Ann Arbor/Ypsi Graded High in New Livability Report

Reconnecting America, a national nonprofit that advises civic and community leaders on how to overcome development challenges, recently released a report, called Are We There Yet, which assesses whether communities have made the critical investments needed to strengthen the nation's economy.  The report measures then grades communities based on four quality of life indicators: Living, Working, Moving, and Thriving. 

• The Living grades show how regions are doing on creating housing choices that are equitable and accessible to people with a variety of needs.
• The Working grades show how regions are doing on creating jobs in the places where people of all incomes can access them and improve their opportuni­ties.
• The Moving grades show how regions are doing on creating safe and accessible transportation choices in our communities.
• The Thriving grades show how regions are doing on creating opportunities for safe, fun, and healthy lifestyles through access to parks, healthy food, etc.

The Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Region scored well on this report, earning A's in the Working and Thriving categories, and B's in Living and Moving.  View the full report or just the grades on Reconnecting America's website.

Temporary S. University Detour

Notice of Temporary Traffic Control Plan
S. University Street from S. Forest Avenue to Washtenaw Avenue
Saturday October 6th, 2012
8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Location and Limits of Affected Area:S. University Street from S. Forest Avenue to Washtenaw Avenue

Description of Work:The contractor for the Green Urban Living development at 601 S. Forest will install a crane at S. University to lift materials and equipments to the building’s rooftop. During this work S. University from S. Forest Ave to Washtenaw Ave will be closed to through traffic.

Temporary Construction Traffic Control Plan:The westbound traffic on S. University at Washtenaw Ave will be directed northwest on Washtenaw Avenue and southwest on S. Forest to S. University. The eastbound traffic on S. University at S. Forest Ave will be directed northeast to Washtenaw Ave and southeast on Washtenaw Ave to S. University.

Pedestrian traffic will be maintained on the north side of S. University during this work. We thank you in advance for your patience.

State Transportation Departments Announce Notice of Intent to Award Bi-Level Railcar Contract

No word on where these new two level railcars will be used, but we'd love to see them pass through Washtenaw County!

 

A four state partnership this week announced it will turn to Sumitomo Corporation of America to design and build 130 bi-level passenger railcars.

The California Department of Transportation made the announcement on behalf of its partners: Illinois Department of Transportation, Michigan Department of Transportation, and Missouri Department of Transportation.

Best bidder Sumitomo submitted a bid of less than $352.3 million to build the railcars, which will operate along intercity rail corridors in California and throughout the Midwest.

"By pooling our resources, all four states involved in this partnership can purchase the equipment at lower costs because it will be acquired in high volume under one contract," said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty in a statement. "These new railcars will help us meet the growing ridership demand on California trains, which is up 53 percent since 2002."

The bids still require reviews for Buy America compliance, as well as Federal Railroad Administration reviews. A final agreement could be completed in mid-November.

The railcars will be purchased through $808 million in new equipment rail grants from FRA. About $551 million of that was specifically set aside to purchase the bi-level railcars. The rest will fund future locomotive procurements and support project management and oversight. The first round of the new bi-level railcars are expected in 2015, with all delivered by early 2018. California is tapped to receive 42 of the 130 railcars, while the Midwest Coalition (a partnership of the three remaining states) will collectively receive 88.

The specifications for the car being procured were developed by the Next Generation Equipment Pool Committee, which is a state, FRA, Amtrak, and industry collaboration authorized by Congress to develop standardized specifications that would reduce costs, shorten procurement schedules, and create a level playing field for U.S. rail equipment manufacturers.

"We are proud to partner with Caltrans and the Midwest Coalition to cost-effectively procure the state-of-the-art passenger railcar equipment needed to address the increasing demand for efficient and convenient passenger rail service throughout the state," said IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider. "With Amtrak ridership at record levels in Illinois and the official purchasing process of the railcars under way, this massive project will continue to boost America's manufacturing and assembling industry and provide improved travel options for the entire Midwest."

To Encourage Biking, Cities Lose the Helmets (New York Times)

The New York Times recently published an excellent article contrasting the safety benefits of bicycle helmet use and the indirect barrier that helmets pose to widespread biking.  We've included a paragraph from the article below.  See the original article at the New York Times.


On the other hand, many researchers say, if you force or pressure people to wear helmets, you discourage them from riding bicycles. That means more obesity, heart disease and diabetes. And — Catch-22 — a result is fewer ordinary cyclists on the road, which makes it harder to develop a safe bicycling network. The safest biking cities are places like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, where middle-aged commuters are mainstay riders and the fraction of adults in helmets is minuscule.

Taking the Bus has Never Been Cooler

Danish transit provider Midttrafik published what may be the greatest transit commercial ever.  Best if enjoyed without subtitles.

