As of Monday, January 23rd, 2 new Zipcars have been added to the downtown Ann Arbor Zipcar Fleet.  These Zipcars–2 Ford Focuses–are at the Washington Street entrance to the 415 W. Washington parking lot.  And the best thing about these cars (and all the Ford Zipcars) is that they only cost $7/hr rather than the usual $8/hr.

Thanks to the Ann Arbor DDA for providing the spaces for these Zipcars!

With the addition of this Zipcars, the downtown Ann Arbor fleet now has a total of 10 cars.  The other downtown Ann Arbor Zipcar locations are 1st Street (across from Liberty Lofts), Fourth and Catherine (by the Farmer’s Market), Main and William (in the Palio Parking Lot), and the McKinley Town Centre Parking Lot (on Washington across from the 411 Lofts).

And anyone who’s a Zipcar Ann Arbor Member also has access to the over 20 cars on the UM campus as well as to Zipcars all over the country.

Want more information about Zipcar?  Visit zipcar.com/annarbor or contact getDowntown at info@getdowntown.org.

Great news: Night Ride service to Ypsilanti is expanding beyond Carpenter Road starting January 29, 2012. The service area will be expanded to include the portion of Ypsilanti between Clark/Huron River Drive on the north and Ellsworth/Michigan Avenue on the south, east to Huron Street. Check out the map here!

The fare is still $3.00 for go!pass holders ($5 for non-go!pass holders) and the hours are 11:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. Monday – Friday, 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 a.m. Saturday & Sunday. (Pickups do not start until 11:00 p.m. on weekdays and 7:00 p.m. on weekends. No orders are taken after 5:15 a.m. weekdays and 6:45 a.m. weekends.)

So if you have to be at work very early, or your shift runs very late, take note of these changes and pass them along to your coworkers or friends! If you and your coworkers would like additional commuting information or advice for getting to work during non-9 to 5 hours, please contact the getDowntown Program at 734-214-0100 or info@getdowntown.org. We are your commuting consultants!

Buses every 5-10 minutes on Washtenaw Ave during peak hours.

Night Ride service all the way to Ypsilanti.

Some great new services are coming for employees who work in Ann Arbor but live to the east.  Want to learn more about these services?  The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (TheRide) is hosting a Rider Forum at 5:30pm on Thursday, Jan 19th on the Fourth Floor of City Hall.

At the Forum, you can learn more about the coming improvements and ask questions of TheRide staff.

Click here read more.

Want to learn more about bike related projects happening at the U-M?  Want to provide input on future bike planning at U-M?  Here’s your chance!

U-M is organizing a Bike Town Hall Meeting on Tues Jan 24th from 4-5:30pm.  Click here for more info.

Can’t make the meeting?  You can still submit your comments here.

FYI from TheRide:

Feedback sought on new transit center plans

Plans for the new Blake Transit Center (BTC) will be unveiled for public comment at two feedback sessions to be held at the current transit center by the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (TheRide) next week.

Three displays showing the floor plan, signage and Internet technology plan and ideas for customer amenities will be set up inside the BTC from 3:00-6:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 11 and from 7:00-10:00 a.m., Thursday, January 12.

“We’re looking for input from the community to make the new transit center a dynamic transportation hub and a welcoming destination in the downtown area,” TheRide’s Manager of Maintenance and BTC Project Manager Terry Black said.

“Visitors to the displays will be able to help us shape the new BTC by completing a brief survey in any, or each, of the display areas. We’ll use the survey results to help us finalize the plan so that we can move on to construction of the center this year.”

Plans call for the construction of the new BTC on the southeast corner of the current site. The current transit center waiting area and office will be open for as long as possible during the construction. Once construction begins, buses will board and deboard passengers along adjacent streets.

Updates on TheRide’s services are available at www.TheRide.org, at 734.996.0400 and through social media at www.facebook.com/CatchTheRide, www.twitter.com/CatchTheRide, or www.youtube.com/CatchTheRide.

