MyWHaT

Toilets for walkability

Not mentioned in Monday’s post proclaiming myself a public toilet enthusiast (aren’t you?) is the relationship between a community’s walkability and provisioning for the expected, and unexpected, bodily needs of the residents and visitors. We’ve all been there, away from home, on foot, and looking around with a grimace. We get through it, perhaps a little uncomfortably, but we make it.

However, the next time we head-out the door we might reconsider our mode of travel or the length of time we plan to be out. This concerns escalate with children in tow or if we have a medical, or age related, condition that demand regular attention.

What is the relationship between walkability and a community’s allotment of public toilets? I suspect, that in most of the world’s “walkable cities” you’ll find public toilets at the ready and the way-finding in place to leave little confusion of where they are located. In other places, something keeping them from becoming truly great may just be having public toilets at the ready.

In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, access to clean public toilets was a major bragging point for the city authorities.  The goal, which by most measures was met, was to have a public toilet located within a 5-minute walk of any downtown location (C.Review). Having seen the before and after, I can attest, Beijing is a far better place for the effort.

Here in the U.S., as previously discussed, the norm is avoidance of the topic. We apparently prefer to subsidize the storage of people’s automobiles (MW) over providing for bodily requirements that impact everyone’s ability to be a fully functioning human. Traverse City has spent $7-$10 million a piece building two parking decks in the last decade and lacked the foresight to spend the extra clams to include public bathrooms in the structures.  An aside: what is the connection to constipation levels and a lack of clean, inviting public toilets? How does that impact driving behavior? (Yes, these are the things I think about.)

Click for full transparency.

Toilets per person

Back in 2007, the info-graphic team at Good Magazine showed the dearth of public amenities in major Cities in the U.S. Ignoring New York, renowned for a lack of stalls and where Starbuck employees recently started pushing back (NYTimes), the graphic shows our major cities failing in the toilet department. San Francisco provides 1 toilet for every 30,000 people; Boston, 571,429 restrooms per person. Beijing shows a public toilet for every 3,191.

From what I hear, Boston is a great place to walk around. New York, the same. At the same time, walking around Manhattan for a full day you quickly realize the lack of facilities. It can lead to some critical moments in search of a friendly business–hopefully, one that doesn’t require a purchase as there are only so many coffee drinks one can consume in day. Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, introduced here on Monday, devotes much space deconstructing the human & environmental impact the lack of public toilets has in New York City.

Nature will call

I imagine a lot of Michigan towns and cities are like Traverse City. Amenities are available if you look, but they are typically dated, undesirable, not open, or simply not located near activity centers. Midwestern hospitality has led to a few establishments that openly allow use of restrooms without a purchase. However, that is less than perfect. Finding these “public friendly” toilets is difficult unless you’re in the know and then they tend to be in the back of stores which decreases the comfort level if you aren’t there to shop and the location is certainly not intuitive. Relying on private businesses to provide amenities is an added tax on them and doesn’t provide equitable opportunity for the diverse make-up of visitors to a community.

I’ll admit it again, I am a public toilet enthusiast. To encourage people to be active and enjoy our public spaces, it behooves all parties concerned to treat people with dignity and respect. Those who advocate for more sidewalks, bike lanes, better transit, more tourism dollars, better public health, a cleaner environment, and for people to stop peeing in the alleys all benefit from advocating for and supporting efforts for more and improved public toilets. Politically, it is difficult to fund public toilets. There aren’t many grants available to fund public restrooms, so local governments need to find the money locally to make them a priority.

As residents of the City, many of whom understand the desire for a more walkable community, it’s important we not look past fundamental needs for privacy, dignity and comfort for those brief moments in our days when nature calls.

Are you a public toilet enthusiast?

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Resources:

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  In Portland, PLUSH formed to advocate for public restrooms: “PHLUSH believes that toilet availability is a human right and that well-designed sanitation facilities restore health to our cities, our waters and our soils.”

• Nationally, the American Restroom Association  formed to advocate ”for the availability of clean, safe, well designed public restrooms.“

• And, throughly impressive, is the Australian National Public Toilet Map project run by the National Continence Management Strategy and is funded by the federal government–radical Aussies.

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Click for larger view and here for Downtown Traverse City Bicycle Parking Info

This map is an inventory of all the inverted “U’s”, horned bollards, grill racks and bike lockers (inside the parking decks). In total, just over 120 parking options within the DDA district, most of which provide two slots.

