Great weather and a great turnout made this Friday’s RAT a great time.

The report from Frank, the RAT’s ride leader:

“Awesome! [A rider's] words captures the spirit of tonight’s RAT! And the weather was, indeed, balmy. Our first loop required a course deviation due to the closure of northbound State at Washington. We headed west on Washington to take Division north, rather than east to Fletcher to try the left on Huron. However, by next month maybe the Huron/Fletcher light will be up and running (it’s only up right now).
I’ll check it out beforehand to be sure it “sees” bicycles.

The post-ride was (sorry Phil … don’t know how to break this easily to you) at Amos. Mostly because they have a bathroom, but also because of the room. We were happy to have a nice, big table.

There were 10 of us tonight, although a few left a bit early. Ten! And several regulars had other committments, which means that in April, with any luck at all, we may all converge on a the same ride and reach the magic 20 riders!! That’d be even more awesome!

Spread the word! Word of mouth is the most effective way to get this sort of thing across.

To tonight’s riders - you were great! Wonderful toe-down stops, great attention to the group and communication during the ride. Hope to see you all in the next few months. April 11 is the next RAT. And May 9 promisses to be extra fun with the GetDowntown arrangement for a cheese reception following the RAT. “

I just got the following email today:

“I’m rather appalled by the plans for a 500 car parking garage next to the library. Wouldn’t $40 million be better spent supporting alternate forms of transportation? I wonder where the public outcry is. Have you guys got a stance on this?”

It occured to be that others of you out there might be wondering the same thing or might want to comment on the Library Lot parking structure.

Well here’s my response to the person above and to others:

At this time, getDowntown has not taken a stance on the Library Lot.  Most of the businesses I have talked to have expressed a strong need to have more parking downtown and they think that putting that parking underground would both allow there to be more parking and also not be as intrusive as an above ground parking structure.

Personally, I would love to see that kind of money invested in sustainable transportation rather than parking, but at this point, businesses feel there is a great need to have more parking for fear that if they don’t build this parking they are going to lose both customers and employers.

And at the same time the DDA is working with getDowntown and the AATA to provide more transit options to the downtown.  I wish this was more widely publicized because while there is parking going in downtown there are also initiatives to create evening transit service for employees, putting some Zip Cars in the downtown and more.

But I do think your concern is a valid one and I would encourage you to write a letter to the editor about this.  I would also encourage you to ask others to write letters and spread the message that we need to continue to think about sustainable transportation in addition to thinking about parking.

These are my present thoughts on the subject.  I would love to hear from others.

Hello kind readers,

In the span of a week I have received two emails from individuals regarding strollers on AATA buses. I brought their concerns to the AATA but also wanted to put them in this blog to see what sort of thoughts others might have.

UPDATE: I have posted the AATA’s response to this issue in Comment #3.

UPDATE 2: I am going to be bringing this issue up at an AATA Policy and Operations Meeting on Tuesday, March 18.

Update 3: While I am bringing this issue up, this is not necessarily getDowntown’s area so I will look to the AATA to provide guidance and to address this issue. 

I know this is a sticky issue that has both pro and con sides. This post is intended to share some people’s thoughts and is not intended to support one side or the other. I do not know this issue well enough to be able to have an opinion but am sure the AATA will look into this issue and decide on the best course of action.

So here are the concerns I received. I am keeping the names of the people out to protect their identity:

Stroller Mom 1:

“My family and I have returned to Ann Arbor after living abroad in Sweden for a little over two years. We moved to Sweden with our son, who was 18 months at the time, and is now 4 ½. Since our return have added [another little boy], who is 2 months.

While we did have a car during our time in Sweden, we used it so infrequently that we would often forget where the car actually was, as weeks had gone by since we parked it. We really enjoyed the car-free lifestyle, and wanted to try and do the same as much as possible upon our return to Ann Arbor. We returned last July, and I was pleased to find that between walking, biking, and the bus routes we were able to get most everywhere we needed to go. However, since [our new baby’s] arrival in late December, we’ve hit a bit of a snag.

The cold weather and icy sidewalks have kept us from walking too much, and of course the bike is out until [our new baby] is bigger. We’ve been relying mostly on the bus as our transportation, and I was shocked to discover that we were expected to break down the stroller each and every time we boarded the bus. In Sweden, and all across Europe, I was accustomed to the “roll on, roll off” transportation- where you boarded the tram/subway/bus with the child in the stroller, parked the stroller in one of the spots that was designated for handicapped/stroller use, and left the child in the stroller.

I was pleased to see that Ann Arbor has the roll on/roll off buses, but confused as to why we can’t use the areas with fold-up seats to park a stroller? I have a pram-style stroller with a bassinet-type seat in which the baby lies. In order to board the bus, I need to take the basinet off of the stroller frame, collapse the stroller, and then carry the bassinet and stroller frame into the bus, as well as keep an eye on my older son. The basket underneath the stroller becomes un-usable when folded, so any groceries or other items we have purchased downtown need to be removed and carried. The diaper bag usually hangs on the stroller handle- that also must be detached and carried. It takes me forever to board the bus with the children and all of our stuff, and then to depart the bus after our 10 minute ride. It makes a quick trip downtown for groceries or other errands a major production…

So I guess I am wondering what the reasoning is behind the prohibition on strollers on the bus? If it is a space issue, couldn’t they simply ask that the stroller be broken down only if the bus is crowded (we travel during off-peak hours and are frequently on nearly empty buses) or if the space is required by a person in a wheelchair (in all our trips downtown and back, this has only happened once)? If the concern is safety, wouldn’t it be possible to use the wheelchair straps to secure the stroller if the bus company feels it is an issue? Regarding leaving the child in the stroller, I can’t imagine that the baby is safer sitting in my lap, secured by nothing but my arms, then he would be when he is belted into his stroller…..

I hope you can shed some light on the issue for me, or perhaps point me to someone who can. I would love to see this policy be reconsidered. Like I said, I really enjoy getting downtown without a car and patronizing downtown business instead of driving to a strip mall to run my errands, but the current stroller policy makes it difficult to do so.

Thanks!”

Stroller Mom 2:

“I was reading the Get Downtown blog and didn’t find a place to comment that was relevant to the dilemma I always face at this time of year, so I thought I’d email you. This is not a problem I expect you to solve, of course, but I thought it might be useful to know about, since I’m sure I’m not the only one experiencing it, and it’s a major factor in whether I drive downtown or not.

When the sidewalks are rough with ice, as they are for most of January, February and March, I have tremendous challenges getting downtown by bus with my preschooler: The stroller that can get over the ice to the bus stop doesn’t fold and is too heavy to lift onto the bus. The stroller that folds and can be lifted onto the bus can’t get over the ice.

This is the time of year that I think, “If only I didn’t have to fold up the stroller on the bus!” (I think this right before I head to my car and drive the mile and a half into town.) In other cities, I hear, it’s possible to roll a stroller right onto the bus and park it in a designated space. In Ann Arbor, not only must strollers be folded on the bus, but the rules say they must be folded before you board the bus. Try doing this with groceries/library books, a diaper bag, and a child. Even better, try doing this with a *sleeping* child.

I’ve made this suggestion before to the AATA, but I’ll repeat it: allow the wheelchair space to be used by open strollers, with wheelchairs having priority. Declare the space out of bounds to strollers during rush hour, if necessary.

It makes me crazy that during the time of year I need the bus system the most, I can’t use it. Feel free to quote me on your blog, if you like - In a year, our family will be past the stroller stage, but some other family won’t - and wouldn’t we like them to bus downtown too?”