Check out this short video from Minnesota Public Radio on winter bike commuting.  It shows you that winter biking commuting in colder climates like Michigan can actually be fun and not too complicated.

Mark Maynard recently wrote this post on a grassroots effort underway by several religious leaders to bring better transit to the eastern side of Washtenaw county.  In addition, the group is interested in connecting Wayne County to Washtenaw County.

According to Mark Maynard, The top issues discussed at the meeting were:

Washtenaw County Bus Service
• Outside the city of Ann Arbor, funding must come from municipalities
• Financial difficulties for some municipalities threatens service to entire eastern part of the county
• Idea of countywide funding being considered for vote next year (MOSES’ sister organization in Kalamazoo, ISAAC, led successful campaign for countywide transit funding)
• More regional funding would allow bus service where it is needed, not just where there is funding

Washtenaw County – Wayne County Bus Connection
• For several years, there has been no bus service from Belleville to either the west or east
• AATA could provide a route from Ypsilanti to Belleville, and the SMART system could also connect to Belleville

Ann Arbor Detroit Commuter Rail
• Planning continues for pilot program that would operate commuter trains on Amtrak and freight lines
• About 10 trains per day in both directions
• Likely stops would be Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Metro Airport, Dearborn, and Detroit/New Center
• Requires cooperation between Washtenaw Co, Wayne Co, and the City of Detroit

Ann Arbor-Howell Commuter Rail
• Would ease congestion on US23
• Railroad owner and City of Ann Arbor are seriously discussing
• Service could begin within 2 years

The next meeting of this organization is Thursday, January 8th at 6:30pm at the First Congregational Church of Christ on N Adams @ Emmet in Ypsilanti.

Sunday was Winter Solstice, which means that the days are now getting longer. Hooray! However, as the recent weather is showing, we still have at least a few months of dark, drizzly, snowy, foggy weather ahead of us. Boo. For those of us who bicycle around a lot, keeping visible in this weather can be a heck of a challenge. I wanted to share something I’ve recently discovered, which is the Reelight. Made by a Dutch company, to quote their blog,

Reelights are daylight running lights for bicycles. With Reelight, you always have lights on your bike – day and night! The permanently fitted magnet lights flash when the wheels rotate and therefore work without any batteries.

You install a couple of magnets on your spokes, the light on your hub, and they’re powered magnetically by the spinning motion. This means that you don’t have to worry about replacing batteries, and they take long enough to remove that they’re much less likely to be stolen than handlebar-mounted lights. Not quite bright enough to be headlights, but enough to greatly improve your visibility. The front light is white, and the rear light is red, just like our automotive brethren.

The most basic model, the SL100, flashes as you pedal, while the top-of-the-line SL150 has a steady beam. A few different independent bike shops in the US carry them (I got mine from Niagara Cycle Works, via mail order), though your Local Bike Shop can probably order them.

For the extra-curious, here’s a youtube video demonstrating a rear light.

So I guess I was officially outed as a transportation geek last night at ArbCamp.  As someone with a Master’s Degree in Social Work (Community Organization) I never expected to be doing this.  But I totally love it, so I guess that’s what matters.

Anyway, former Ann Arborite and Arbor Update founder Rob Goodspeed recently wrote an interesting post analyzing real time parking data in downtown Ann Arbor.  What he found was that the Maynard Street parking structure was only really at capacity around the lunch hour.  During other times, there were more spaces.

Mr. Goodspeed then makes some observations:

First, the vast majority of the parking lots and structures are almost totally empty the majority of the time. This means they represent a huge amount of inactive urban space.

Second, from the chart we can see that parking demand at the DDA’s prevailing price structure is very spiky, with extremely high demand only at limited times.

Perhaps it’s because like other seemingly scientific questions in urban planning the answer is not scientific but value-laden and political. (A similar question: How many freeways and/or lanes do we need?) And in Ann Arbor, the people want more parking.

I’ll let you read his analysis and decide for yourself if you agree with Observations 1 and 2.  As for Observation 3, it is often the case that decisions are made based on perceptions and politics, rather than just on the raw data.

I have had the privilege of hanging out and working with Megan Owens of Transit Riders United from time to time.  She just sent out this message that I thought I should pass along to you:

Bad news – efforts to increase transit funding this year have died.

Good news – the bills allowing and supporting a non-profit Woodward streetcar line passed.

A huge thanks to everyone who called and wrote their legislators and helped spread the word.  Many legislators did get the message and there was a buzz about there.

We’re not done.  We and our partners plan to start again early next year, and we continue to need your help:

1) Please join/donate today.  We can’t do this work alone and we can’t do it for free.  Please give what you can.

2) Write a letter to the editor of your local paper, call into your favorite radio show and/or comment on related blogs [ahem] and online forums.

Help make sure that with every pothole, every late bus, every icy road, people remember that our legislature was this year unwilling to invest in Michigan’s transportation infrastructure!

3) If you’re in the Detroit area, join us at a Transit Policy meeting on Wednesday, January 14 at 6pm at the TRU office to strategize for next year.

