Wheels in Motion recently sent out an email about their Worst Day of the Year Ride Event, happening on January 25th, 2009.

You can register for the event and check out more info on the Worst Day of the Year Ride website.

Among the things to know:

• There are cool Worst Day of the Year Ride Shirts you can purchase this year.
• Wheels in Motion is doing a “Worst Sale of the Year” event on January 17th with 20-30% off most items in the store.

getDowntown will be there to see you off on the day of the event.  Let’s hope it’s just a Worst Day of the Year Ride and not a Coldest Day of the Year Ride.

As part of the City of Ann Arbor’s New Bike website a2gov.org/bike, they have included some Frequently Asked Questions.   They are at the bottom of the page, so you may not have seen them.  I am pasting that word for word here.

I think they provide some valuable info, so here you go [my comments in brackets]:

What are the Rules of the Road for cycling in Ann Arbor?

The State of Michigan recently updated parts of the Michigan Vehicle Code, redefining some of the rules of the road for cyclists.  The City of Ann Arbor is currently in the process of updating portions of the city ordinance Chapter 127:  Bicycles.  These changes will make local law more consistent with state law.

In the meantime, cyclists should use the Michigan Vehicle Code as a guide.  The rules for cyclists can be found here.

Does the city require bicycle parking in new construction projects?  Why is bike parking important?

The City of Ann Arbor requires that bicycle parking be included in all new construction projects.  The requirements for parking can be found in Chapter 59 of the City’s Codes.

The city requires several different kinds of bike parking (see Bicycle Parking Guide for more information). [the Bicycle Parking Guide is on the a2gov.org/bike website.]

Bicycle parking is important for many reasons.  Investing in safe and convenient bicycle parking can benefit your business, office, or residential complex. More and more people in Ann Arbor are taking advantage of the convenience, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of traveling by bicycle.  One of the most crucial parts of that travel is a safe and secure place to park your bike. Having such a place in front of your business can increase your overall parking capacity at a small cost, attract customers who ride bicycles, eliminate the clutter and damage of unplanned bicycle parking and encourage customers that generally drive to try biking instead.

If I have a question about bicycling in the City of Ann Arbor, who should I contact?

The City of Ann Arbor is dedicated to making bicycling an easy, dependable, and fun way to make trips.  The Ann Arbor Bicycle Coordinator is Eli Cooper (ecooper@a2gov.org), and any questions or comments about bicycling in Ann Arbor should be directed to him.

[if you have more specific questions about what bike routes to use, another good place to contact is the WBWC email group.  You can find out more about that group here.]

What is the Alternative Transportation Committee?

Ann Arbor’s Alternative Transportation Committee is a committee of city staff, county staff, citizen advocates, the DDA, and many other organizations.  The committee meets on a monthly or bi-monthly basis to discuss relevant issues in nonmotorized transportation, including bicycling.  If you are interested in presenting, or if you have any questions, please contact the city’s Bicycle Coordinator, Eli Cooper. [I also attend the Alt Transportation Committee]

How does the city plan for bike lanes and other bicycle facilities?

The City of Ann Arbor Non-motorized Plan 2007 guides the city as it continues to build and maintain more bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, and other non-motorized facilities.  Information on the Plan can be found here. [Please note that even though there is a plan that doesn't mean there is the money to do everything outlined in the plan.  This is where citizen input and feedback is important.]

What is the 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation?

The 2010 campaign is a coordinated effort to “elevate trails, walking, and biking nationally by doubling the federal investment in active transportation” (from the Rails-to-Trails website). For Ann Arbor and the surrounding communities, the campaign could result in significant federal investment in the active transportation infrastructure, resulting in a complete network of bike-lanes and sidewalks, in improved connections across highway and interstate overpasses, and in continued investment in the Allen Creek Greenway.  More information on Ann Arbor’s campaign can be found here. [This is part of the Federal ReAuthorization of the Transportation Bill.  It might be awhile before this bill is reauthorized].

I know many of you out there have been asking when the AATA’s Ridetrak system will be up and running again.  The AATA recently posted an update on that service on their website.

It says:

AATA IT staff have been working to migrate AATA internet services to a shared infrastructure with the City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County governments. Due to the complicated nature of this process, several services remain offline and others could be temporarily disrupted.

-The Ridetrak real-time information system and mobile.theride.org are currently offline pending testing.

The systems are expected to be restored sometime during the week of 1/12/09 barring further complications.

I also was on a bus today and noticed that the new Winter 2009  Ride Guides are available (They are blue with a green strip).

Some of the Service Updates listed in the Ride Guide:

• AATA now has a new service (Route 17) that serves the Amtrak station and Depot Town.
• Route 4: a new trip from Arborland to the UM campus is being added at 5:36pm and another from the Zina Pitcher/Ann stop to Arborland at 5:58pm.  The bus then serves UM Hospital at 6:00pm and Washtenaw and South U at 6:07pm.  For more info on this, consult a Ride Guide.
• Route 7: Weekday evening trips from WCC will leave six minutes laters at 6:04, 7:04, 8:04, 9:04 and 10:04pm to accomodate WCC riders whose classes end at 55 minutes past the hour.  Please note, WCC now offers a discounted bus pass for WCC students.
• Route 18: The after-school depature time from Skyline is being changes from 2:48pm to 2:55pm to accomodate the bell time of 2:45pm.  The bus will arrive at Blake Transite Center at 3:07pm and no longer make a connection with buses leaving at 3:00pm.  The bus will continue to Mott to begin a return trip to the Miller Road Park and Ride Lot at 3:13pm.