MyWHaT

Even though MyWHaT is near the end of the second week of publishing since coming of a month-long break, I’m still in a bit of reflection mode. One question that has hung around is scope of content, in particular a question of the range MyWHaT should cover organizationally and regionally. The year-end survey offers some perspective from the readers vantage point.

Another Organization?

It’s refreshing that 25% of readers see no need for major changes, and the 34% of respondents expressing that they’d like to see MyWHaT expand its organizational capacities, perhaps forming a new organization, is surprising. Northwest Lower Michigan already has a considerable amount of brain-trust working within the non-profit world. It is not clear that another non-profit operating on a shoe-string budget would add anything to the discussion. My suspicion is that it might actually limit the discussion. At this time, that isn’t something being considered, but I’m interested to learn more why some of you thought it was a good direction.

Do you see a need for another non-profit in NW Lower Michigan advocating for public space?

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More Regional Focus?

Another 13% from the survey desired an expansion of content on MyWHaT “to include a broader, regional focus.” At this time, this seems more attainable, albeit more labor intensive for an editorial board of one.

Originally, MyWHaT was created with an intent to focus on Traverse City because 1) information is more readily available 2) the political culture is better understood and 3) a belief that what happens within the City has ripple effect in the greater region. More importantly, Traverse City is where this writer spends about 95% of his time; it’s what I know.

Glenn Wolff Map of SBHT

Still, it is understood that projects and issues do occur within a 5-county region that involve public space and impact us all. In actuality, a lot of positive things are happening outside of Traverse City. For instance, Suttons Bay is redesigning the MDOT highway that runs through its town to be more accommodating for people not in cars. Acme (GTRLC) and Elmwood Townships are using their shoreline development projects as incentives to likewise ameliorate the highways running through their communities. And, MyWHaT underwriter TART Trails is working its booty off raising the needed funds to complete the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (TART).

Expanding the regional is something I can do; with help.

Two Kinds of Assistance Needed

There are of course less than appealing projects going on outside of the City. The point today isn’t to dissect them. The point of today’s post is to ask for your help. In order to provide commentary, whether it be supportive or critical, of issues outside of Traverse City your assistance is required. Two things that would help, chief among them is information.

If you are engaged in your local government or simply aware of the needs as an individual or through an organization, send me a message with as much information as you can provide (you can also always find that link in the side-bar). Or, better yet, consider writing a guest contribution to MyWHaT. Past performance shows that readership spikes with guest contributors, so there are readers for you–although, not sure what that says about regular daily posts…hmmm? 

Do you have some intel about projects outside of Traverse City?

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A second way to help besides providing intel is a financial subscription to the blog. If you in any way enjoy and find useful the commentary and curating that occurs on MyWHaT and would like to see it expand, your financial contribution will help. Donations, which can now be given as a monthly subscription, provide both a needed and appreciated stipend for the time put into the blog, but also provide equally needed and appreciated positive feedback that what is published on MyWHaT is on the right track. As always, thank you for your support!

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Contributions greatly appreciated; the beagles thank you.

If your organization or business would like to join as an underwriter, please send me a message. 

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A couple of weeks ago, Traverse City kicked off a public phase of what has been dubbed the corridor study. The project objective is to come away with revitalization plans for 5 of the City’s most infamous streets. Garfield Ave., Eighth St., Fourteenth St., E. Front and W. Front are included in the study being conducted by Houseal Lavigne Associates, a firm that specializes in “Community Planning, Urban Design, and Economic Development.“

Yes, we’ve seen these processes before and many have not come to fruition. For example, the City invested tens-of-thousands of dollars and countless citizen volunteer hours into a model for easing the negatives on Division St. (CS:CC) and Grandview Parkway (MW) in 2010 and 2011. Both those plans are sitting on a shelf somewhere and the mere mention of the “R” word makes the commissioners and staff quiver in their saddles (click here for an overview of the R word).

Yet, this corridor project, funded by a federal livability grant, has potential and is a worthy cause. An 8th St. revitalization would be a game-changer and Garfield Ave. is, relatively speaking, an easy one. Despite my nature, I remain optimistic.

The first meeting held on January 11 had a healthy, mostly positive showing of citizens who understand the issue is greater than moving traffic. Most of the comments expressed were about redesigning the corridors into better places, and in turn, places that better serve the needs of residents and visitors alike. It is early in the process, so we might as well dream big.

Public input is a major part of the process and you can do so online by making your asset map.

Have you made your planner map yet?  What do you trust will happen?

Click through to start your own map

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Contributions greatly appreciated.

