MyWHaT

Last week, while walking to work, I had a near civic experience.

I was walking in the narrow one-way street heading into the Grand Traverse Civic Center. There are no sidewalks and it was more crowded with parked cars than usual. It can be a bit of cluster-bunch there. I’ve always thought it just needs a bit of intentional design to improve it.

As I was walking, a car approached from behind. I moved closer to the south side of the street to allow room, but I was headed to the north side to access the trail system. As the driver pulled by, I made my cross expecting him to continue into the Civic Center. Only he didn’t continue, instead he stopped and abrubtly started to back-up without hesitation–I was already crossing the street and now directly in his path. Luckily, I did notice even if he didn’t and bounced out of the way. As I stepped around the front of the car and the driver continued to back-up apparenlty oblivious to my presence.

I had a completely normal human reaction; I shot a stink-eye and mumbled an insanity. That was enough. No harm, just a reaction. Moving on. Then the car stopped and the driver rolled down the window to ask, “what did I do?”

“You almost hit me. You didn’t have a clue I was walking there when you began to back-up,” I replied, not quite knowing what to expect and still a little rattled by almost getting smacked by a sedan.

He got out of the car and began to walk towards me. By now the park fence was between us and we both approached each other; choosing to further engage. I wasn’t in the mood for a fight. Really, I thought, do I want to do this right now. Thankfully, neither was he.

With an uncomfortable smile, he explained how he had seen me and expected me to keep walking on the right. I said I understood and simply had a reaction to all of sudden having a car backing-up towards me. I pointed out how the bottle neck of the entrance didn’t help the situation and that extra caution was needed due to the lack of design considerations. He wasn’t expecting a discussion about street design, but agreed and said he sees the problem. We both agreed to watch out and shook hands as best we could through the fence.

All quite civic and civil.

That’s it. A story of civility from the wild streets of Traverse City.

…it is greatly appreciated._

_

Go Team

Safe and convenient for humans, Safe and convenient for beagles. 

Over the weekend, city goers enjoyed a diversion in-replace of the ill-attempted pedestrian detour at the Midtown construction zone along Cass St. (MW) Nicely done City staff.

At a social event Friday night someone unaware of last week’s blog post on the subject started to complain about walking along Cass St. with her son during this construction. She found herself crossing the street at odd places and not feeling at all comfortable or safe. It was nice to be able to pause her for a moment, get out my phone, and show her an image of the diversion (TPic). A huge improvement to the attempted detour (TPic).

_

…it is greatly appreciated._

_

Do you miss the Weekly Chatter?

I admit it, I do miss curating a collection of news bits, studies, commentary, and curiosities related to public spaces and transportation every week. It was nice way to collect my thoughts from the week and clear the multiple browser tabs left open throughout the week. It was fun to piece together. But, the advisory council agreed that the labor hours put into the blog had to be cut somewhere, and so…

I trust the MyWHaT readers who were fans of the Weekly Chatter are following when they can on the MyWHaT Tumblr. It operates like a streamlined archive of items that catch my eye and mind; sometimes I add commentary, often I don’t.

This hierarchical traffic pyramid below is something that caught my eye recently. I’ve certainly seen similar ones, but I like the comprehensiveness to this version. Some other visuals to flag from the Tumblr: this is how to paint a street, introduce fun into the built environment, and watching citizen cyclists from above (admire the flow).

Thank you for your time and continued support (your $5, $10, $25 helps prevent further cuts). 

_

(via alascca)

…it is greatly appreciated._

_

Construction-zone blues

Below is an email I sent to the City yesterday concerning the construction zone at Midtown along Cass St. I did receive a reply confirming that the situation would be addressed. Something to keep an eye on. 

UPDATE 3pm: It appears that the City went for the less desirable “detour” solution (TwitPic)–underperforming on north approach, but trying to meet the standard. Moving on. 

UPDATE II 3:30PM 04.27.1012: Upon further review, a diversion upgrade (TP). Thank you City! 

_

To City Engineering and Planning,

I’m trying not to complain, so let me attempt to frame this email as simply a description of how I’d like to see my city treat people who happen to choose to move around on foot. Using, of course, a current issue as an example.

