Treehugger recently posted an interesting set of ideas for how to make your City more bike and ped friendly.

Their suggestions (in sum):

1. Take away right on red turns for cars
2. Install more red light enforcement cameras
3. Have more parties (e.g. excuses to close the roads)
4. Rein in distracted driving (e.g. drivers with cell phones)
5. Support limited speed limits to 20 mph
6. Go on a Tweed Ride (you’ll have to read the post to see what this is)
7. Look to New York City for inspiration

The interesting part about many of these ideas is that Ann Arbor is already doing many of them.  The idea of no turn on red was suggested in the Ann Arbor Non-motorized plan.  We have lots of parties downtown (Art Fair, Green Fair, the Car Show, etc), which I think definitely makes it more pedestrian friendly.  Downtown people can’t really go more than 20 mph and I know the City as a whole has struggled with speed limits.  We might not have a Tweed Ride but we do have the Ride Around Town (RAT–thanks WBWC!).  Especially downtown, I think we are moving in the right direction on many of these items.

What do you think is missing from this list?  What else could we do downtown and elsewhere to create a better environment for peds and cyclists in Ann Arbor?

One of the great things about working in downtown Ann Arbor is that great restaurants are around every corner.  There’s no need to get into your car to get a tasty lunch.

So why not grab a group of co-workers and sample some of the yummy offerings during Ann Arbor Restaurant Week?

Restaurant Week runs from Jan 17th-22nd.  Click here to check out the menus.

Here’s a short little podcast with some Winter Bike Commuting tips from Vermont Public Radio.

And for those of you in Ann Arbor who Commute by Bike through the winter, don’t forget to participate in Wheels in Motion’s Winter Commuter Challenge.

A New York Times Blog recently posted that public transit ridership declined by 3.8% during the first nine months of 2009.  Not surprising given the lower gas prices and unemployment stats for 2009.   The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority experienced similar declines during that time.   Also of note is that transit ridership in San Francisco actually increased during this time.

One thing the blog post doesn’t consider is the change in automobile use during this time.  Were people also driving less because they didn’t have the money to go shopping etc?  Or maybe people were driving more because gas is cheap.  I am sure this stat is out there somewhere.

It would also be interesting to consider who stopped taking the bus.  Did people who always take the bus simply take the bus less?  Or did people who could choose between driving or busing choose to drive?  It’s not as if all transit riders are the same.  It would be very interesting to delve into this data as well.

For a somewhat basic breakdown of this concept, in the APTA report, it appears that ridership on Commuter Rail and Buses declined about 5% while ridership on Heavy Rail and Light Rail declined to a lesser degree (about 3% and 1% respectively) .  Trolley ridership actually increased by .6%   It would be interesting to see why the declines are different.  Any thoughts?

So I guess the take home lesson in all of this (which we’ve known here at the getDowntown Program for a while now) is that cost matters when it comes to transportation choices.  Most people will be more likely to change their commuting behavior when it starts to hit their pocketbook.  People are also more likely to change their commuting behavior when they live closer to where they work (within 4 miles or so).

As we enter a New Year and continue to have debates surrounding healthcare and global warming, how does transportation (and commuting in particular) fit into this picture?  What would our world look like if more people in Ann Arbor (and the US) used sustainable transportation?  What problems would this solve (or create)?

FYI this should be a really interesting conference.  I’ll be presenting at a couple of sessions.

MOVING MINDS: The Next Transportation Infrastructure

November 9 – 12, 2009

Primary Location: Michigan League, U of M Campus Ann Arbor. 911 N. University Ave. 734-764-0446.

It’s a pivotal time for transportation — in the U.S., in Southeast Michigan, and worldwide. Half the world now lives in city regions. By 2020 that figure will rise to 2/3, challenging current transportation models and policies while at the same time opening exciting new opportunities for business and innovation.

Moving Minds: The Next Transportation Infrastructure will bring top researchers together with business leaders, entrepreneurs, practitioners and policy makers from around the world and across the U.S. to advance new thinking and to accelerate implementation of systems-based New Mobility solutions and infrastructures.

Special focus: “Moving Minds” — understanding the cultural, psychological, and aspirational underpinnings of our relationship to transportation (for both users and leaders), and responding with innovative systems, policies, and business models that address these values sustainably, equitably and compellingly. Primary Sponsor: Ford Motor Company.

Highlights:

• Llew Wells, former West Wing producer – on “moving minds”
• Scott Page, world-renowned systems scholar on diversity, resilience, and national security
• Florencia Serrania, former head of Mexico City’s transit system – on connectivity
• Amit Kapoor, Chair of India Competitiveness Institute and Harvard Business School
• Joint sessions with UM Urban Land Institute on the transport & real estate revolutions
• Naveen Lamba, IBM Global Industry Leader for Intelligent Transportation Systems
• Robin Chase, Founder & Former CEO, ZipCar
• Focused sessions on: business opportunities, pilots, research, and capacity building

The SMART Summit provides a platform for collaboration among leaders from private sector, public sector, non-governmental organizations and academia, who undertake pilot projects, research, education, and global learning exchange on a range of pressing issues and opportunities related to the future of transportation in city regions around the world. For background on SMART: http://um-smart.org

Video footage of last year’s summit:    http://um-smart.org/resources/conference/video.html

2009 SMART Moving Minds Summit:    http://um-smart.org/resources/conference09/overview.html

MOVING MINDS: THE NEXT TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE is coming up fast -
 November 9 – 12 in Ann Arbor. Hotel blocks are filling up and the early-
bird rate ends October 22 (this Thursday) end of day.