See any missing? Where are the holes?
What would you do to improve bicycle parking in downtown?

* Thank you to the DDA for completing this inventory and providing the map.

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Contributions greatly appreciated.

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The Dutch commitment to cycling and transit didn’t just magically appear, it was a choice against considerable odds associated with the onslaught of hyper-consumerism in the name of progress.

Two conditions galvanized political will to change course, the slaughter of children and elderly whose freedom of movement was limited by the growing commitment to the automobile and the oil/energy crisis of the 1970′s that showed clearly the un-sustainability of a reliance on imported fuel.

The result: leaders of The Netherlands made a choice to invest in a more conservative path forward that created a sensible transportation system that put people first. The rest is a history with enviable results.

via markenlei

The solution was found in the political will on a national and municipal level, with both decision-makers and planners, to deal with this situation by turning away from car-centric policies and making way for alternative transport like cycling.”

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Related: A Dutch intersection to indeed envy. 

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Contributions greatly appreciated.

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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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Recently on Henry Morgenstein’s “Essays”, he calls attention to the planning truth that goeth unspoken: the power of a healthy grid of streets.

If you have a grid of ten street by ten streets – you can all envision that – if you seek to go by car from one corner of the ten street grid to the other far corner, there are 184,000 possible ways to do that.  You heard correctly, 184,000 ways to get from point A to point B.”

He continues, applying the analogy to Traverse City.

The point of all this?  If you make one major road — the Old Town by pass for instance — they’ll all come roaring down that wide & welcoming way — and it will soon be stinky, clogged, overcrowded, noisy….

But if you leave the situation alone, some will come down tenth, some will go down seventh, some will take State, others Cass, others union.”

Traverse City residents and fearful fearless leaders have heard this here before … and here (MW). The lesson repeated over and over and over and over is: maximize your grid while treating all your streets as livable streets (StreetFilms). Do it responsibly, of course. Slow our 2-3 ton beasts down and stop investing in ”car cannons”– those arterial speed zones that border and divide the community. The attempt to “solve” our traffic problem with more arterials is insane in the full Einsteinian sense of the word.

To flip the approach, start thinking about people cannons (MW).

Henry concludes with a call for sanity. Balance.

For at least the next 20 years, let us focus all our resources on making towns navigable by foot, by car, by trolley, by bus, by train, by tram.  It is not so much that we will ban cars as that we will make the alternatives enticing, fun, inexpensive, readily available, safe & warm.  Everything that cars are now.

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Of course, isn't this how we arrived at our current problems?

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Thoughts?

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Contributions greatly appreciated.

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Thursday’s Slightly Cranky

It is a good time to take note of what is coming before the Traverse City City Commission as there are several projects brewing that deserve a quick MyWHaT touch crank to ring in the new year. I originally intended to keep each to Twitter sized commentary, but the task proved too difficult. I’ve made them as brief as possible. If you see something missing, you’re welcome to add it in the comments. And, as always, readers comments that are supportive or critical are fully encouraged. Note, I have 3 weeks left on my annual motto for 2011: “I could be wrong.” After that, who knows.

* The following could use informed & supportive input–Don’t hesitate to send a quick email.

* Bayfront Plan: Phase I at Clinch Park

The City Commission has two basic tasks to address this coming Monday night (12/12) and then ultimately to decide at their January 3rd regular meeting. 1) Do the commissioners believe that a revitalized Clinch Park must include a train ride? It was removed during the planning from 2010, which they passed unanimously at least twice. 2) Commissioners need to achieve informed-consent on the planned 2012 design and construction in the north-east corner. The current construction plan (Flickr) was approved by both the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Planning Commission. It does not include the train.

The support for the train ride has been grossly over-blown, parts of it fabricated by one individual posing as two dozen different people and not substantial convincing enough to over-turn previous decisions by several City boards, including the City Commission. Removing the train was, among many things, mainly due to safety concerns, long-term plans, and constrictions it placed on the park’s potential over 30 years. In addition, speaking as a life-time resident, the train stinks up the place and drives many people away from Clinch Park because of the nauseous fumes. If it stays, it will continue to do so.

