My Wheels are Turning

Calling it Friday and Surfing Chicks & Bikes on the Hammock.

Today I’m bringing you the chatter and then unplugging for a four-day hiatus from MyWHaT. I may post a few Tweets or posts on Facebook, but the next post will be on Tuesday. Come visit me on the front porch or wherever my hammock ends up.

There’s plenty here today, so I think you will have plenty to read.

Weekly Chatter

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Seeking comment, support & ideas! People, Roads & Rail

• Thanks to MyWHaT guest contributor, the level of understanding about one-ways vs. two-ways is rising. Let the city management know you support a conversion back.

• The Motor City needs your voice in support of Complete Streets & you don’t need to be a city resident.

• MODT taking comment on State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)…The introduction to this is telling, as they are whining about $$$. Despite costs, the agency still promotes new, wider and single use dedicated roads.

• MDOT is also soliciting comments on the State Rail Plan. M-Live has makes a good point: include roll on bike service. MDOT will kick off there public meetings on rail in TC on September 22.

Chit-Chat

Yeah, it's a BLOG I visit: Chicks & Bikes

• Streetcars everywhere! Why not? Plus, a place with a plan: Grand Rapids’ Street Car Plan. Traverse City once had a plan as well…it failed.

• There’s another way…How we unnecessarily tax the capacity of our roads. “Rather than plan new roads, most traffic engineers are working to spread traffic out more evenly.”

• Free parking subsidies for city employees being axed in SF. Should it be considered in TC?

• Californian walkers getting extra time to cross intersections. The clock is ticking. Still, isn’t 3.5 mph fast for a grandma?
  

• Black Rock City, home of Burning Man, has become an example of the resilient, self reliant city, despite being perceived as consisting of NPRAOD. It’s impressive, a 50,000 person city that barely leaves a trace.

• The bicycling boom is generating a backlash in NY, but in the UK: “Cyclists! The public thinks you’re cool and normal“

TwitterVille

• “The true failure of suburbia: a landscape in which automobile use is a prerequisite to social viability” #duany #platerzyberk #smartgrowth (@jimbruckb)
• The Zipper Merge and Civil Society: Jon Stewart talking to Drew Barrymore: JS: To me, the hallmark of civilization… (@tomvanderbilt)
• Creepy, but still, a good practice, I think: Corpses Used as Crash Test Dummies:  (@FreeRangeKid)
  
• If you think gas taxes pay for roads, you’re just not reality based. Not even close: ( @pwthornton) We will revisit this one for sure…

20-mph is Just Fine

To wrap, 20-mph is fast enough for me, you and everyone. Cities are finding that 20-mph through neighborhoods reduce crashes and fatalities, and create for better places. And, the beauty of it, motorists still get to where their going without the world blowing up. What they’ve discovered in the UK is that not only do the streets become safer for all users, but traffic actually becomes more efficient. The following StreetFilm’s video explores the concept with the UK’s 20′s Plenty for Us campaign, Rod King.

Top Posts from MyWHaT this Week:

• A One-Way Desert of Parking: State Street
• One-way & Two-way Streets Reflect a Community’s Priorities
• Conversion of a City’s One-way Street back to a Two-Way Begins with an Ask
  
• Sense of place: Traverse City needs an ‘SOB Square’

Spotting Social Trails

Social trail along Fair St. looking north towards NMC’s entrance.

This social trail caught my eye for the little bend towards the road. On this busy neighborhood street, most people are resistant to walk in what we assume are people’s front yards. So, they take to the streets. However, just because there is no sidewalk present doesn’t mean that the public right of way doesn’t exist. On a busier street, the view south at this point would still have a social trail as people would refuse to walk in the street. South to 8th Street there is no sidewalk.

The view south. Nice lawns, but it remains the public right of way.

This sidewalk is obviously well-traveled. The school, restaurant, church and civic center are all attractions. What we aren’t seeing when we accept this lack of infrastructure is the inequality that it promotes. Imagine traversing this with crutches, a wheel chair, as an 8 or 80-year-old. Or, with your shoes tied together. Then, going the rest of the way to 8th Street along the street. In this case, it’s not what makes for a walkable city.