Thanks.  Enjoy the holidays and get ready for an exciting new year!

Megan

The City of Ann Arbor recently posted a status report regarding the implementation of A2D2 parking and transportation recommendations.

For those who don’t know, A2D2 is Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown, which is the product of many years that is working to guide the development of downtown Ann Arbor.  More info about A2D2 is here

Among the initiatives taken up by the City the DDAand the getDowntown Program:

• Zipcar: The DDA and getDowntown are working to bring 4 Zipcars to downtown Ann Arbor.  My hope is that the contract is signed for this by the end of the year and we have cars on the ground within 1 to 2 months of that signed contract.
• Parking: There are now reserved spaces for carpools and vanpools in downtown parking structures and the DDA is working on plans for an underground parking structure on the Library Lot.
• Transit: Service hours for the Link were extended to 11pm.  They don’t say this, but it should also be noted that a Night Ride Shuttle and a2Chelsea Express were also launched.
• Non-Motorized: The DDA has refurbished bike lockers downtown, added moped and motorcycle parking, and approved plans for the Fifth and Division improvements.
• Wayfinding: Wayfinding signage is underway downtown.
• Lead by Example: The City of Ann Arbor is working with getDowntown on a customized sustainable commuting program for City Employees.
• On the Horizon: Plans for a Park and Ride Lot at Plymouth and US-23, installation of parking pay stations, and an express bus from Brighton to Ann Arbor (I actually heard the bus would be from Canton).

There is an AATA Board Meeting Tonight at 6:30pm at the AATA Office on South Industrial.  The #6 Bus stops right in front of the office.  The last bus leaves the AATA Main Office for downtown at 10:28pm.

Among the discussion topics for the night:

• Consideration of resolutino authorizating additional funds for the Northeast Connector Study.
• Reports from the various committees

That appears to be about it.

In May 2008, the AATA along with SEMCOG and getDowntown launched an online ridesharing database called Michigan Rideshare.

MIRideshare.org allows someone from Washtenaw, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne counties to find a carpool or vanpool partner.

And if you organize a carpool through MIRideshare.org you are eligible for a Guaranteed Ride Home Program, which will provide you with taxi fare or rental car reimbursement in case of personal or family illness, unscheduled overtime or unscheduled departure of your carpool driver.

MIRideshare is powered by Greenride, which is the same software the UM is using for it’s carpool program.

Some of you may be interested in carpooling with someone, but aren’t sure if you’ll find anyone through MIRideshare.  First off, let me tell you a true story.  . .

Once upon a time (May 2008) in a faraway land (Ann Arbor), an employee from the YMCA who lives in Livingston County was looking for a carpool partner.  He signed up on mirideshare.org and was able to find someone who works just a couple blocks away that also lives in Livingston County.  Now the two of them carpool together on a regular basis and really enjoy it!

Second off, here are some statistics about MIRideshare.org:

Activity on MIRideshare.org from 11/01/08-12/17/08

Total active users (people who are interested in carpooling): 3979
Total added during Nov 1-Dec 17: 165
Average matches per carpool search: 13
Average start distance difference: 4.34 miles
Average end distance difference: 3.27 miles

A recent study further supports the link between walking and biking and transit use with  lower rates of obesity.

Researchers at the University of Tennessee and Rutgers looked at 17 industrialized countries across Europe, North America and Australia and found the following:

“Countries with the highest levels of active transportation generally had the lowest obesity rates,” authors David Bassett of the University of Tennessee and John Pucher of Rutgers University conclude.

Americans, with the highest rate of obesity, were the least likely to walk, cycle or take mass transit, according to the study in a recent issue of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. The study relied on each country’s own travel and health data.

Only 12 percent use active transportation in the United States — 9 percent walk, 1 percent ride a bike and 2 percent take a bus or train — while a quarter to a third are obese, the study said.

By comparison, 67 percent of commuters in Latvia, 62 percent in Sweden and 52 percent in the Netherlands either walk, bike or use mass transit. Latvia’s obesity rate is 14 percent, the Netherlands’ is 11 percent and Sweden’s is 9 percent.

A similar pattern was found in Canada (19 percent active transportation, 23 percent obese) and Australia (14 percent active transportation, 21 percent obese).

Why don’t Americans walk, bike or take public transit as much as Europeans?  The researchers explain that one reason is that the relative density of European cities makes it easier for people to get around without a car.

I would not be surprised if obesity rates for those who bike, walk, bus or take public transit in downtown Ann Arbor is lower than for Washtenaw County as a whole.  One of the reasons I think this is because it is much easier to walk, bike and bus downtown than it is to do this in other parts of Washtenaw County that are less compact.

Of course, there are other factors that come into play in terms of who chooses to live in a more dense area and who doesn’t.  But again, this really makes an argument for the importance of designing communities so that they support the use of sustainable and active transportation.  And I don’t think this means only building housing, office space and commercial space downtown, and I don’t think means only building 20 story buildings.

There is also something to be said for building up some of the outlying areas so that they allow for mixed use and more dense development so that people can bike, walk, or bus to do their shopping rather than just rely on their cars.