Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition – September 2001 E-News

Dedicated to increasing the quality and quantity of bicycling and walking opportunities in Washtenaw County through advocacy and education

Our Deepest Sympathy
The Officers and Board of the WBWC offer their deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families of the terrorist attacks on September 11th.

WBWC October Meeting
The next meeting of the WBWC will be held on Thursday, October 4th, 7pm at the Ecology Center, 117 N. Division in Ann Arbor (just north ofHuron). Meetings last for 1 to 1 1/2 hours with agenda items for the October meeting to include WBWC formalization, the Ann Arbor Capitol Improvements Plan, meeting with the Washtenaw County Sheriff over walking/bicycling concerns and pedestrian facilities in Pittsfield Township.

Limited parking is available at the Ecology Center as well as next to Tios restaurant. Everyone is welcome to attend. WBWC meetings are normally scheduled for the first Thursday of every month. Minutes of the September WBWC meeting are posted at the end of this newsletter and also will be available on the WBWC website (www.wbwc.org) in the near future.

Ypsilanti Residents Oppose Bike Path
The Ann Arbor News reported (9/7/01) that residents along Huron River Drive in Ypsilanti petitioned the city to stop a proposed 1.4 mile path between Hewitt and Lowell Streets. Opponents argue that the street is too narrow for such a path and would bring "unnecessary" traffic to the area. "It would be unsafe to back out of my driveway" stated petition presenter Sadie Garner.

City of Ypsilanti planners stated that they were trying to work through the residents concerns with construction of the path being delayed until spring of next year. The path would be part of the 10-year plan of the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission to connect areas along the Huron River with non-motorized routes.

Walk To School Day
October 2nd is designated as "International Walk To School Day", an event that in 2000 had over 2.5 million participants. In the US alone, the event took place in 32 states and 142 cities, including Ann Arbor. The event is dedicated to teaching children safe pedestrian behaviors as well as identifying the needs for more walk-friendly communities.

Children are at the greatest risk as pedestrians as of the 5700 people killed by autos while walking, nearly 30% are children under 15. Organizers of the event say it is critical to teach children to look left-right-left before crossing streets and to cross streets only at crosswalks. For more information on Walk To School Day, visit www.walktoschool-usa.org or call Tina Hissong at 517/333-5734.

WBWC Membership Applications Now Available
WBWC membership applications are available through the WBWC website (www.wbwc.org) and in the literature racks of most Washtenaw County bike shops. Basic membership is $10 a year with. Also, those joining anytime in 2001 will have their membership extended through December 31st, 2002.

WBWC Volunteers Needed
Volunteers are currently needed for the following WBWC Committees...
Membership - Help maintain membership records, send out membership material
Publicity - Send out meeting and special event announcements, mail out printed version of E-News
Education - Help plan and staff educational efforts (i.e., Earth Day, Bike To Work Day/Week)
For details on any of these jobs, please contact Bob Krzewinski at 487-7058 or wolverbob@cs.com.

Sidewalks Information Needed
The WBWC is beginning to catalog areas in the County that are used by pedestrians yet contain no sidewalks. An example would be the north side of Packard, just east of Carpenter. This area has only partial sidewalks yet is very heavily used by pedestrians. If anyone has knowledge of heavily used pedestrian areas that are not paved please send a description to wbwc@topica.com or call 487-9058.

Ecology Center Library
It should be noted that the WBWC has a small, but growing, library of bicycling and walking advocacy publications for check-out at the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor.

Mark Your Calendar....
October 2 Walk To School Day
October 4 WBWC Monthly Meeting, 7pm, Ecology Center, Ann Arbor
November 1 WBWC Monthly Meeting, 7pm, Ecology Center, Ann Arbor