Do Bold Things That Are Cheap to Try

Transportation Planners are often challenged by the fact that great ideas don’t always come to fruition.  Similarly, change can be not only slow, but also difficult.  The transportation system is underfunded and communities are understandably nervous about spending their already limited budgets on new ideas or concepts that haven’t been implemented locally.  

Janette Sadik-Kahn, the former commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation said it best “Do bold experiments that are cheap to try out.”  This is the core of what we call tactical urbanism; cheap, temporary experiments that can help measure a community’s interest in a permanent solution.  WATS has been doing exactly this in partnership with the City of Chelsea, City of Ypsilanti and St. Joe’s on projects dubbed Chelsea POP and Route Ypsilanti. 

Sometimes these tactical projects pop-up unexpectedly.  On a recent morning walk to the Ann Arbor YMCA my family noticed a Pilot Test Trail of the Treeline Trail.  It is amazing what moving a few dozen parking blocks can do to help one imagine the possibilities for the Treeline Trail moving forward. Now referred to by my two boys as “The Y Trail” we’re even more excited about the future of the Treeline as we can begin to envision it!