Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority

The Buses are Alive, with an Increase in Ridership

Posted by Nancy Shore on 9. January 2008

Update: After posting this article I received some feedback from the AATA clarifying some of the statements I made below. I am including their comments in italics so you can get the full story of what is going on.

The AATA Board Finance Committee recently asked staff to come up with recommendations for reducing bus service to low-performing routes and increasing service to routes that are doing well. Sounds easy, right?

So several months ago, the staff set out to do just that. They based their reduction recommendations on which routes had the lowest ridership (such as the 14 and the 1U) and on consultant recommendations.

At today’s Policy and Operations Meeting, AATA Board members were supposed to approve the proposed service changes. The P & O Committee was planning to recommend to the full board that the public input process move forward with respect to the recommended service changes. They were not supposed to approve the proposed service changes. But something amazing happened.

More riders are riding buses that ever before. And the low performing routes are no longer doing all that bad. In fact they’re doing quite good. What we don’t know is whether the increase in ridership is along the portions of the routes that are proposed for adjustments.

Staff is seeing an unprecedented amount of passengers. 2-3 years ago, there were about 20 passengers per service hour. Now there are 32. October-December of 2006 1,414,976 people rode AATA buses. This past October-December, 1,502,863 people rode. That’s over 85,000 more riders (more passenger trips, not riders) , which is more than twice the enrollment at the U of M.

So who are these riders? Well, the UM does account for a lot of the increase. But that’s not all. The numbers of other riders are up, including those that use go!passes (yeah!).

The AATA is trying to figure out how it will modify service to meet the financial needs of the organization and the increased rider numbers. Stay tuned for some public meetings to address potential changes. In the meantime, I’ll see you on the bus!

In other AATA news . . .

The AATA recently installed 16 new bus shelters. 10 of those replaced old and unhappy shelters.

The AATA is looking at the feasibility of a fare increase. The last time they increased the fares was in 2001. But nothing is set in stone and the conversation is just getting started. The frequency of a fare increase is not the main reason to consider a new fare increase. There are many variables including the increase in fuel from 88 cents per gallon at the time we had our last fare increase to now paying $3.00 per gallon.

getDowntown is working with the AATA to create a transit service for evening employees in the downtown. The basic idea is having a van that picks up employees at a certain designated location downtown and drops them off at their destination. The service will probably be piloted in 3-6 months and start by providing service to employees who live on the west side of Ann Arbor (which, as was found in a survey getDowntown conducted, is where most evening employees live). getDowntown is presenting this survey to several groups and if you want a copy of the presentation, just email me at nancy@annarborchamber.org

The Policy and Operations Committee is discussing the advertising that is wrapped on the buses. Some individuals with visual impairments are saying they can’t see through the wraps.

Since the bus wraps bring in about $169,000 a year to the AATA, the organization is going to have to decide if having the wraps is worth the money or if they just present too much of a hassle for riders. Any comments you have about this would be appreciated. The $169,000 is equal to providing service more than doubling the service on some routes.

Finally, the AATA discussed what to do about snow at bus stops. This was recently an issue with the last snow storm since the City plows often pile up snow at AATA stops. The AATA is going to try to work with the City to coordinate snow removal to make sure stops don’t get covered.

That’s about it from AATA land

Comment [27]

Local

West Stadium Improvements Workshop 1/09/08

Posted by Juliew on 9. January 2008

Having opened up the discussion of the Stadium Bridges and South Main replacement to the community at large, the City is now looking for input on proposed improvements to Stadium between South Main and Pauline.

There will be a public workshop tomorrow, Wednesday, January 9, 2008, from 6:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. in the school cafeteria at Pioneer High School, 601 West Stadium.

From a flyer posted on the City’s website:

The workshop format will include presentations, small group interactive discussion sessions, and an initial ranking of potential directions for West Stadium road improvements. Interested participants are encouraged to attend the entire workshop.

The intersection at Pauline and West Stadium is scheduled for reconstruction in 2008. Potential road improvement suggestions for future West Stadium road reconstruction projects between Pauline and Seventh to begin in 2009 will be actively solicited at this workshop. The West Stadium Road reconstruction project is separate from the planned East Stadium Bridge reconstruction and the U-M Stadium renovations. Workshop discussions will be used to help coordinate planning efforts to minimize neighborhood and commuter impacts.