The adjacent property owners may not initially like it, but this goes on my ‘priority sidewalk‘ list.

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ATTENTION: Are you seeing social trails in Traverse City? The city engineer is currently collecting data on the existing sidewalk network (or lack thereof) and has asked for help in spotting social trails. The social trails will help prioritize where the city constructs sidewalks for the coming decade. I’ve started to collect some (Flickr photo Set) and have written about a few, but I know there are more out there. If you want to send comment with a location, I will get an image and send it on to the city engineer. Or, send an image and description to him and the city planner directly (copy MyWHaT as well so we can keep a running list).

It should be noted, the criteria for prioritization will also consider the size and volumes of streets and whether the proposed sidewalk would fill a missing link, not just social trail placement.

sidewalks won’

Happy spotting and shooting.

A Call to Inaction

Friday September 17th is International PARK(ing) Day.

Traverse City residents are ready to take part and we have plenty of downtown parking. (The waters were tested back in August). Due to scheduling conflicts, it’s proposed that TC hold a PARK(ing) event two-days before the world, on Wednesday September 15th.

Hump Day needs more activity anyway.

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A preliminary PARK(ing) Event on Front St. (photo: GLHowe)

Interested? Can you Take Back Your Time somewhere 10am-2pm on September 15th?

If you are, leave a comment or send me an email. This will largely be self organized, but MyWHaT can offer coordination. A few ideas have already been generated, but I’m personally interested in what many of you can come up with.

What is PARK(ing) Day?

The following is from the creators’ DIY planning network website:

“PARK(ing) Day is an annual worldwide event that inspires city dwellers everywhere to transform metered parking spots into temporary public parks for the public good.”

Fair enough…now, what does can it look like?

PARK(ing) Day: User-Generated Urbanism from Brandon Bloch on Vimeo.

Original concept of PARK(ing) Day by Rebar. www.rebargroup.org. Thank you for sharing.

Related Articles

• Park(ing) Day and Climate Branding (worldchanging.com)
• 700 parking spaces to be transformed into parks (globaltvbc.com)
• NYC Summer Streets 2010, Opening Up Park Avenue (laughingsquid.com)

Plug for Tour de Tart

A couple share a light moment & snack at the first food stop in 2009. (Photo Gary L Howe)

The 2009 Tour de TART was my first experience with the event. It sent me on a quest for combining food and biking , which I have tried to live up to this past year (See Below for Will Bike to Food written for Edible Grande Traverse, Fall 2009).

2010 is the 10th year of the event and it happens tonight. If you’re not registered, there is still an opportunity. The ride begins between 4pm and 6:30 and is a one-way, 19 mile ride from Traverse City following the Leelanau trail to Suttons Bay’s marina park for an assortment of food. There are also food breaks along the route. It’s a casual, festive, social ride.

And, feel free to stuff yourself, because TART provides a bus ride, with your bike, back into Traverse beginning at 7PM. The course starts at the EuroStop Cafe at the old railway depot.

For more information, visit TART’s website or call 231.941.4300.

Riders of all ages & abilities end up in Suttons Bay for a meal in the park. (photo: Gary L Howe)

Full Disclosure: TART Trails is an underwriter of MyWHaT and I have a fondness for consuming happy calories, like ice cream, after a long bike ride.

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Will Bike for Food, Fall 2009

(digital proof quality)

Traverse City planning commission meeting • Tonight, Wednesday Aug. 4, 2010 at 7PM in commission chambers, 2nd floor in the Governmental Center. Agenda (PDF)

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Barlow and Centre St., looking south.

Barlow Street example

Barlow St. is a 2011 poster child for incomplete streets. It’s currently designed primarily  for automobile use despite a concentration of car-less residents living on and traveling through this part of town. It demonstrates a handful of head-scratching designs like adjacent sidewalks to nowhere, no sidewalks where social trails exist, narrow shoulders that are dangerous to walk and lack of any communication that people belong. It’s not the only incomplete street in the city, but it is a very telling example.

It’s confounding that this project was first conceived without people on foot in mind. This type of improvement shouldn’t even be up for debate. It was the planning commission that asked for it to be delayed (originally slated for 2010) and reconsidered as a more complete street.

