Courtney Mitchel is the latest addition to the getDowntown Program. She’ll be posting here periodically.
You can learn more about Courtney on the About Us section of our website.
I’m proud to say that we’ve officially had the getDowntown blog up for a year now.
Looking back on the year, I’d like to offer you a glipse at some of our most interested stats:
Top Three Posts on the getDowntown Blog:
Total blog views: 11,766
Busiest Day: November 14, 2007 (197 views)
Looking forward to another year of blogging fun.
Frank S., RAT ride guy, has this to say about the upcoming RAT:
October 10, 6 PM, Liberty Plaza Park. The Ride Around Town (RAT!) will be the Bike Around Town (BAT!) for this October. A special celebration! One year of RAT!s! Amazing! And with Halloween hard upon us, the BAT! encourages costumes. Riders - if you come in a costume please be safe! For instance, the “caped avenger” is a dark character … you probably ought to loose the cape before riding home as it will be dark. Sunset is at 7:01 PM with twilight ending at 7:29 PM.
I’m assured these are astronomically accurate numbers!
I’m going to stick my neck out here and suggest that we gather at Ashley’s for the post-ride. It is known in my family as the center of the universe. I’ll inquire about getting the downstairs bar open for us … I’ve used the bike parking area on Maynard Street - it’s relatively secure, with lots of lighting, garage attendants right there, and lots of people.
Remember, this ride is all about riding safely, demonstrating to curious on-lookers how bikes should be operated on our city streets according to our current laws. Basically, “Same Road; Same Rules.”
And beyond. Toe-down stops at stop signs, full stops at red lights.
Signal turns and stops. Wear bright colors and helmets. And … now with darkness coming so early, lights.
And bells!!
Hope to see everyone at Liberty Plaza! Even if it rains! or snows!
It’s gonna be great!
As someone who bikes around town a lot, I’ve definitely noticed more bikes on the road. And there are probably more of you out there looking for the chance to get a good bike and try commuting to work.
I really stress the importance of getting a good bike because it totally makes a difference in your enjoyment of your ride. If you bike is clunky or cheap, chances are it’s not going to be fun to ride.
And I’m not talking about big bucks here. The Commuter Bike I got from Great Lakes comes with a rack, fenders, and a bell already installed. And it cost less than $500. And when you buy a bike from a local store, you also generally get free tune-ups.
If you are looking for a new bike or some clothing for the coming winter weather, you might want to check out Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness this week. They are having a sale, with some bikes up to 40% off, including the Felt Cafe City Cruiser. And I just called and they told me they are extending the sale until this Sunday, October 5th.
Two Wheel Tango is also having a fall clearance sale with 10-40% off all bikes.
Wheels in Motion mentions they are having a sale on their website. Some of the sale items include up to 50% off accessories and up to 30% off bikes.
Ann Arbor Cyclery is currently offering 15% off all ‘08 Bikes. They also told me they offer discounts on accessories when you buy a new bike from them.
For you Ypsi-based Folks, Ypsi Cycle is offering 15% off ‘08 bikes.
Tree Fort Bikes tells me that all their ‘07 bikes are on average 20% off and ‘08 bikes are on average 10-15% off. They also have lots of discounts on accessories and say they have the best prices in the area on Commuter Bikes and accessories. They have a great online store where you can find exclusive discounts.
If you really are pressed for cash and want to find a used bike, check out Kiwanis. They are open on Saturdays from 9am-12 and often have bikes outside on Washington Street.
Recycle Ann Arbor sometimes has bikes as well, but are more along the lines of “fixer uppers”.
Craigslist has some great bike deals. Check out what you can find when you search for “ann arbor bikes.”
I’ve also heard of a guy in Ypsi who refurbishes bikes and sells them on Craigslist. If you search for “ypsibike” on Craigslist you’ll see what he’s selling. You can also check out his Picasa Web Album.
Other places to try: Ann Arbor e-cycle, Freecycle Ann Arbor, Bike Ypsi and WBWC Google Groups.
Want an eco-friendly (and inexpensive) way to tote your groceries home on your bike?
A kind reader just sent me this blog post from bikehacks.com on diy panniers for your bike made from old kitty litter containers. Apparently there is someone in Ann Arbor who’s already sportin’ this look.
You might have noticed the following on the AATA website recently:
Starting Sep. 22 due to data upgrades the real-time bus information will be unavailable until further notice.
I know that some of you out there really depend on this info. I contacted the AATA and they let me know that they are currently working on the upgrade so they can get the data up again as soon as possible. So they are definitely trying to correct the problem. If I hear anything else, I’ll post it in this post.
UPDATE: According to the AATA, here’s the situation:
The core software of our operating system is undergoing a major overhaul. We’ve been effectively using a first-generation system (one of the first in the world) with lots of patches up to this point…so this is really needed.
Unfortunately this will take the bus tracking offline for two-three weeks.
Most of our internal systems have data right now.
This upgrade is expected to bring enhancements internally, but I don’t know at point if any of these will be easily visible to riders.
According to an AATA staff person, this upgrade should help improve data accessibility and reliability.
UPDATE 09/25/08: Here’s what the IT person at the AATA says about the issue:
We do expect this service to resume within the next two weeks. We are upgrading our GPS system and due to technical constraints, cannot provide Ride Trak information while upgrading. Within the next few days we will be able to post better information on our website, www.theride.org, concerning the date this service will resume.
UPDATE 2 09/25/08: Here’s what the Community Relations Manager Says:
AATA uses multiple software products that provide the data that is available on RideTrak. The backbone of our real time information system has been in need of an upgrade and a new server for some time and has been linked to some of the problems experienced by RideTrak users. The upgrade is in process this week and testing is being conducted on the RideTrak system concurrently. We anticipate that RideTrak will be available within one to two weeks at the most. We apologize for the inconvenience this causes to all of our users and hope to have it up and running sooner.
Unfortunately, we were not able to run the old system while testing the new system. This was our preference but to do this we would have had to set up two infrastructures on every bus and at our communication tower.
I hope this answers your question and again, we apologize for the inconvenience.
Regards,
Mary K. Stasiak
Manager of Community Relations
Local cyclists are reporting that several bike lanes in Ann Arbor have recently been restriped.
They include
For those of you who don’t know, the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS) does most of the transportation planning for the county. They recently put together a Long Range Transportation Plan for 2030. This coincides nicely with Ann Arbor’s Transportation Plan Update.
In addition to creating the Long Range Plan, WATS now has its own blog. Here’s what you’ll find on the blog:
This blog will keep you updated on the development of the Long Range Plan and provide you with an opportunity to participate in developing the Plan.
Meeting times and locations along with other transportation related information will be posted. We’ll also work to keep content updated frequently. Click the subscribe button on the right to add our feed or enter your email address in the space provided to receive email updates when we post new information.
 |
Straight from the inbox of Jimmy himself, here’s the scoop on this year’s Night of the Living Tread:
|