Temporary Rose and White Street Intersection Closure

Notice of Temporary Traffic Control Plan
E. Stadium Boulevard Bridges Replacement Project
September 24 – October 8, 2012

Location and Limits of Affected Area:Intersection of Rose Avenue and White Street

Description of Work:Intersection Reconstruction

Temporary Construction Traffic Control Plan:
September 24, 2012 – October 8, 2012 (Intersection of Rose Avenue and White Street)
The intersection of Rose Avenue and White Street will be closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic while the intersection is reconstructed.

E. Stadium Boulevard between Kipke Drive and S. Industrial Hwy. will remain closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic until November 14, 2012 to allow for the removal and replacement of the E. Stadium Boulevard bridges over the Ann Arbor Railroad and S. State Street.  Vehicular and pedestrian detour routes are in place.

Temporary Washington Street Closure

Notice of Temporary Traffic Control Plan
W. Washington, from S. Ashley Street to S. First Street
Friday September 28, 2012 at 7:00 am thru Sunday September 30, 2012 at 7:00 pm

Location and Limits of Affected Area:W. Washington from S. Ashley Street to S. First Street

Description of Work:This temporary street closure is for placing a large crane on W. Washington St. for lifting parts to install a tower crane that will be erected on site W. Washington Street, between S. Ashley Street and S. First Street. W. Washington Street. Pedestrian traffic will be maintained on the north side of W. Washington.

Temporary Construction Traffic Control Plan:The eastbound traffic at the intersection of W. Washington Street and S. First Street will be detoured south on S. First Street, east on W. Liberty Street, north on S. Ashley and back to W. Washington.

The westbound traffic at the intersection of S. Ashley Street and W. Washington Street will be detoured north on S. Ashley Street, west on W. Huron Street, south on S. First Street and back to W. Washington Street.

Study on Rapid Flashing Pedestrian Beacons in St. Petersburg

An uncontrolled mid-block crossing in St. Petersburg

This study was originally published on the website walkinginfo.org, and is republished with permission.  View the original post for more information or to contact the study authors.

Problem
Multi-lane, high-speed roadways made uncontrolled pedestrian crosswalks unsafe. The motorist yielding compliance rates were less than 2% overall at these crosswalks.

Background
Motorists often fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. Many serious pedestrian-vehicle crashes happen at uncontrolled mid-block crossings. When motorists do stop for pedestrians, other motorists sometimes try to pass the stopped motorist. This situation can lead to screening crashes. The City of St. Petersburg, Florida has over 100 uncontrolled crosswalks, and as of 2003 its pedestrian injury rate of 49.23 per 100,000 people was higher than both the county's and the state's rates.

Solution
In 2003, the City of St. Petersburg listed enhancements to uncontrolled crosswalks as a top priority in its CityTrails - Bicycle Pedestrian Master Plan.

The same mid-block crossing equipped with  the four-beacon RRFB system

At that time, a vendor offered to install a new traffic control device, the Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon (RRFB), under crosswalk signs at two uncontrolled crosswalk locations. RRFBs are user-actuated rectangular amber LEDs that produce a wig-wag flash sequence to warn motorists to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. The City agreed to let the vendor install the RRFBs, and it conducted studies at the two crosswalks and analyzed the results.

RRFBs were an attractive alternative to traffic signals and hybrid signals because their cost of $10,000-$15,000 for the purchase and installation of two units was significantly less expensive than other options. The solar power needed to operate the LED beacons also reduced operating costs.

The City, under Permission to Experiment, compared pedestrian crossing compliance of the RRFBs to dual overhead round amber flashing beacons and side-mounted round flashing beacons at the two crosswalks. Both of these round beacons produced disappointing yielding compliance rates of 15.5% for the dual overhead round beacons and 11.5% for the side-mounted round beacons. The City experimented with two-beacon RRFB systems and four-beacon RRFB systems at the same crosswalks, for comparison. Four-beacon systems allowed for the placement of beacons in the center median, which gave motorists traveling on inside lanes of multi-lane roadways a better view of activated beacons. In all cases, there were yield markings at 30 feet in advance of the crosswalks that were used in conjunction with the RRFBs to alert motorists of upcoming crosswalks and to encourage them to stop in advance of the crosswalk to reduce the chance of a screening crash.

Results
The initial success of the RRFBs at the two crosswalks led the City to install 17 more RRFBs and conduct a two-year review of the 19 crosswalks, during which over 16,000 individual crossings were evaluated. As a result of this two-year study, it was determined that RRFBs led to sustained yielding over time. The baseline yielding percentage prior to the installation of RRFBs was 2%. The graph below shows the average yielding compliance results over time at the sites. Please note that the averages at 7, 30, 90, 270, and 365 days used data from all 19 sites, while the average at 60 days was compiled with data from 17 sites, the average at 180 days was compiled with data from 13 sites, and the average at 730 days was compiled with data from 17 sites.