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As some undoubtedly noticed, MyWHaT the blog has been on a bit of a hiatus. The past month was a necessary  distancing from the project that had become a compulsion almost every morning. As the main contributor, I was a tad fried and to be honest, I simply needed some sleep.

This takes more time than I care to admit. The blog, social media content, research, tracking of meetings, and occasional advocate role associated with MyWHaT can easily dominate. That’s not a complaint; it has been a rewarding experience over the last two years. We’ve seen some payoff on the ground with better design, better policy, better process, better participation.

People who otherwise would only be ranting at home and within their own circle are reaching out to engage in the community. They are doing so, in part, because they are motivated by information and discussion made accessible via MyWHaT. As was written to me concerning the impact of the blog:

It is one of the sites necessary to knowing what is happening in T.C., why bike-ability and walk-abilty matter, and why consciously designing our community spaces is important.”

It’s good to know that perspective is out there and thank you to the people “out-there” that have helped provide the perspective, knowledge and support to make it successful.

As I warm back-up the keyboard, I would like to re-visit some of what this project attempts to do and what it has done. A special thank you to everyone who took the time to answer the 2011 MyWHaT Reader Survey that has provided some tea-leaves to consider the past and what’s to come. In the near future, I’ll lay out ideas for moving forward, but for now I’d like to explore the intention.

MyWHaT aspires to…

…Facilitate learning & questioning for the potential of public spaces and to bring to attention how the design of those spaces shapes our lives–whether we intend it to or not. If we aren’t designing for people, it won’t be for people.

…Build a network of people discussing these issues in a constructive, positive and actionable way. Readers of MyWHaT have shown a propensity to carry ideas into a wider community. The replies to the first question of the 2011 reader survey suggests we are achieving this objective.

…Inspire possibilities for action and for being the change you wish to see. Again, the survey suggests MyWHaT is influencing people’s behavior. 28% of the survey respondents said a post or comment on MyWHaT inspired them to alter their “use of public space” including how they move around.  There has been a handful of people express that a post opened up the possibility for them of walking to work–that’s heart-warming. A fine measure of community is the number of people who walk to work.

…Encourage engagement of readers to represent the interest of the commons at public meetings, through letters of support or directly volunteering for an issue. Ultimately, the championing of our public spaces needs to reach those making and guiding the decisions–the elected and appointed officials, government and agency staffs and other luminaries that hold influence over the former. Again, from the survey, 30% of MyWHaT readers were moved to contact public officials on one or more issues. 24% did so in person and 5% had enough of other people representing them and actually stepped-up to sit on a local board or commission. If you can’t serve, adopt someone holding a seat of power and offer your advice directly.

Happy 2012! Two days in and so far so good.  We’re still on winter break here, but wanted to share some of the numbers from 2011.

Winter riding, finally here.

There were 376 posts last year and a total of 886 posts since the MyWHaT launch in 2010. There have been over 2,000 reader comments in that time span as well.

The busiest day of 2011 was October 26th with over 700 views with a post titled: What is wrong with Gary Howe? (That helps the self-esteem). However, the most viewed post from 2011 belongs to a graphic post titled: My Car Sucks $7,000 A Year Out Of The Local Economy…Sorry.

Other posts with high unique hit counts involved Traverse City’s proposed W. Boardman Lake Ave. The pros and cons of W. Boardman Lake Ave. and Megan Old’s guest post BLA: Let’s Call A Spade A Spade being the top two on that subject.

The Bayfront Plans also attracted attention for the discussion around phase one at Clinch Park and the fate of the mini-train ride.

Guest contributors continued to attract readers. Former Mayor Chris Bzdok’s Shedding Discrimination: Eventually, we’ll all just be neighbors and Joel Gaff’s Sharing Streets With Angry People: The Front St. Incident were in the top 10 in terms of hits.

The Other Side of the School Car-line, Beware of the Very Unforgiving Door Zone… Seriously, and A Baaaa-d-Ass Traffic Calming Device rounded off the most visited list for 2011. The resource page Michigan Roundabouts & Resources also continues to attract interest.

The 2011 MyWHaT Survey will close this week, so if you want to contribute your perspective on this blog and its future direction, I invite you to do so today. The responses so far have surpassed expectations…thank you!

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(Survey will pop-up and if you have trouble, use this link: MyWHaT Reader Survey)

In the meantime, winter break continues. Instead of writing, I’ll be “sticking” some under-viewed posts, and a few reader recommendations, from last year to the front page this week.

If you’re itching for Citizen engagement opportunities, this week the City Commission votes on the 2012 Clinch Park plan (Tues., 6pm), the Planning Commission considers the CVS Pharmacy project (Wed., 7pm) and TC’s Parks and Recreation Commission discusses goals for 2012 (Thurs., 6:30).