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West Boardman Lake Avenue (a.k.a. The Blah)

This project has been a relentless ambition by city staff and is also on the agenda for this Monday night’s study session. They will review a recently conducted origin and destination study, that is now available online -PDF (TC). The purpose of the study was to better understand possible traffic volumes after the proposed bypass is built. In an email announcing the completion of the study, it is reported that the preliminary estimate by URS Corporation is that approximately one-third of the motorized traffic now on Cass and Union Streets would use The Blah. Somewhere in the neighborhood of around 6,000 vehicles per day (VPD). To be clear, the report is predicting a 30% decrease in traffic spread out over two streets.

If The Blah is built, 10 years from now it is quite rationale to believe that vpd levels on Cass and Union will simply return to their current levels of 12,000 & 8,000 vpd respectively. The sole purpose of this project was to reduce the vpd on those streets (a fundamental flaw from the start) and it doesn’t do so to any substantial impact. The accommodation for easy driving through the City simply rewards the very behavior that neighborhoods consistently complain about: motorized traffic.

The short of it: 30 years ago there was a plan that expanded the grid and added value to the City; it was more than a bypass. Over the years, circumstance and opportunity have changed and we are left with The Blah–an attempt at a mid-town urban bypass.

We also have a City Commission desperate to repair the infrastructure we already have and a public that wants that done right, which includes more safe and convenient options for all modes, thoughtful protection of the natural environment and public investment aimed at more than a road. It isn’t the time to be laying additional asphalt with significant consequences like creating another financial & social burden on future generations. The City needs a reset button for The Blah to really re-explore the opportunities this area holds.

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Boardman Lake Trail

Separately, realizing the completion of the trail network being completed around Boardman Lake (on the east side of the railroad tracks from The BLAh) is certainly close at hand. Yesterday, the City received $210,000 via a Michigan Natural Trust Fund Grant (RE) that already has a local match via TIF dollars from the property. Now it is time to move to final design and ultimate construction. It is an excellent time to involve dedicated citizens to be certain that we get a design that is the best it can be. There are some property issues as well as real topographic challenges that deserve the eyes of those who will be using the trail. This project is getting close to something special as it will connect the community to the lake and create a unique recreational & transportation opportunity.

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* Dog Park

At the regular meeting this December 19th (in two weeks), the Parks and Recreation Commission will be requesting for the City Commission to approve the establishment of a dog park in the lawn space at the NW corner of Cypress and Division Streets, at what is now named Veteran’s Park. P&R has worked with community partners for almost a year to develop a plan of implementation (Scribd).

There were numerous public meetings to ask for feedback, with the latest being a special meeting dedicated to this site. We are emphasizing that this is a park for all people, pet owners and non-owners alike. I encourage you to read the proposal and contact commissioners with your support.

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* CVS Pharmacy

This week, the Planning Commission found the proposal by CVS Pharmacy for conditional re-zoning at the Front and Division St. location ready for a public hearing. That meeting is set for January 4th, 2012. As the discussion on MyWHaT suggests, this is a difficult position for the City representatives. On the one side, there is a potential developer willing to invest in what has been a blighted piece of property for at least 15 years. It is another commercial property placed on the tax roles. On the other side, the site-plan being floated is better suited for suburbia than for what the Master Plan calls for in this location–pedestrian focused higher-density land use. The fundamental question the Planning Commission is asked to eventually consider is whether this project adequately moves the City closer to fulfilling the vision expressed in the master plan. Expect this one to take a few turns before it is resolved.

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The People Tunnel

Here’s another project that simply won’t go away despite questionable need and effectiveness. City Staff continue to double down on this project which was left over from a 20-30 year old dream. I am convinced a tunnel will get some use, but there is no reason that it will be a preferred route for the majority of people making their way to West Bay unless they are on Garland St.

A more cost-effective and value added solution to providing access across Grandview Parkway is to alter the design of major highway running through our City. Plans to do so came out of the 2010 Bayfront Plan and the tunnel is simply a distraction from the inevitable tackling of that beast head-on. Chasing federal money (.Gov) in attempt to make more palatable a project that has already more than doubled in projected costs is simply a distraction and delay of a more direct amelioration of the problem–motorized traffic going 35-50mph through an urban community next to a park–Meh, what to do…Expect this to be back on the agenda at the beginning of the year once TIGER Grant winners are announced. Perhaps next year we can apply for TIGER Grants to do something really helpful like redesigning the entire trunkline.