City Council

City Council: To PUD or Not to PUD

Posted by Juliew on 7. January 2008

Monday, January 7 at 7:00 pm.
City Council Agenda

Highlights:

• McKinley Towne Centre-Liberty Retail PUD request

• McKinley Towne Centre-Liberty Retail PUD Site Plan and Development Agreement

• Wagner Road Improvement Special Assessment Project

• Approval of Professional Services Agreement with Winter & Company for the Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown (A2D2) Historic Preservation and Design Guidelines Projects

• Approval of Partnership Agreement with Community Action Network for Operation of Bryant and Northside Community Centers

• Everyday Wine liquor license decision(?)

Comment [26]

Local

Happy Birthday Michigan Theater!

Posted by Juliew on 5. January 2008

Congratulations to the Michigan Theater on its 80th birthday!

There will be special events all year, kicking off today with $.80 movie admission for Theater members. The shows today are Atonement, The Savages, and a special screening of Some Like it Hot at 8:00pm. If you aren’t a member, today would be a great time to join so you can take advantage of this great deal!

Tomorrow (Sunday), there will be a special showing of Mary Poppins at 1:30 and admission is free for kids 12 and under.

For more information, see the Michigan Theater web site or the special 80th anniversary press release.

Local

All Ann Arbor Music Guide

Posted by Nancy Shore on 5. January 2008

Now I don’t pretend to be an expert on local music. Sure, I’ve seen Joe Reilly and my husband owns a couple of his CDs.

I’ve got some music from Ann Arbor label Ghostly. Caleb from Starling Electric sometimes scans my food at Arbor Farms.

I’ve heard of Gemini, Tally Hall, FUBAR, Saturday Looks Good to Me, Dick Siegel, The Chenille Sisters, etc.

You can see some of these folks (and others) at the new Cold Pork Thursday’s at the Blind Pig.

But what really blew me away this week was checking out the Metro Times and seeing that two Ann Arbor musicians/music groups made it onto the Times’ 2007 critics picks list. The article compiled the top ten picks from all of the Metro Times music staff.

Chris Bathgate’s “A Cork Tale Wake” made Hobey Echlin’s list. Echlin’s comments about A Cork Tale Wake are so Ann Arbor I just have to post them:

“Michigan folk so real in its autumnal glory — think Nick Drake via George Winston — that it made me want to grow a beard, move back to Ann Arbor and work at Zingerman’s.”

Apparently the Metro Times isn’t the only one who recognizes Bathgate’s talent. Another blogger calls Bathgate one of the Most Deserving Artist of 2007.

Local group Great Lakes Myth Society’s “Compass Rose Bouquet” made it onto two critics lists.

So what’s your take on Ann Arbor music. Who do you love and what do you know?

Comment [5]

Local

South U gets high

Posted by Nancy Shore on 3. January 2008

The Ann Arbor Business Review just posted an article on a new plan to build a 26 story student high rise in South U.

Story here: South University Poised for Transformation

The U-shaped “University Village” would go over where the Bagel Factory and the Village Corner are (actually, it would go right on top of them—they’d be demolished).

Some other notable project features:
“University Village is also expected to include a 14,000-square-foot green roof and a 20,000-square-foot raised courtyard that would open up to the west. It’s also aiming for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification and would include passive solar technology, advanced water systems and air quality monitoring.”

The buildings would house 850 students and have 380 parking spaces and 302 bicycle spaces (not bad).

The City will decide to accept or reject the project this Thursday.

The article goes on to discuss the changing nature of South U as more high rise student developments go up, like the in process Zaragon Place.

Could South U lead the way in created a dense and resident-heavy downtown? Time will tell.

Comment [35]

Goodbye 2007, Goodbye Lucy Ann Lance

Posted by Chuck Warpehoski on 1. January 2008

In an end-of-year surprise, the Ann Arbor News reports that Lucy Ann Lance has been fired by WAAM.

Lucy Ann was a very community-oriented broadcaster and had an impact wider than the small listenership of WAAM.

Comment [22]

Local

DDA Meeting Recap

Posted by Nancy Shore on 1. January 2008

Hello all,
This is my first Arbor Update post. I’m also over at getDowntown.

I went to the Downtown Development Authority meeting today. They meet every first Weds. from 12-2pm at the DDA Offices on Fifth Ave.

Some of what was discussed:

Village Green: This is a proposed apartment development over on the First and Washington side of town. The DDA has to approve the parking structure these folks want to build under (and some above) their development before the plans can be taken to the City’s Planning Commission. This structure would include both spaces for apartment residents and public spaces.

Village Green hoped to get approval today for the structure and then take the proposal to the Planning Commission tonight. It was not to be.

Some of the reasons the DDA did not immediately approve the structure were that the turnarounds are too narrow and the large number of compact car spaces.

