MyWHaT

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Bike ♥ by Rick Darge.

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…A love story to hold you over another week. 

by Sherpas Cinema via Price Tags

All around excellent…there is even something for my transit buddies. And, I’d be amiss not to point out the covered sidewalk at the 2 minute mark.

OK…back to sabbatical. 

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Survey still open, please help with your opinion…thank you.

Video Tuesday

via EverybodyWalk

Kudos to the woman at the 2:18 mark who parks 20-minutes from work & walks the rest of the way–as she explains, “It is a lifestyle you create.“

Why do you walk?

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If you’re on Twitter, answer with the hashtag #WhyWeWalk

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. 

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

Video Tuesday

Improv Everywhere creator Charlie Todd on the power of absurdity in public spaces

via TEDtalksDirector

* +1 the project shown at the 9 minute mark in this video. 

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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. 

Video Tuesday

Filmed in front of the HUB in New York:

“How not to flash people wearing a skirt on a bike?” via vanmoof

You might recall our visit to the HUB last year when we recorded this insightful discussion with the owner, George Bliss.

Hat tip to B.P. Ding! Ding!

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NOTE: I understand that we are gearing up for winter bicycling now, and that this video might not seem time-appropriate, but you never know when a heat wave may come through and inspire spring attire.

Video Tuesday

Introducing the Traffic Garden via StreetFilms

Simple. It is such a stark contrast to transportation education in the U.S. where each mode is treated separately. It makes sense to have students thrown, at an early age, into a mix of roles and circumstances. The result: increased confidence, control and respect.

The Dutch safety records are proof.

Video Tuesday

Deee-Lite Vote “Baby Vote”

Additional celebrity vote PSAs: Here, here, and here (warning: last one may be offensive)

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Hat tip A.O.