Sidewalk closed, you're on your own

The construction at Midtown necessitates a closing of the sidewalk along Cass St. for safety purposes. I understand that. However, I fail to see where basic consideration for pedestrian traffic through this construction zone has taken place. There is a sign, at the closure, that simply says, “side-walk closed.” No detour. No alternate route. The allowance of parking along this edge compounds the problem by obscuring the view of someone attempting to navigate around.

When I attempted to walk in the street around the construction, I was almost clipped as I stepped out and around an SUV that was blocking my view. I can only imagine what it would be like if I was in a wheelchair or otherwise less agile than I am.

Is this the worst place in the world? No. Can this construction zone be improved? Most definitely.

Preferred diversion

I scribbled a simple solution that I’ve seen countless times in other cities. It attempts to maintain the original path as much as possible (which is something I’d like to see in my City) and can be made wheelchair accessible with a few sheets of plywood or other solution. The orange barriers are exactly that, orange barriers. You can charge the developer to bag the meters (4 spaces*), so there is no loss of revenue.

The result, uninterrupted walkability that encourages, rather than discourages the most basic form of transportation known to humans.

I continue to believe that as a City we can do better and the hopeful thing is that to achieve better, all we really need to do is follow the basic guidelines in the Federal and Michigan MUTCD.

Thank you for continued hard-work on behalf of the City.

Sincerely,

Gary

* The parking meters are already bagged and are reserved for the work-crew on site. 

The two standard options, neither of which were followed:

Related: 

• Human Feet Originally Used For Walking, Anthropologists Report 

Give, you’re designed to, and it is greatly appreciated._

_

_

Scene from last week as crews wrap-up the first clean-up. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ll miss the traffic calming impact of this year’s extra, storm-induced brush pick-up. The piles of sticks, branches, and other debris made for almost perfect chicanes (MW). Sorry to see them go, but know they must.

Thank you to the City work crews for all their hard work. They are now in the midst of a loose leaf pass of the City. The annual trash pick-up and scavenger hunt begins April 30th on the West side of the City moving East for one pass. Trash must be placed in the alley. Brush will also be picked up from the alley in another pass also beginning April 30th.

More information: Spring Clean-up Rules (PDF)

_

Related: Record Eagle Editorial: Scrapping TC’s spring cleanup not worth the price

_

Your $5 contribution makes me smile

_

Out walking, yesterday in Traverse City.  

I don’t think Traverse City is quite in need of a sidewalk lane for distracted pedestrians…(NPR)

_

Have a weekend!

_

Your $5 contribution makes me smile

_

If you build for the car, the car, and all its shadows, is what you get. 

by ITDP Mexico

¡Excelente!

Before someone says it…Yes, the numbers of people who drive are reversed in the United States (70% drive, 30% find other means, mas o minus), but that is precisely because we have committed vast sums of money to subsidize automobile use over the last 75 years. Attempts at charging a market price for its use and storage is fought at every opportunity, typically by the same people who are the most staunch free-market promoters. Those same folks tend to also be the most vocal complainers about high gas prices despite the U.S. paying the lowest prices at the pump than any other of the richest nations.

The U.S. is at a critical point. The infrastructure we have propped up in the name of one mode is in need of repair. The question remains, will we repair the public spaces to serve more than one need, a complete street approach that honors public space, or will we continue to encourage and favor the mode that has the most externalities that we all pay for one way or another–regardless of how much you drive.

Externalities* discussed in film: traffic (congestion), pollution, time-loss, stress, health issues, lack of public spaces, accidents (crashes), climate change…they might have even missed a few.

What externalities might you add?

_

* Externality: A consequence, that can often be quantified economically, of an activity that affects other parties without it being reflected in the cost, thus obscuring the true cost to individual and society.

_

Traffic is like gas…

Screen grab

~ via neighbourhoods, copenhagenize, Atlantic Cities, and planning geeks everywhere.

_

Sunday’s Record Eagle editorial tackled traffic complaints coming out of the neighborhoods. In particular, lending support for the complaints associated with the proposed Munson expansions and fears of an increase in the number of cars running down Monroe St. and Elmwood Ave. An alley and City owned land sale for the project is on the City Commission’s agenda for this evening (PDF).

The attention to genuine concerns about traffic is appreciated, unfortunately our paper’s solutions are reactive and may even make matters worse. In part, because they buy in to the natural fallacy that economic growth must and will induce more motorized traffic. Certainly, if we treat it as inevitable, more motorized traffic is what we will get.

