It’s that time of year again.  The Ann Arbor Art Fairs will descend upon downtown Ann Arbor from Weds. July 16-Sat. July 19th.

Because the Art Fair’s close many downtown streets and parking prices increasing during this time, you might be looking for other commuting options during this time.

getDowntown has created a page on our website with info on Art Fair Commuting, from which streets will be closed, to what you need to know to get around.

Check it out here: www.getdowntown.org/resources/Commuting_during_Art_Fair.html

In light of the fact that more people are riding AATA buses that ever before, some of you might be wondering if the number of people putting their bikes on the buses is also increasing.

Well it is.

According to the AATA, the number of people boarding an AATA bus and putting their bikes on the bus has been increasing for the last several years.

In May 2008, there were 3,056 bus boardings with bikes.  This is up 18% from 2,593 bike boardings for May 2007.

What might account for this increase?  Well it makes sense that as more people ride the bus, more people will bring their bikes on the bus.  But I also wonder if some of the reason is that people are biking from further away to catch the bus.  Or perhaps more people are just biking in general, and that is leading to more bikes on the bus.

Another interesting stat that I just came across is how many people in the downtown report commuting by bike:

In a 2001 UM study, 2.2% of people surveyed reported commuting by bike to the downtown.
In a 2005 UM study, the percentage increased to 4.2%
And in a study conducted last year (October 2007) by getDowntown (which had similar numbers of survey respondents), the bike commuting percentage was 7.4%

So according to the data at hand, there definitely seems to be an increase in the numbers of people bike commuting, as I surmised in yesterday’s post.

So I just parked by bike over at the Ann/Ashley parking structure today and saw something I’ve never seen before: all of the moped/motorcycle spaces in that lot were being used!

The reason this is so surprising is because I had been told that these spots are never full.

I’m seeing the same phenomenon with non-motorized bikes.  It seems like everywhere I turn downtown there is a bike parked at a bike hoop, or on a sign, or on a tree.

Now, I’ve not worked downtown before, so perhaps the increase in bikes and bikers happens just like this every summer.  But I wonder if it’s even more pronounced this year because of gas prices.

That’s the problem with observation . . . you can see something, but you don’t really know if it’s statistically accurate or not.

So, I’d be really interested in hearing from folks who have recently started biking to work (either on a bike or a moped/motorcycle) as a result of high gas prices, or for another reason.

You can email me your thoughts at getdowntown@annarborchamber.org

If you haven’t already read The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell, I definitely recommend it.  The Tipping Point is commonly described as “any point when a gradual change quickens and becomes irreversible”.

Some people are wondering if we have reached this point with sustainable transportation because of high gas prices.

That’s the idea discussed in this recent Wall Street Journal Article.

But I don’t think you need to read the article to see what’s going on.  More people that ever are getting on the bus, biking, walking, carpooling, etc. I definitely see this happening in Ann Arbor, where the number of people participating in the Commuter Challenge almost doubled from last year.

I have heard many people remark that they have carpooled, biked, taken the bus, etc. for the first time recently.

So how do you change people’s behavior?  I think gas prices can definitely help.

Hello all,

Looks like we will still be going ahead with the Green Fair, Bike Fest and Green Commute since the forecast is only calling for a 40% chance of rain.  So do the no rain dance and come on down!

It’s all happening between 6pm-9pm on Main Street and Liberty Street in Downtown Ann Arbor

As part of the Mayor’s Green Fair, getDowntown is helping organize a Bike Fest and Green Commute section of the Green Fair.  We will have tons or great activities, including rides on the Seven Person Conference Bike, an AATA Hybrid Bus, a Zipcar, and much much more!

Read all about Bike Fest Here

Read all about Green Commute Here

Want to see the Commuter Challenge through the eyes of someone who lived it?  You can by checking out Cedric Richner’s Commuter Challenge Blog. Cedric works for Richner and Richner as a fundraising consultant.

Here are a couple of snippets:

“May 1: Today is the beginning of my vow to not use my car for the entire month. I walked down to the bus stop, chest thrust out- nose in the air- and dismissively eyed the mass of humanity in their gas guzzling behemoths. I could practically hear them cackling with glee as they raced through the streets relentlessly pursuing their demonic mission to destroy the earth with their over the top, self absorbed singular focus on sucking the planet’s resources dry one commuter, one commute at a time. . . .”

“May 5: Today marks the day of my first official client visit via my bike. I was about to leave on the three mile ride to the client site when a co-worker told me that she was going to be driving right by where I needed to go… What could I do? What would you have done? . . .”

“May 7: Warning! Beware of any company that employees a guy named Rooney, William
Vice President, Security Strategy and Special Operations… You just know that you are going to be in for a bad experience. Rooney, William works for a company called “Amtrak”. You might have heard of it…”

Read Cedric’s Commuter Challenge blog here

Here’s another post from Washtenaw County employee Stacy Ebron about the Commuter Challenge:

Thank goodness for the Commuter Challenge. I started biking to work last summer and continued through the fall.  I’ll admit the winter months were challenging and I finally decided in early December that winter biking in Michigan was too much for me.