Go play in the snow! 

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MyWHaT: More Good Than Harm.

Ways to stay in touch

• Send me message and introduce yourself.
• Subscribe to receive email feeds of future posts (upper right corner).
• Follow me on Twitter (no sabbatical there).
• Follow MyWHaT on Facebook.

Thank you

Screen-grab via my inbox…Community Partners for Dog Parks is on it! 

Happy Holidays!

Despite having a full Santa sack of City projects (MyWHaT) to crank about over the next couple of weeks, I’m taking the prudent advice to take a year-end break. A sabbatical of sorts that involves stocking the fridge with holiday cheer, having a healthy book list (Amazon) at the ready, playing a little ping-pong and other mischief I can rustle-up.

Please take a lightning quick survey, click

I’m also asking relying on MyWHaT supporters for feed back during this time. It really does help.

I’ve now been writing, editing and curating resources for the blog for two years. It was intended as an outlet for the material that was occupying my brain, energy and time; it quickly became a public forum and a source of information for around 400 unique visitors per day. Not astronomical numbers, but certainly readers. The numbers have surpassed the goals set in 2010.

So, no matter when you started reading, even if it was yesterday, please take one minute out of your day and complete the following survey. If you have more to say after that send me a message or invite me out for a coffee/beer. One of the biggest rewards from publishing this blog is meeting the people who share passion for well designed, people orientated public spaces.

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(Survey will pop-up and if you have trouble, use this link: MyWHaT Reader Survey)

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Ways to stay in touch

• Send me message and introduce yourself.
• Subscribe to receive email feeds of future posts (upper right corner).
• Follow me on Twitter (no sabbatical there).
• Follow MyWHaT on Facebook.

If  MyWHaT has been valuable or entertaining, consider a contribution. Financial help in the past has ranged from $5-$500 and the average is around $90. More important than the amount, a donation validates the effort behind MyWHaT and its value to the community; it makes me relax a little, smile more and feel like I’m at the least, as one contributor says, “doing more good than harm.”

MyWHaT: More Good Than Harm. 

Thank you

UPDATE: Tonight’s meeting is at 7:00 P.M. in the Commission Chambers at the Governmental Center, 2nd Floor

Announcement

Tonight’s planning commission meeting will address the request by CVS for conditional zoning at the property at the NE corner of Front and Division St.  The plans submitted by CVS Pharmacy are for a store footprint of 13,225-square-feet drug store and a 56 space parking lot. In addition, the company is looking for a variance to accommodate a drive-thru window. They will also need an allowance for the larger footprint than is now allowed.

Click for larger view

The City has no strong zoning to restrict parking lot size in this area, however, a trade-off for a reduced parking lot footprint to allow a drive-thru wouldn’t be the end of the world. I’d recommend that the City really demand some proof that a 56-space lot is necessary for more than marketing schemes. CVS, and other large box-store pharmacies, prefer large empty parking lots in part because it gives the impression that people can quickly stop into the store and complete their errands; they aren’t meant to fill up. Large parking lots are, however, a deterrent to walkability.

Tonight is the introduction to the planning commission, followed by a public hearing on the conditional rezoning requested on or around January 3rd. Sometime after that, the City Commission will review the planning’s decision.

If you are interested, and want to better understand this project and voice your perspective, it is important that you attend as many of these meetings as you can and/or communicate with the commissioners on planning who are reviewing this project. Communities do have choices and may influence developments; it is not anti-development to do so. The negotiation with the community begins with the planning commission.

Traverse City isn’t tied to the corporate model…what would you prefer?

Above: Different CVS models in Ann Arbor, Detroit and, at the bottom, Spring Hill. The latter is by no means perfect, but the residents of Spring Hill, MI were successful in gaining compromises in the design (AI.com) by being engaged from the beginning of the project. The Detroit CVS parking lot is, obviously, something that we want to avoid at all costs.

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A description of tonight’s discussion begins on page 38 of the Planning Commission’s packet (PDF)

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Well Put

The worst thing for a city to do is assume that things will always be the way they are because this is the way they have always been. Things are going to change, and if we don’t look forward, we’ll be forever looking backward.”

~ Irene Kennedy and Ed Houdeshel, City Council members from Newark, Ohio

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The above was written in a letter to the Newark Advocate after the paper ran an editorial critical of that city’s complete streets initiative. The Ohio city has since passed a complete streets policy.

Onward and upward across the country.

NOTE: The Complete Streets Coalition arm of the Grand Vision is hosting a discussion over lunch this Wednesday from 12-1. More information here. 

