The getDowntown Program (www.getdowntown.org) seeks a detail-oriented people person with an interest in sustainable transportation to provide administrative support for our programs and services. An ideal candidate would have experience with customer service, strong communication and computer skills, and the ability to work on a variety of projects at one time.

Send cover letter and resume to: getdowntown@annarborchamber.org

A longer job description can be found here: http://www.getdowntown.org/about/index.html

I Just read this article from the June 2008 issue of New Urban News about how to increase the number of cyclists by looking at what Europe (particularly Germany, the Netherlands and Demark) have done.

The article points to the following key ways to increase cycling as transportation:

• Create bike boxes that raise awareness of motorists about cyclist’s place on the street.
• Establish separate bike facilities along heavily traveled roads and at intersections
• Traffic Calming in most residential neighborhoods
• Ample bike parking
• Full integration of cycling with public transportation
• Comprehensive traffic education and training of cyclists and motorists
• Events that promote cycling
• Better signs and maps

As far as Ann Arbor goes, I think we are making progress in most of these areas.  We could definitely use more bike facilities along some of our busier roads (Packard, Washtenaw, and Jackson come to mind), and could do more to boost the infrastructure in general.

What do you think?

If you want to read the article, click here www.getdowntown.org/downloads/NewUrbanBikeArticle.pdf