The Commuter Challenge gave me the motivation I needed to dust off my bike again and resume biking to work.  On days when the weather is not cooperative, I decided to catch the bus.

This month, I even learned how to put my bike on the bus for days when biking to work was not practical/convenient, but biking from work was.  What I learned from this experience is that taking the bus is more convenient than I thought.  Even on days when I have to travel from work to visit a client site, I have found that for some locations, I can catch the bus with my bike and then bike home the client site.

I still wish the bus came more frequently, but I realized that the bus ride really only adds about 10 minutes to my regular commute to work.  The savings on gas, the benefit to my personal health and to the health of the environment are definitely worth the 10 extra minutes.

Thanks for the challenge I needed to discover that there are even more alternatives to driving to work than I had considered.

This Citizen Post comes from Stacy Ebron.  Stacy works for Washtenaw County, as the Homeless Management Information Systems Coordinator.

How biking to work can help you lose weight and get your husband to do the dishes

Last year my husband encouraged me to start biking.  He had been biking for about a year and really wanted it to be an activity that we could do together.  I agreed to go bike shopping with him.  After the first trip, he came home and did the dishes.  After the second trip to look at bikes, he folded clothes.  I soon thought I was on to something.  On the third trip I found a comfort bike that I loved and decided not to hold out for the chance to see him mop.

My adventure in biking started slowly.  At first, I started with a trip to the mall and back which was about a mile.  Gradually, I worked my way up about a mile each week and then set a goal to bike to work.  After a few weekends practicing the commute in partial increments, I finally believed that I could make it there and back (8-10 miles roundtrip depending on the route).  I felt such a sense of accomplishment that I began biking to work 2-3 days a week.  After 4 months, I lost 30 pounds, gained some new leg muscles, and a great sense of pride in myself for achieving a healthier lifestyle, and contributing to the environment.   This change led to more quality time for my husband and I and motivated him to bike to work more frequently and to continue through the winter months (I’m still working on this).  I encourage people to find a bike that is comfortable for them and then set small goals to work up to fabulous results.  I had forgotten how much fun I had as a child riding my back, but it all came back to me.  Enjoy the ride!

–Stacy

Here’s a Curb Your Car Month Post from Ann Arbor Googler Vicki Chan.

Here’s how Vicki describes herself:

As an AdWords associate for Google, I assist AdWords advertisers with their accounts and online marketing strategies. I graduated from Yale University with a degree in Sociology. I hail from Oakland, California and love to babysit, play Ultimate Frisbee and make bad jokes. (Mostly puns.)

Here’s Vicki’s Post:

Hybrid is the word of the day

This summer, yours truly will be playing with a club ultimate Frisbee team in Ann Arbor called Hybrid. To commute to those practices, I just bought a sweet Trek Multirack Women’s Hybrid bike in April. It’s no surprise that I’m also considering purchasing a Hybrid vehicle somewhere down the line. When I decide to have a kid, it’ll only be right to name her Hybridia, or Hybrid if he’s a boy.

I recently moved to Ann Arbor to start work with the Google office, and chose a friendly, family neighborhood apartment about 2 miles away from the office. During the winter and snow, I rode the Ann Arbor city bus downtown (go 9 and 9U!). Dragging myself out of bed in those below freezing temperatures was only made tolerable because of the bus drivers Ted and Dorien I met along the way. I just thought about how early they had to get up, and suddenly it didn’t seem so bad for me. Riding the bus with my fellow commuters in silent solidarity against the wind and sleet was actually a very unifying experience, but for the sake of sunshine, let’s fast forward to Spring and allow me to tell you why my commute is a hybrid commute, and not just a slushy snowy bus ride.

Last month at the start of Spring, I was ecstatic to finally wear short sleeves again and don my Wonderwoman helmet to break in my new bike. Riding west on Washington St. and seeing kids play roller hockey on the street and dogs chase obese squirrels up trees is downright blissful. After being indoors in an office building for most of the day, breathing fresh air and seeing playful creatures (both kids and squirrels alike) keeps me sane and grounded. I’m an outdoors person, and I’ve been known to chase a squirrel or two. Having that time before and after work to see and think about all things nature is really a necessary part of my day.

Commuting to work is all about choices, and I can’t ride to work every single day, but I can choose to diversify my sustainable commute options by using a hybrid strategy of self-powered commute options: riding my bike, using the bus system, and occasionally the nice long walk. An added incentive that pushes me to use sustainable commutes on rainy days is that Google supports the Self-Powered Commute program, which earns my nonprofit of choice $5 in donation for each day I walk, bike, or bus to work.

The short story is that I’m glad it’s Spring and I’m glad I get to bike again. I’m also glad for fat, but speedy squirrels, otherwise that Spring scene wouldn’t be quite as pleasant. Perhaps I can fit the chunky monkey squirrels with mini Hybrid bikes, so they can get some hybrid variety in their happy little lives too.

See you on those biking lanes!

Vicki