2011 Street projects

It’s not the best time of the year to attend public meetings, but tonight’s Traverse City planning commission meeting may prove instructive. For the first time in most people’s memory, this volunteer board will be reviewing & advising staff, as well as the city commission, on how the following year’s planned street projects fulfill or fail to fulfill the master plan. They reviewed the 2010 street projects, but only after the 8th Street kerfuffle revealed a lack of attention to the master plan and empathy for different modes of travel.

(Click for larger view)

Tonight’s meeting is an attempt to not be caught off-guard like they were this past spring. The neighborhoods have been asking for more than just car-centered infrastructure for over a decade, at the least. There was considerable frustration when money was finally allocated for intensive street projects and sidewalks, bike lanes are other complete street facilities were all but forgotten.

After tonight, staff proposals & commitment for 2011 will be more clear.

Earlier in the year (June 15), the city commission and planning commission held a joint meeting where they toured these locations by bus. Tonight should reflect the discussions that occurred that night and in subsequent discussions.

The locations and original proposals from June 15 are:

1. Elmwood Ave. (north of Front St.): maintain current width, waterline and sewer improvements, poor sections of sidewalk fixed, new sidewalk east of Wayne on north side and a change at the Bay St. entrance to reduce high-speed corner taking.
2. Randolph St. (east of Elmwood Ave.): current dimensions, partial sewer replacement, sidewalk repairs.
3. Barlow St. (north of 8th St.): basically a mill and fill, sidewalk repairs. No additional improvements.
4. Barlow St. (between Centre and Carver St): Originally planned for 2010 without sidewalks.
5. Kelly St.(between Grant and Barlow St): pave it, new sewer. Sidewalks not included in proposal.
6. Shawnee St.(between Wenonah and E Bay Blvd): pave it and add curb. Sidewalks not included in proposal.

* All sidewalk ramps will be replaced or built to meet American Disability Act requirements.

A little citizen oversight

The 2010 street projects included some last-minute improvements thanks in part to the effort of the planning commission. Airport Access Rd., Hannah St. and even the 8th Street project all benefited from citizen oversight.  Airport Access now has a wider shoulder, the western most block of Hannah St. now has sidewalks on both sides and 8th Street at least has some improved crosswalks.

It can only be expected the same, or better, will occur with advanced diligence.

Have any suggestions for any of these streets?

More images from Barlow St. (south side)

In front of the Grand Traverse Area Community Living Apartments, looking south.

Standing at the Carver St. intersection, looking north.

Woman walking east on Centre St. No sidewalk, semi-busy traffic and heavy pedestrian traffic.Technically not on the list for 2011, but very similar to Kelly St. one block north.

Complete the streets!

Monday Rant (+1)

Doubling-up on a post today…first a short P-Deck rant and below that, thoughts about Ian Lockwood’s visit to talk roundabouts.

City opens new party hall for 522 cars

At 10:30-am, the city will have a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate another temple of worship to the parked car. Once open, the The Old Town parking deck will host daily services M-F, with smaller observances held over the weekends.

I have an inner conflict with our p-decks. I actually like p-decks as a curiosity & have purposefully parked at the top of them for the chance to drive through them. It’s exciting to see the innards of a structure so open. Besides the novelty, they are also touted as a smart growth tool to increase density by replacing surface lots, which isn’t a bad thing. However, as they are operated in Traverse City, our P-Decks continue to encourage/accept/support/enable an over-reliance on single occupant automobile commuting. It’s been about expanding parking while capturing/spending TIF money downtown, meanwhile citizens have to beg for a sidewalk on a street like Barlow (FYI, that project has now been indefinitely postponed).

Construction progress photo, July 2, 2010 (by CWS)

It’s all fine-and-well that the Old Town P-Deck is LEED certified, is embraced as saving the city from a Hagerty Insurance move and promises a gold nugget to every city resident…but really, big whoopee.

Is there a phrase about a pig & lipstick that I could use?