For more information go to
 http://um-smart.org and click on the SMART summit link in the left margin.

Special Highlights Include:

•       The world (and the country) at your doorstep. Urban transportation thought leaders, practitioners, business leaders 
and policy makers from the U.S. and around the world

•       New Mobility Primer Salon – Mon. Nov 9, 6:30 pm – free & open to
 the public

•       New Mobility Entrepreneurs forum, also Monday night

•       Moving Minds public event – The psychology of our transportation 
choices and new visions for the next generation of transportation

•       Special working luncheon to connect SE Michigan transportation 
initiatives – Tues. Nov 10. (SMART’s Connect & Prosper Initiative
 celebrates its new supporting partner, the Mott Foundation).

•       Design in Motion Breakfast – forging the link between design, mobility
 & accessibility (at Angelo’s – delicious) – Wed. Nov. 11

•       Special working luncheon on New Mobility, resilience, and national 
security (Wed. Nov 11)

•       New Mobility Means Business – a panel focused on the emerging
 business opportunities of innovative transportation in an urbanizing world

•       Hands-on mapping session linking real estate and New Mobility – in 
partnership with the UM-ULI Real Estate Forum (see 
http://www.umuliforum.com/)

•       Policy & Research panel Wed Nov 11, setting the stage for a focused all-
afternoon collaborative research workshop geared to accelerating
 sustainable transportation implementation – Thurs. Nov. 12

Want to extend your bike commuting into the colder months?  Need some help with the transition?

The staff over at Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness prepared some articles last year on winter bike commuting that I thought might come in handy as the cold starts to settle in.

Check them out:

Winter Commuting: Has some practical advice to deal with some important winter commuting issues, such as fear of accidents, and more.

Prepare Your Bike for Winter: Some advice on how to deal with your bike when the weather turns cold.

Great lakes will also be hosting winter commuting clinics on Oct 21, Nov 4, and Nov 18.

Another great place to get advice on Winter Bike Commuting is Commute By Bike.  Here’s a post from a couple of years ago with people discussing commuting by bike during the winter.

You can also check out Icebike, which has some nice winter commuting information.

And since I am a winter commuter, I thought I’d share a couple of my top tips as well.  My commute is about 2 miles one-way, so not that bad.

Nancy’s Top Tips for Winter Commuting:

• Your feet and hands get cold first. Make sure to get a good pair of windproof gloves or mittens to keep your hands warm and some nice insulated boots for your feet.
• Hats and scarves are also great. I find that my chin gets cold as does my head, so a nice fleece scarf and hat with ear flaps does the trick.  And I got both items from Value World.
• Windproof gear rocks. For an outer layer, focus on something windproof.  This will help protect you from cold gusts of wind.
• Yes, I do wear a snow suit. When it gets below 20 degrees, I put on a snow suit (the overall kind) over my clothes.  It works really well to keep out the cold.
• A beater bike can help keep your regular bike clean and nice. I have an older bike that I use when it gets nasty outside.  This helps to protect my nicer bike from salt, debris, and yucky winter weather.
• Lights are essential. When it gets cold, it also gets dark.  So don’t forget your lights!
• Finally, don’t bike if you don’t want to. If it’s too snowy or cold, don’t torture yourself.  I don’t want you complaining to me that you hate winter biking because you went out when you didn’t really feel like dealing with it.  You can always walk or take the bus (which is sometimes what I do when it gets really bad).

I’m sure there will be more thoughts on winter biking soon.  In the meantime, post some of your thoughts below and let us know how you deal with winter bike commuting in Ann Arbor.

Want to see where your bus is in real time?  Want to see where a particular stop is for your route?  If you currently take Route 6 (Ellisworth and Briarwood) all of this can now be yours!  AATA is partnering with Shepard Intelligent Systems to pilot a program similar to Magic Bus on Route 6.  This is a pilot that could be expanded to other Routes.

Check it out and tell them what you think!

Just checked out this article on MSN featuring 10 Cities with great transit.  The funny thing is, many of them are slightly larger than the size of Ann Arbor.  Grand Rapids actually makes the list, which is a little shocking to me.

The question we all need to ask though, is how to get Ann Arbor on this list.  My quick and dirty thoughts:

1. Express bus service from Ypsi-Ann Arbor and more express bus service connecting Wayne County to Washtenaw County.

2. Bus service that runs until at least 1am on the weekdays and until at least 10pm on the weekends.

3. Train service from Detroit to Ann Arbor.

4. Really good transit service (bus rapid transit, light rail or trolley) along Washtenaw, Packard, Huron, Plymouth Rd and State Street.

5.  More Transit Oriented and Walkable neighborhoods, office and retail areas surrounding these corridors.

6. A service connecting all of the UM campuses that runs at all hours.

7. Much more affordable housing (especially downtown) so that people can live close to where they work.

8.  Better pedestrian and bike access to major trip generators in this community (such as Briarwood Mall).

9.  Commuter bus service from Dexter, Canton, Saline and Ypsi Township to Ann Arbor.

That’s where I would start.

The funny thing is, most of this stuff is in someone’s plan for this community.  So I know there are others out there who feel the same way.