The RRFBs performed equally well at night. One site at 1st Street just south of 37th Avenue North had a yielding percentage of 99.4% at night when using the four-beacon system. The yielding compliance rate was dramatically higher than the baseline nighttime percentage of 4.8%. This increase in yielding percentage at night can probably be attributed to LED lights being very visible at night.

(Graph created using data from Van Houten, R. and J. Shurbutt. Effects of Yellow Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons on Yielding at Multilane Uncontrolled Crosswalks, Report No. FHWA-HRT-10-043, Washington, DC, September 2010)

The research also showed that the four-beacon system produced a statistically significant increase in motorist yielding compared with the two-beacon system. The average increase in yielding from the baseline to a two-beacon system was 18.2% to 81.2%, while the four-beacon system led to an average increase in yielding of 87.8%. RRFBs improved the yielding distance as well. There was a 9% increase over the baseline in yielding at greater than 30 feet in advance of the crosswalk when using the four-beacon system, and yielding at greater than 100 feet in advance of the crosswalk almost doubled. Greater yielding distances made crosswalks safer for pedestrians because the pedestrians had a better view of approaching vehicles in all oncoming lanes. The increases in yielding percentages and yielding distances also led to fewer vehicles attempting to pass yielding vehicles.

The installation of RRFBs and advance yield markings greatly improved mid-block crossing safety in St. Petersburg. As of May 2012, the City of St. Petersburg had 42 RRFBs with advance yield markings in place with another 20 to 30 scheduled for 2014.


References
Van Houten, R. & Malenfant, J.E.L.. Efficacy of Rectangular-shaped Rapid Flash LED Beacons.
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/interim_approval/ia11/stpetersburgrpt/stpetersburgrpt.pdf

Van Houten, R. and J. Shurbutt. Effects of Yellow Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons on Yielding at Multilane Uncontrolled Crosswalks, Report No. FHWA-HRT-10-043, Washington, DC, September 2010.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/pedbike/10043/10043.pdf

Multiple Projects Launch Implementation of ReImagine Washtenaw

Head east out of Downtown Ann Arbor along Washtenaw Avenue, and you’re sure to notice some construction activity.  Across from Whole Foods Market, ground-breaking has begun on Arbor Hills Crossing, a 90,000 square feet retail and professional office development in the City of Ann Arbor.   The project includes new and wider sidewalks, a traffic signal and pedestrian crossing at Platt Road, and a new AATA Transit Super Stop.  Continue further east, and you’ll notice the Michigan Department of Transportation has begun a major traffic operations and non-motorized project at US-23.  The non-motorized component of this project includes the construction of new non-motorized paths on both sides of Washtenaw Avenue, which provide a way for pedestrians and bicyclists safe travel under the highway overpass.

“After years of planning and consensus-building, we are excited to see two projects that will significantly enhance walkability and pedestrian access to businesses in this important corridor,” said Ann Arbor City council member Tony Derezinski. “Over time, you’ll see additional improvements that even further increase walkability, provide a sense of place, and also increase property values.”

“The Michigan Department of Transportation is looking forward to continuing its collaboration with the ReImagine Washtenaw initiative, to ensure future improvements address both MDOT’s needs, and also the community’s vision for the corridor,” says Kari Martin, MDOT’s University Region planner.

Multiple projects are being implemented and coordinated between Pittsfield and Ypsilanti Township, including improvement/installation of pedestrian facilities, such as ramps, sidewalks, signals, and mid-block crossings, at Washtenaw and Golfside, zoning changes coordinated between both communities to allow for mixed-use development nodes, and lane reduction and bike lane installation along Golfside Road.

ReImagine Washtenaw is a multi-jurisdictional land use planning and public transit initiative to transform the corridor from auto-focused, to a safe, multi-modal, public transit-enhanced corridor, with new, high-quality mixed-use development, enhanced transit service and amenities, resulting in a corridor with sense of place.  Professional staff planners and elected officials from the Cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and Pittsfield and Ypsilanti Townships have been leading this effort.  Additional partners, including the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, Michigan Department of Transportation, Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study, are also collaborating to take the county’s most congested and auto-centric road, and turn it in to a high-functioning, multi-modal corridor.

For more information contact Nathan Voght, in the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development, at voghtn@ewashtenaw.org or 734-222-3860, or visit www.washtenawavenue.org.

Public Transit Benefits Article on Concentrate

Local online magazine, Concentrate, recently published an article discussing the health and livability benefits of public transportation. The piece features WATS Director Terri Blackmore, where she details some of the regional strategies to realize these benefits. 

From the article
In recent years, public health planners and leaders have begun to focus on improving transit systems as a community health opportunity. Washtenaw County transit planners have incorporated non-motorized options for several years and recently have begun to collaborate with public health officials on programs like the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study Clean Streets program, and other less formal efforts.

Linking public health with transportation decisions, however, has been a pretty recent development.
...
Read the rest of the article at Concentrate