More than 400 motorists arrested for drunk driving during recent statewide crackdown

Law enforcement officers arrested 433 motorists for drunk driving during a three-week impaired driving crackdown March 13-April 8. Of those arrested, 72 were charged under the state’s high blood alcohol content (BAC) law with a BAC of .17 or higher. This is an increase from the 405 drunk driving arrests made during a similar enforcement effort in 2012.

Officers from 155 agencies conducted stepped up enforcement aimed at curtailing drunk driving during a time frame that included National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournaments, high school and college spring break periods and St. Patrick’s Day. This resulted in 12,296 traffic stops and 6,350 citations and arrests, including 296 for other alcohol- and drug-related charges such as open intoxicants.

The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) coordinated the effort, which was funded with federal highway safety grants, in 26 counties.

“Motorists who choose to drive drunk endanger everyone on the roadway,” said Michael L. Prince, OHSP director. “Enforcement efforts like this save lives by putting extra officers on the road to stop and arrest impaired drivers as well as curtail other dangerous driving behaviors.”

One motorist was arrested with a .43 BAC by Kent County’s Kentwood Police Department. It was the driver’s third drunk driving arrest. In Wayne County, a driver was arrested for driving drunk with two children in the vehicle and was subsequently cited for child endangerment by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

Other enforcement activity included:

• 1,091 speeding citations
• 648 uninsured motorist citations
• 556 suspended driver citations
• 291 fugitive arrests
• 186 misdemeanor arrests
• 129 seat belt and child restraint citations
• 55 felony arrests

Impressive Watercolor Map Base

The map base below is one of the most creative uses of Google Maps we've ever seen.  The developer replaces the entire Google Maps image sets with custom water color images.  If you look carefully, you can pick out repeated patterns when zoomed out.  It is an impressive use of the API's that Google lets developers manipulate.  Check out the original post at Google's Geo Developers Blog for more information. Be sure to zoom in and out to watch how the colors and patterns change at various scales.

Pavement Coatings for Cool Cities

Researchers at UC Davis and Lawrence Berkeley Labs are using a new parking lot to demonstrate pavement surfaces that aren't hot enough to fry an egg.  These light colored pavement coatings have the potential to make urban living more comfortable, diminishing pavement's heat island effect by reflecting light rather than heat back into the atmosphere.  Check out the video below!

Metro Detroit and Job Sprawl

The Brookings Institution released a new study that finds Metro Detroit the nation's most sprawled job market.  Approximately 77% of the region's jobs are located at least 10 miles from Detroit's Central Business District.  In general, Midwestern cities tended to have highly sprawled job markets, in part due to its dependence on manufacturing.  Cities in the nation's sunbelt had the least amount of job sprawl.

The study's findings are interesting and continue to make the case for connecting low income residents in urban neighborhoods to job opportunities in inner and outer ring suburbs.  See a recent article in the Detroit Free Press for a local take on the report; or visit the Brookings institution for an interactive map or the full report.

Ann Arbor Updates its Non-Motorized Plan

The City of Ann Arbor recently released a draft update to its 2007 Non-motorized plan.  The city developed the update to evaluate implementation progress, and account for new needs and opportunities identified in the past six years.  Since adopting the 2007 plan, the city added 35 lane miles of bike lanes and 5.7 lane miles of sharrows.  This accounts for more than 50% progress towards the bike recommendations made in the initial plan.

The draft update includes recommendations for:

• Mid-block crossings and rapid flashing beacons
• Signage
• Bike color improvements
• Facility maintenance
• Bike stations
• Online wayfinding

Read the plan update for additional recommendations and to see Ann Arbor's roadmap for non-motorized infrastructure in the city.

In the UK, One City Ditches Traffic Signals at a Busy Intersection

The village of Poynton, England has addressed traffic problems on one of its busiest intersections in a devolutionary way, by eliminating traffic controls.  At an intersection that sees 26,000 vehicles per day, there are no stop signs, no stoplights, no walk signals, bike lanes or crosswalks.  The shared space idea, though controversial, has improved safety at the intersection.  Note that the creator of the video below, Martin Cassini, is a longtime shared space advocate.  Luckily, no such intersections are planned for Washtenaw County anytime soon.

Federal Permit Granted for New Detroit-Windsor Bridge

The nation's busiest international crossing, the Detroit-Windsor crossing, is one step closer to the desperately needed new bridge linking the US and Canada.  On Friday, a joint delegation of state, federal, and Canadian officials announced that the Obama Administration issued a permit to begin construction of the second bridge. The approval is a key step toward completing the project, and limits the range of legal challenges in federal courts.  See coverage at Mlive and at the Detroit Free Press.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Long Range Plan Drop-In Public Meetings

Over the next several weeks, WATS will hold a series of Drop-In Public Meetings for the 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan.  Visit us for the opportunity to comment and learn more.  See locations and times below.

Population Bracketology

Michigan Basketball fans still have plenty of Madness left this April.  For readers unfortunate enough to be Michigan State or OSU fans, a consolation prize-another bracket!  We stumbled on this bracket for data nerds over at the US Census.  Its simple, which metro area is bigger?  There are plenty of surprises, our first bracket scored a 43.  Once you finish, you can try the bracket with state populations instead.  Leave your score in the comments!

Population Bracketology at the US Census

Miller Avenue Construction

Project Duration:
April 8, 2013 to November 2013 (Weather Permitting)

Location and Limits:
Miller Avenue between Maple Road and Linda Vista Avenue

Description of Work:
The Miller Avenue Improvement Project involves the complete reconstruction of the roadway to include a new pavement section comprised of layers of sand, gravel and asphalt, improved bicycle lanes, pedestrian crossings with raised islands, and intermittent left turn lanes to facilitate improved traffic flow; installation of new sidewalks in areas where none presently exist, new sidewalk ramps and concrete bus stop pads to comply with current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, and sidewalk repairs; storm water improvements that include new larger storm sewer pipe to allow for detention, bio-swales, and rain gardens; and lastly utility work that replaces a distribution water main within the project limits and a portion of sanitary sewer.

During construction access for emergency vehicles and to driveways and side streets will be maintained to the full extent possible.  In addition, Miller Avenue east and west of the project limits will remain open to two-way traffic.

Pedestrian traffic will be maintained during this project.

Project Information:
A project webpage will be maintained and updated weekly and can be found by going to the City’s Website.