Parking in Traverse City remains an under-valued commodity. Street parking remains so cheap that there is little incentive to use our parking decks, let alone pay the meter, and, from my napkin calculations, the $370 annual permit for a single space in the parking deck covers about 25-35% of the construction & maintenance cost of that single space per year. If the spaces are empty, the costs remain. We are subsidizing the parking of cars with the current structure & system. We do so while also increasing the opportunity for more car traffic on our limited street network and increasing the need for major, ugly, inhospitable intersections on the corners of our city.

Ahh, this is a rant for another day…ribbon cutting ceremonies are for looking ahead to a brighter future. I just wish that we could find a quarter of the amount the city is about to allocate for the next sexy DDA project, the West Front P-Deck, to build, fix or maintain a sidewalk without a fight. Perhaps if we charged adequate amounts for parking, we could use the proceeds to invest in our neighborhoods and build some infrastructure that moves us away from being a city that gathers to celebrate temples for cars.

In the meantime, be ready to continue to fight like hell for basics of city service, like crosswalks, bike lanes, sidewalks and bus stops. Despite being less costly transportation solutions, these facilities remain a struggle….uhg.

I’m looking for local parking gurus…the p-deck Kool-Aid offered so far isn’t working.

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Traffic calming and roundabout discussions

A bicyclist navigates a roundabout Olympia, Washington. Notice the ramps for bicyclists. Photo: Dan Burden•www.pedbikeimages.org.

A more productive event today is transportation engineer Ian Lockwood’s forum. He specializes in traffic calming measures, in particular handling corridors like Division St. that have high traffic flow while running through context sensitive areas like our own Division St., Grandview Parkway or even 8th Street.

Lockwood was here this past spring to lead a public charrette for rethinking Division St. & one for Grandview. After balancing all the diverse set of community needs, he proposed a series of roundabouts as the main option to ameliorate the four areas of concern: safety, accessibility, context and quality.

The community is asking for a corridor that provides for a diverse set of mobility options, that is safe, convenient and has a sense of place. Many argue that as the entrance to our city, Division St. needs to communicate loudly, “Greetings! Welcome to Traverse City where we value neighborhoods. Show some freaking respect and slow down and share the damn road.”

Or, something like that.

Lockwood isn’t here to talk about Division St. He is here to provide insight to traffic calming, including, but not limited to, roundabouts.  The main event, which will also include a presentation by MDOT, is this evening from 4:30-6pm at the Hagerty Center and before the city commission at  7-pm at the government center.

Engineered Roundabout at Grandview & Division St.

MyWHaT has dedicated a lot of time to roundabouts since the spring, and this author still maintains that for Division St., it is an elegant compromise. A series of roundabouts could go a long way in improving the conditions of the corridor. Roundabouts are also a major development out of the Bayfront Planning Initiative, despite consistently being played down as a distant option by city staff they are a way to Put the Park back into the Parkway. There are a number of other locations where roundabouts would improve conditions.

The resources are available for everyone to reach an informed consent on roundabouts and MyWHaT has a growing list of resources on roundabouts to help, including the well populated map of Michigan roundabouts. Going on a road trip? Check the map and see if you can include a roundabout experience.

It’s posted at the resource page, but this cheesy government PSA from Carmel, Indiana is a useful introduction to roundabouts. It also answers why this Midwestern town has embraced them to the count of over 50.

NOTE: Are you feeling the schedule crunch? Do you sense a surplus of events, actions and stuff to pay attention to, participate in and in general ‘do’? Here at MyWHaT, we promote a Take Back Your Time approach. It’s better for us all if more people accepted that they can’t do it all. As said before, a basic rule for everyday: cancel one thing on the to-do list, everyday. Doesn’t matter whether if it’s big or small. It will all even out in the end. You’ll be more effective and our public space will have one less stressed out person.

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Now that the disclaimer is out-of-the-way, here are some upcoming events/actions/issues to schedule beach and hammock time around:

• Contact MI State Senate Transportation Comm (Today • Anytime via email): MI Complete Streets Coalition is asking supporters of complete street policy to contact senators before a Wednesday transportation committee hearing on current legislation. They’ve provided an explanation of the bills, a sample letter of support and contact information. 1-2-3, easy as pie.

