to the bay using the Your Bay Your Say (PDF) St. Louis is joining other smaller and larger cities in reclaiming their most valuable real estate. There it is about Reconnecting the City to the River where City to River aims to demolish I-70 that runs through downtown. The group announces on their Web site:“In 1964 the front door of St. Louis was closed. It is time we reopen it.“

Traverse City is not the only place where ‘place’ reclaiming is taking place.

P.S. Some interesting job opportunities:

• National Environment America’s Transportation Advocate
• Michigan Complete Streets Project Coordinator (via health dept.)
• In Traverse City, Executive Director at TART Trails

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UPDATE: 9:05AM, Clarifications

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Yesterday, the city met with MDOT executive director Kirk Steudle in Lansing. There isn’t much detail to report, but based on comments by MDOT’s North Region manager Rise Rasch to the TC Transportation Elements Committee last night, options for an improved 8th Street between Barlow and Garfield are still on the table for 2010.

That’s the good news.

The bad news: the process is now in a bureaucratic maze & the public won’t know if there is positive movement for at least 2 weeks.In that time, the city’s role will be to provide a list of specific improvements sought. They should already have a robust list from public comments and the TART conceptual design.

The minimum boils down to bike lanes without road widening & pedestrian cross walk improvements–both of which can be done with paint and a change of priorities.

It’s a positive that MDOT understands the process failed and is willing to work with the city. Their role will be to facilitate conversations with the local Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) office who is the final arbitrator regarding the stimulus money and the  contract.

Is all of this necessary? Probably not. It was never going to be pretty. At the same time, the commission and staff of Traverse City are both admitting that the process failed. That has a created a window of opportunity for public input that may have lasting impact–they want positive public participation.

Without taking our eyes off of the short term issue of 8th Street, the neighborhoods need to be more vigilante in expressing what we want and then following through by guiding the commission and staff. The challenge is to make it as fun as possible.

This coming week is a good time to remind the city that we are expecting an answer on 8th Street and that we are also available to help make it happen. We also need to make clear that we remain active in helping to shift the priorities of the city from a car-centric approach to a model that elevates pedestrians and bike commuters as the priority.

The city is spending a lot of its budget on street improvements, they need to be creating a better place when they do it.

NOTE: Thanks to Fred Schaafsma from Cherry Capital Cycling Club for the rat busting through the maze. It’s a reminder to not get bogged down by all the rules and regulations. And, as Fred put it, “Never, Ever Give Up!  Remember, the difference between success and failure is that failure gives up when success is in sight.“

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