The Power of the Grid

However, we need to be real. As long as we are all addicted to driving as a default for transportation needs, and continue to encourage the habit by building for it, complaints from the neighborhoods are going to continue. To efficiently serve that without destroying other parts of town, we need our grid system left intact, not turned into cul-de-sacs as the RE proposes. Cutting off streets will only increase the frustration levels in other locations and will only serve to lengthen driving trips and the number of cars on the streets.

As other traffic concerns in the City, if a reduction of vehicles per day is the goal, shifting traffic elsewhere does nothing but postpone the issue and create other problems, many of them economic.

There is no solution, but there are choices.

Munson’s expansion may or may not increase over-all traffic, and that may or may not be a doomsday scenario, but Munson is one of the largest businesses in town that does actively support smart-commuting amongst employees–how can the City further incentivize this effort? What can the City do to support increased transit use between Munson West, NMC, and Munson East? 

This discussion also showcases why it is so important for the City Commission to support and be champions of a commitment to developing a city-wide traffic calming program. One that isn’t complaint driven, but part of the ongoing re-construction and maintenance of the public rights of way. Often, it isn’t the number of cars that people notice on their streets, but the behavior of the drivers who are racing between stop-signs with no regard to the context. Last year, Elmwood Ave. north of W. Front St. was narrowed and treated with some minor tweaks; it’s a good start, and the next re-do of a street needs to be more aggressive, regardless of what neighborhood it is in. The same concerns out of Slabtown are the same concerns across the City.

Also needed is a comprehensive bike-ped plan, as called for in the City’s master plan. This plan needs to be integrated with a more robustly supported transit system backed up by smart-commute lots on the edges of the city. This needs to be embraced and funded as a real transportation solution.

We can no longer continue to build for an auto-centric world and then turn around and complain about it. At a certain point, the community needs to recognize that every trip we can encourage to be taken not in a single-occupant-vehicle is an action that will save us time, money, and head-aches.

What can we shoot for–10%, 20%, or 30% of Munson employees arriving by other means than an SOV?

What about city-wide? 

_

_

_

If you find value in this blog, please consider a donation. 

__

__

This blog takes time, energy, & electricity (and a little beer) consider a donation

For 2-1/2 years, I’ve enjoyed the effort of researching, writing and editing, scribbling, and in general curating the content for MyWHaT. Even the associated advocating has its moments. One of these days, I’m going to keep track of the hours put into it, but for now I’m blissfully ignorant of the exact time commitment. The energy level does wax-and-wane, but it certainly picks up when a reader helps subsidize the effort. My goal is to keep the blog ad-free, only having collaborative underwriters represented on the side-panel and underwriter page (thank you to them!). Really, it’s the many modest contributions that energize the work. Your support affirms that I’m making the world, and my community, a better place. If you find this material and the work behind it valuable, intriguing, or even critical, I’d greatly appreciate your contribution. Thank you. 

_

Racing to slow down

The other day, as I pulled out of our neighborhood, my girlfriend commented, “you’ve been driving slower lately.” Thank you, I replied.

First, yes, I do drive. I own a car. Apparently there is some confusion about that amongst some readers of the blog. Second, she’s right, I’ve been driving slower. Or at-least trying to. In a world designed for speed that can be difficult. Wide lanes, wide-sweeping curves, so many lights just about to turn red, and oh, the places I must be, are just a few of things that throw me off the plot. The 4-lane section of Traverse City’s 8th Street is particularly troublesome to keep the Fit at the speed limit of 25-mph. It’s rarely congested and visually wide-open, it’s a half-mile urban-highway right in the middle of the city.

Still, I’m trying. Religiously watching the speed-odometer, staying focused, and taking in more of my surroundings. And, as the following ad-campaign in The Netherlands attests, in the urban environment in our communities, our neighborhoods, commercial mixed-use areas, school zones, there is no excuse to speed when we accept the self-responsibility of not injuring others.

There is no excuse, slow down. You’ll get there. 

_

uploaded by markenlei

If you enjoy this blog, please consider a donation or subscription 

_

This could be useful…self-described “urban hacktivist” Florian Riviere‘s roll-it-out crosswalk.

via Pop Up City

What do you think? Could you use a roll-up crosswalk on your commute?

_

See more of Riviere’s work at Atlantic Cities

_

_

_