~ Guest Contributor James Bruckbauer, transportation specialist at MLUI brings MyWHaT readers the first look at sweeping new recommendations for BATA. Bruckbauer also writes about transit for the MLUI blog, Our Voices, where a version of this post will appear. 

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The Bay Area Transit Authority unveiled on Wednesday a groundbreaking study aimed at improving our region’s largest bus system. Working with transit consultants Vlecides-Schroeder, recommendations are now in place that, if implemented, will help people get from their homes to jobs and stores. It will help visitors and tourists better connect to and enjoy the region. At the same time, BATA will continue to be a vital service for hundreds of families for daily needs. It could will transform transportation in the region.

It’s called the Transit Service and Coordination Study and it could be one of the most significant pieces to implementing the Grand Vision to date.

You can view it here or in the embed below.

The following recommendations are worth noting:

• Reorganize the Cherriot system: for example, straightening routes, getting rid of inefficiencies, and increasing speed.
• Provide a “campus connector”: create a  service that circulates the city (replacing the Express Route) connecting NMC’s main campus, the University Center, and Munson Hospital.
• Improve Village Connectors: BATA’s “fixed-schedule routes that connect to cities and towns outside TC every hour, possibly extending the hours, and running on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Add Village Connectors: develop two more Village Connectors that would connect Traverse City to Interlochen and the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme.
• Introduce Technology: upgrade the fare system to use card-swipe technology.
• Miscellaneous: other perhaps more obvious recommendations include improving bus stops and their connections to sidewalks and trails, redesigning the agency’s website, and improving overall marketing.

The plan is not perfect; a few lingering questions remain about Cherriot routes in town. For example, Why not run a bus on Division? Is there a strong need to run on Oak St.?

Still, most of the changes would be a dramatic improvement. With these changes, the system would become more attractive for those who want to get around the region without depending on a car, including many commuters.

But we need to be patient; this will take some time. In fact, the agency will still have to turn the recommendations into a solid 5-year plan before it can implement. However, I trust we can get this done.

This study supports the way we want to grow in this region. Our towns and villages will be better shaped and connected to each other, commuters will have more choices, our streets will have less congestion, and our neighborhoods will be healthier.

I’ll try to keep you informed in the coming months on the plan, some of the changes, and what they will mean to you.

Go ride a bus! 

• Village Connector Schedule

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Last year, Ann Arbor passed a crosswalk ordinance that become the model Traverse City used for its recent crosswalk ordinance (TC’s Uniform Traffic Code Section 410.03). It requires all vehicles (including bicycles) to stop for pedestrians in unregulated crosswalks that are marked and posted.

If you haven’t noticed, it is in effect. Any reports from the streets?

Front side of a postcard campaign by Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition

Driver Behavior Remains the Issue

Ann Arbor has had issues with compliance of their law as the privilege associated with driving a car is difficult to change. People behind the wheel are still not readily stopping and there has been an uptick with fender-bender rear ends when someone stops too quickly. Ann Arbor is attempting to improve that with stricter enforcement, enhanced warning systems and perhaps with a slight clarifying of the ordinance language to clarify that a stop is only required if “a pedestrian is stopped at the curb or ramp leading to a crosswalk.” It avoids the vague term of “when approaching” a crosswalk.

Still, authorities in Ann Arbor are discovering that the biggest obstacle to compliance has nothing to do with the ordinance or pedestrians; the biggest issue remains driver behavior. Namely, distracted driving and driving too fast. There is state law to help reduce the former and the latter requires that the city focus on design of the streets to restrict speeds, but also to protect pedestrians with greater use of bump-outs, medians and narrow streets. It appears from the comments by council members, that Ann Arbor’s council is supporting continued improvement in street design guidelines to achieve those ends. Ann Arbor is also attempting to raise the awareness of the ordinance through postcard and ad campaigns, as well as continuing to provide video footage of the experience on the street.

Want to Help

Forces are coming together in Traverse City to begin a PR campaign for our new ordinance, both through the City Planning office and through citizen effort. If you’re interested in lending a talent, an idea or being filmed as you navigate the streets, you can send me a message or contact the planning department to be plugged in. TC resident Marya Tyler is also interested in putting together some short PR videos that will air online and public access. If interested, email at: maryawashingtontyler@hotmail.com

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The following video was effective in helping to get A2′s ordinance passed. (If you need a bit of a pick-me-up in your attitude before your daily walk commute, watch this video).

“We can have a community where we no longer feel invisible as pedestrians– where motorists stop to allow children to cross the street.”

Related Articles:

• Go Team! Policy Changes Need Love Too
• A Stop at Crosswalk Ordinance is Only One Needed Treatment
• Word of the Day: Crosswalk Creeping
• City May Pass Ordinance Requiring Stops at Crosswalks