Leah Gunn and others on the DDA Board emphasized that they want to see the plan go through, they just need to take a chance to discuss the proposal. It’s now up to the DDA Operations Committee to look over the proposal and talk to the developer and approve the plan by the next Planning Commission Meeting, which is on Jan 23.

According to the Village Green developer, the DDA must approve of their parking structure plans before the project can move forward.

Library Lot: Norm Cox of the Greenway Collaborative showed some mock ups of what sort of building could be built on top of the Library Lot.

These mock ups were created to give the DDA and the City Council a sense of what potential type of structure could go on top of the underground parking structure.

Some of the elements the Greenway Collaborative worked into the Library Lot structure were a central plaza connecting the Library with the structure. This plaza would allow for some public gathering space as well as a way to limit the flow of traffic.

The DDA will present their thoughts at the City Council working session on Jan 14th at 7pm.

There was a discussion of the need for more affordable housing downtown, especially in light of the fact that the proposal for the Y site was rejected.

And speaking if the Y, the DDA is soon going to go out for an RFP to demolish the building. That will probably happen in 4-5 weeks time.

Wayfinding Project: Russ Collins gave a report of the status of the Wayfinding Project to create signs pointing people to attractions in the downtown. He showed pictures of the final design, which incorporated some ideas from community feedback. In my opinion, the signs were pleasant, if a bit plain. But on the plus side, they will be very flexible in their use. Not sure when these are going to go up.

That’s about it.

Comment [1]

Local

Buy Local in Ann Arbor: Last Minute Gifts and Stocking Stuffers

Posted by Juliew on 24. December 2007

Forgot about Aunt Millie? Can’t think of anything good for your brother-in-law? Need a last minute present for your officemate? Did you forget about stockings?

Try these local businesses for can’t miss presents:

Peaceable Kingdom on Main Street has great stocking stuffers. Really great stocking stuffers. In our house, Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without them. While you are on Main Street, check out 16 Hands, and Selo Shevel Gallery for beautiful gifts, and Acme around the corner. Sams on Liberty has great and inexpensive socks, hats, mittens, Swiss Army knives, watches, and bandanas of all colors. Sams is great for that little extra something to round out your gifts. Middle Earth is another great place for stocking stuffers. There is a reason they have been voted “Best Gift Store” by Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor News, Current Magazine, and the Michigan Daily. Shopping there is guaranteed laugh therapy.

Stumped for a present for that hard to buy for person on your list? How about tickets to the Crossroads Ceili at the Ark December 28 or 29? Or sponsor an Ark membership for that music lover you know. The Michigan Theatre will celebrate its 80th birthday on January 5. If you or your friends were members, you would know about all the special events to mark the occasion (like 80 cent film admission on January 5 and special tours of the Barton Organ). Members also get discounts on tickets at the Michigan and State Theatre and dicounted parking while supporting the theatre. Everyone can use a Michigan Theatre membership or gift certificate.

RelaxStation Massage has gift cards and through December 31, for every $100 you purchase they will give you a 15 minute gift card free. They are open Monday (Christmas Eve) from 1:00-8:00. If those hours don’t work for you, give them a call at 734-623-1951 and they will try to work something out (try that at a chain store).

Encore Records may get swallowed up by encroaching chains soon so buy there now while you can. They sell CDs, LPs, 7”, 78 rpm, 16 rpm, tape, reel-to-reel, cylinders, piano rolls, sheet music, books on music & musicians, music memorabilia, and t-shirts so someone you know must need something here. Schoolkids Records in Exile has also opened up a temporary clearance sale in Nickels Arcade so stop on in.

Village Corner has 5000 wines, 600 spirits, 150 beers, and 350 cigars, plus gift certificates so you don’t have to go empty-handed to that Christmas Eve celebration. South University is quiet this time of year and there is easy parking.

Comment [1]

City Council

City Council: Post Blizzard

Posted by Juliew on 16. December 2007

Monday, December 17 at 7:00 pm.
City Council Agenda

Highlights:

• Public hearing on Housing and Human Services needs to identify housing and human service needs and establish funding priorities to address these needs for FY 09.

• Ordinance to repeal Chapter 14 (Purchasing, Contracting and Selling Procedure) of Title I of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor and replace it with a new Chapter 14 (Purchasing, Contracting and Selling Procedure) of Title I of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor.

• An ordinance to rezone 202 South Division Street to a PUD. This is the proposed “Ann Arbor Hotel” across from the McKinley Building.

• Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown (A2D2) implementation update.

Comment [28]