I was pleased to hear that plans for the Fifth and Division improvements were approved by the City Council on Monday.  As you might have fathomed from previous posts, I am a big believer in infrastructure.  If we create an environment that is pleasing and safe for pedestrians and cyclists, they are more likely to bike and walk in that area.  And since Google, City Hall, and the Library are on this stretch of road, there is a lot of potential for walking and biking traffic.

It will also be nice to be able to connect the Broadway Bridge area on one side to the Packard area on the other with bike lanes and pedestrian amenities.  That way, people can feel safer walking or biking from one part of downtown to the other.

Another nice feature of this plan is that there is going to be on-street parking, which will be nice for those coming in who need to bring their cars.  And perhaps we can have a Zipcar or two in that location.

All in all, I am happy to see this project move forward.

FYI from the AATA:

AATA to detour routes during car show

A dozen Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) bus routes will be boarding in temporary locations and/or detoured during the MSAA Rolling Sculpture Car Show in downtown Ann Arbor on July 11 from 7 a.m. through the end of bus service.

As a result of the closure of portions of Main Street, Fourth Avenue, Liberty Street and Washington Street for the car show, routes which normally board on Fourth Avenue will board as follows:

Routes 2 and 4 – Will board on the west side of Fourth Avenue at William

Routes 9, 12B and 13 – Will board on the north side of William near Fourth Avenue

Route 12A – Will board on Fifth Avenue at the Link bus stop

Route 3 and 14 – Will board on Fifth Avenue south of the BTC transit mall

Routes leaving the Blake Transit Center that will be detoured include Routes 2 – Plymouth, 3 – Huron River, 4 – Washtenaw, 7 – South Main-East, 8 – Pauline, 9 – Jackson-Dexter, 12A – Miller-Liberty, 12B – Liberty-Miller, 13 – Newport, 14 – Geddes-East Stadium, 15 – Scio Church-West Stadium and 16 – Ann Arbor-Saline Road.

Routes going to the Blake Transit Center that will be detoured are Routes 2 – Plymouth, 3 – Huron River, 4 – Washtenaw, 5 – Packard, 7 – South Main-East, 8 – Pauline, 9 – Jackson-Dexter, 12A – Miller-Liberty, 14 – Geddes-East Stadium, 15 – Scio Church-West Stadium and 16 – Ann Arbor-Saline Road.

Detailed information on the boarding locations, detours, bus stops not served and nearest stops served will be available on the affected routes, on the affected bus stops, on AATA’s web site at www.TheRide.org, and at 734.996.0400.