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Division Street

The community needs a hero on this one. And, it needs to be someone who has authority to keep it on the City Commission’s agenda until it is recognized as a priority. Too many citizens invested too many hours working with staff, transportation agencies and consultants to see the plans from 2010 and citizen recommendations from 2011 (GV) simply sit on the shelf because a few people in the community have a mental disconnect with a basic transportation tool: the modern roundabout.

As long as we are tying to move cars and people around efficiently, safely and without breaking the bank, roundabouts are a part of the future. The sooner leadership grasps this reality and forgets personal ideology the better our community will be. There are severe problems at the intersections from 14th to Grandview Parkway–we need continued energy from the decision makers to see some progress.

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Corridors Study

Not widely reported on, but the City was a recipient of $100,000 HUD Sustainable Communities Grant last year. A subcommittee of the Planning Commission is working with consultants to complete revitalization plans for 8th St. (btw Union and Fair Streets), E. Front St. (btw Railroad & Fair), W. Front St. (btw river and City limits), 14th St. and Garfield Ave. This isn’t a transportation study; it is an economic vitalization project that focuses on the impact the built environment has on business opportunities & residential quality of life issues. These corridors all struggle to maintain property values and thriving businesses. Place makes a difference and this is a project that needs support and needs to succeed if we are ever to achieve projects like this. There will be a public meeting on January 12th at 7pm at the Traverse City Area District Library.

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That’s all I have; there is certainly more, but I trust this is enough to keep you busy. If not, throw something else on the table in the comments section below.

What is going on in your world?

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Specifically, what are some projects outside of the City that MyWHaT readers might be interested in?

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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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Video Tuesday

via USEPAgov

Now, this is placemaking

Normal, IL’s Uptown Normal Roundabout project won the EPA’s Smart Growth Achievement Award for turning a solution to a traffic dilemma into something much, much, much more value added.

The Uptown Normal Roundabout project solved a complicated intersection, created a public plaza that has fostered economic vitality & increased social capital. In addition, the integrated stormwater system (Hoerrschaudt) naturally filters the runoff from the surrounding streetscapes and reuses it in the form of a water play feature and eventually to irrigate the adjacent landscaping.

This is a Complete Street project.  Complete + Green Street = Designed for People

Can you imagine this place with just concrete? Or, even just grass here with no people? It’s just, I mean, it’s boring.”

~ Mark Peterson City Manager of Normal, IL

Dear Decision Makers, Please take note. 

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NOTE: Roundabouts in Traverse City? Still looking for leadership at the commission and staff level. They seem more interested in $3-million tunnels. The MyWHaT Modern Roundabout page continues to get hits, so someone is interested. 

~ 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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Go Team!

After two years, two local high school students have finished their tribute history to Hickory Hills, Traverse City’s municipally operated ski hill. Molly Tompkins and Ryan Ness have collected stories from hundreds of people for the tribute to the hill where they learned to ski.

The result, titled “Light the Night“, will be on the bookshelves this December. The easiest way to purchase a copy is to order direct from their website at Preserve Hickory Hills. Proceeds from the sale of the book  will go to the Preserve Hickory organization to work with the City of Traverse City and the Ski Club to ensure that Hickory Hills is preserved for the coming generations.

“We knew Hickory Hills contributed significantly to Traverse City’s heritage, but through the process of writing this book, we have come to realize its history is richer than we ever imagined,“ wrote the authors in the Record Eagle earlier this month.

Some fun facts they came up with:

• Hickory Hills was the first Michigan ski area to have lights for night skiing.
• Traverse City High School was the first school in the state with a varsity ski team.
• Little known, but there are also 5-kilometers of cross-country ski trails.

As a reminder of what type of memories will happen in just a few weeks–how about a face-plant at the 48 second mark of the following video. Oh, the memories, you gotta have them.

Hickory Jumps by tyandjohanna

A big MyWHaT thank you to Molly and Ryan for the book and the continued support of a great community destination and service.

Have a memory of Hickory Hills?

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NOTE: Hickory Hills remains a topic of discussion at the City since it was tagged as an “unnecessary subsidy” by some in the COFAC report. Although there is no immediate threat that the City would even think about selling it, that was where some people started. Currently, the City is exploring options of how to raise revenue from the property. Two suggestions out there include designing and building for summer events (mainly an attractive lodge) and the addition of a tubing run. You can view the Tubing study at the City’s Hickory Hills web page. If you’d like to contribute to the discussion, the Parks and Recreation Commission meets every first Thursday of the month or you can send us an email.