• Michigan By Rail Public Forum (Thursday July 22 • 7-9PM @ Civic Center): Did you participate in the Grand Vision workshops? This forum will be similar and participants will be asked to draw the vision for Michigan’s future railway network. Where do you want to go by rail? Grand Rapids? Ann Arbor? This is an excellent opportunity, because the federal transportation department is asking MDOT to update it’s 35-year-old rail plan through the The federal Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008.

• Modern Roundabout Presentation (Monday July 26 • 4-6:30PM @ Hagerty Center): MyWHaT has provided tons-o-resources about the modern roundabout, including a map of Michigan’s Roundies. TC is stepping-up the effort to educate & ease the predictable skepticism. With the help of area agencies, the city has invited engineer Ian Lockwood from AECOM, to provide insight about roundabouts. This is a free educational presentation, including input from MDOT, about the benefits and issues around the modern roundabout. Later in the evening, he will be presenting to the TC City Commission.

• Auto*mate, a dangerous doc at TCFF (Saturday July 31 • 6PM @ Milliken Auditorium): The Traverse City Film Festival is an excellent celebration of public space. The number of people who spend the entire week downtown is astounding. MyWHaT wants to point out one film in particular, Auto*mate which details the movement in Prague to reclaim the streets. described by the film as “an initiative created as a call to arms for the citizens of Prague to band together for a healthier and livelier city.” There’s talk of a group ride along Front St./US-31 to the film. Get your tickets, more info to come.

I probably missed something. Feel free to chime in with an addition with a comment.

I’m consistently surprised by the resources available to citizens in northern Michigan. The latest source of tools brought to my attention are these planning and zoning guides published by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments.

Understanding and getting involved with community planning process is arguable the most effective way to influence community developments. We often react to a problem after it is well underway. Sometimes that is for lack of transparency and communication from government agencies, but often it is due to lack of planning literacy.

If needed, a review may be published in the near future.

The following documents are available for download at the links:

• Citizen’s Guide to Planning & Zoning
• Getting Involved fact sheet
• Master Plans fact sheet
• Who’s Who fact sheet
• Zoning Fact Sheet

Release from the NWCOG:

As part of the New Designs for Growth program, the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments is pleased to announce the release of planning resource guides for those that would like to become involved in the planning process.

These documents are intended to provide basic information to citizens that haven’t been closely involved in the planning process, but would like to learn more about how the process works in their community. Included in this attachment are four fact sheets outlining basic planning information, as well A Citizen’s Guide to Planning and Zoning, which is a longer document for those that would like more detailed information.

Please note that this is introductory information only, and citizens are encouraged to take advantage of other resources that are identified in the documents.

We encourage you to share these documents with anyone that might be interested. If you’d like to obtain hard copies of A Citizen’s Guide, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.Sarah Lucas, AICP, Regional Planner NWMCOG, sarahlucas@nwm.cog.mi.us

Part of the MyWHaT endeavor is to be as engaged in planning processes in the region. Currently, I serve on the steering committee guiding the Bayfront Design (Being presented July 19). I’m also involved with developing the parks and recreation master plan, as well as the subcommittee developing the transportation elements for the master plan. Needless to say, I look forward to looking through these resources for some advice.

Will you use these documents? How?

Am I the only one who doesn’t text message with my thumbs? Regardless of how you text, it’s now illegal to do it while under the influence of driving a motor vehicle. Heads-up, eyes on the road.

This video is part of the roll out of the “thumbs on the wheel” campaign. Starting July 1st, a $100 citation is possible for texting behind the wheel . A more likely scenario is that you crash into something.

Keep your heads up people, it could be worse.

A local “Hands Across the Sand” event is  planned for tomorrow (June 26). The group is asking for people to join them in creating a human line extending from the mouth of the Boardman River west past the volleyball courts.

“Hands Across the Sand” is a national demonstration to bring attention to the dangers of offshore drilling and call on leaders to end our oil dependence and move America into a clean energy future.

Those who wish to participate are asked to arrive between 11 & 11:45 for a noontime demonstration. For more information, call June Thaden, 947-1800 947-8476.

There are other Michigan events planned as well.

This video from an event in Florida reminds me of a human oil spill boom. Which appears to be the goal, to create ‘a solid wall of opposition to offshore drilling in Florida‘.