Here’s your chance to check out the top content on the getDowntown blog from 2011.

Most Read getDowntown Blog Posts of 2011

• getDowntown’s Guide to Bike Commuting in Downtown Ann Arbor
• Apparently lots of folks decided to take up bike commuting in 2011.  This post gives you the rundown of all you need to know to get your downtown bike commute on.
• The Creative Class Bikes to Work: The Economic Case for Bike Commuting
• What did Richard Florida find when he looked at the bike commuting rates and economic indicators such as educational attainment, fitness and more?  Check out this post to see.
• getDowntown’s Guide to Using Transit/Busing in Downtown Ann Arbor
• Want to get downtown on the bus?  This post shows you how.
• getDowntown’s Guide to Winter Bike Commuting
• You can Conquer the Cold and do bike commutes in the winter!
• Downtown Ann Arbor employee ROAMs through the country by Velomobile
• Cool guy doing a cool event.
• Making Riding the Bus Look Sexy
• Yes, it’s possible.  Check out the picture in this post to see how.
• Winter Clothing – Ignoring Fashion In Favor of Practicality
• Downtown employee tells us what you need to wear to walk to work in the winter
• Studded, Skinny or Fat? Winter Bike Commuting Tire Talk
• Apparently lots of people want to know what kind of bike tire to use in the winter
• getDowntown’s Guide to Walking to Work in Downtown Ann Arbor
• Info an resources to make your walk to work more pleasant.

New to riding the bus and want to know how to behave?  Here’s a post from Technorati with some tips.

FYI from the City of Ann Arbor:

Notice of Temporary Traffic Control Plan
East Stadium Boulevard Bridges Replacement
December 22, 2011

Location and Limits of Affected Area:

Henry Street from East Stadium Boulevard to Golden Avenue.
East Stadium Boulevard from Kipke Drive to South Industrial Highway.

Description of Work:

Construction of the East Stadium Boulevard Bridges over South State Street and the Ann Arbor Railroad.

Temporary Construction Traffic Control Plan:

Henry Street will be closed at East Stadium Boulevard until November 2012.  Access to Henry Street between East Stadium Boulevard and Golden Avenue will only be permitted from Golden Avenue. Two-way traffic will be permitted on Henry Street between East Stadium Boulevard and Golden Avenue.  Access to all properties along Henry Street will be maintained during this period.

As a reminder, East Stadium Boulevard between Kipke Drive and South Industrial Highway will remain closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic until November 2012 to allow for the replacement of the bridges over South State Street and the Ann Arbor Railroad.  Vehicular and pedestrian detour routes are in place. Access to all properties along East Stadium Boulevard will be maintained during this period.

We thank you in advance for your patience as these necessary public infrastructure improvements are completed.

Project Contacts:

Michael G. Nearing, P.E., Senior Project Manager (734) 323-6511

Michael Eustice, P.E., Parsons Brinckerhoff Michigan, Inc. (734) 891-0300

Jamie Fossitt, P.E., Parsons Brinckerhoff Michigan, Inc. (734) 777-1541

While biking in the snow can be a little dicey, biking on black ice is even worse.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance has some great advice to help handle black ice conditions.  Click here to read more.

If you bike to work year ’round here’s a great chance to stay motivated.  Wheels in Motion has a winter bike Commuter Challenge that runs from this Thursday, Dec 22 (the first day of winter) until March 20, 2012 (the first day of spring).

You can sign up for the winter Commuter Challenge here.

During the Challenge, log commutes on the Wheels in Motion website, see how you compare to other bike commuters and win prizes!  As with last year,  Wheels in Motion will be giving the top 3 riders a “Complete Mechanical Rebuild” of their bikes. This is a $159.99 service during which your bike will be disassembled and put back together part by part, cleaned and lubed. Labor is free, any parts you need will be extra.   There are also other prizes!