May-June
2006
WBWC Meetings
The next regular Board meeting of the WBWC
will be held on Thursday, June 1st (in May we will have our special "Transportation
101" meeting instead) at the Ecology Center, 117 N. Division
in Ann Arbor (just north of Huron), starting at 7pm. Limited parking is
available at the Ecology Center as well as next to Tios restaurant. Bike
parking loops are at the rear of the Ecology Center.
>
Previous WBWC Board meeting minutes
May Is “Curb Your Car Month” In The Ann Arbor Area
Building on the success of last year’s Curb Your Car Month campaign,
the Ann Arbor getDowntown program is working with a coalition of transportation
professionals and local organizations (including the WBWC) to encourage
Ann Arbor commuters and residents to go on a “low-car diet”
during the month of May.
Curb Your Car Month will feature over 20 fun and educational events,
ranging from transportation seminars to the ever popular Bike to Work
Day Ride and Rally. The purpose of the campaign is to inspire and motivate
the Ann Arbor community to drive less and utilize sustainable transportation
options such as public transit, bicycling, walking, carpooling, or vanpooling.
“Curb Your Car Month is a perfect time to explore the many ways
to get downtown without driving a car,” says Ann Arbor Downtown
Development Director Susan Pollay. “The Ann Arbor DDA is proud to
support the array of transportation options which together add
up to make downtown convenient and attractive for commuters, downtown
residents, and shoppers, alike. There are lots of reasons to
come downtown - and lots of ways to get here, too."
One of the key events during Curb Your Car Month is the month long Commuter
Challenge. During the Commuter Challenge, local organizations compete
to get the highest percentage employees using a sustainable mode of transportation
during their daily commutes. During the 2005 Commuter Challenge, 52 organizations
in Ann Arbor, 754 employees, logged over 81,000 sustainable transportation
miles or the equivalent of three trips around the earth! This year the
goal is to log 225,000 miles- the distance to the moon! Organizations
can register online for the Commuter Challenge at www.getdowntown.org
“Encouraging individuals to drive less is something we must address
as a community,” says Mayor John Hieftje. “Nearly 60,000 commuters
come to Ann Arbor everyday. Collectively, they’re driving over 2.5
million miles every day, using 160,000 gallons of fuel and producing over
1,600 tons of CO2. The getDowntown Program’s Curb Your Car Month
campaign plays an important role in educating our community about the
environmental and social impacts of driving & raises awareness about
the alternatives to driving alone.”
Curb Your Car organizers include the getDowntown Program at the Ann Arbor
Area Chamber of Commerce, the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition
(WBWC), the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA), the City of Ann
Arbor, and local bicycling and pedestrian advocates.
For more information about Curb Your Car Month contact Erica Briggs,
getDowntown program Director, at 734.214.0100 or visit www.getdowntown.org.
“Curb Your Car” Activities
Try Transit Week (May 1st – May 6th)
Monday, May 1
getDowntown Commuter Challenge Begins. Sign-up your business for the Commuter
Challenge. The purpose of the Commuter Challenge is to raise awareness
about the benefits of using sustainable transportation, decrease the number
of Ann Arbor commuters driving alone to work and recognize the great number
of commuters who have already committed to using sustainable transportation.
Prizes and awards for winning businesses! Challenge runs May 1st- 31st.
Sign-up your business
online .
Curb Your Car Month Kick-off. Stop by and learn more about Curb Your
Car Month and the 20 + events occurring throughout the month of May. The
first 25 people to stop by will receive a free Curb Your Car Month t-shirt.
The getDowntown program, AATA, MichiVan and the Washtenaw Biking &
Walking Coalition will host displays and be available to answer questions.
Free coffee and bagels will be provided as supplies last.
Location: In front of the Main Post Office on Liberty between Fourth and
Fifth Avenues.
Time: 7-10am.
Tuesday, May 2
Ask a Driver. The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will host an informational
display on the AATA public transit system and other transportation services
with AATA personnel on hand to answer questions. Handouts include New
Ride Guide, RideLines, Route Detour Flyers, and Commute Options Brochure
w/Detour Stickers.
Location: Blake Transit Center lobby, 331 S. Fourth Avenue.
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
AAPD Bike Maintenance Workshop.
In the first in a series of three classes instructed by Officer Kathy
Vonk, League of American Cyclists certified instructor, learn the basics
of keeping your bike in good repair. This is a great time to get your
bike out of storage and up and running before Get Out and Bike Week. Bring
your bike, tools will be provided.
Location: Meet in front of City Hall (5th & Huron), 100 N. Fifth Avenue.
Time: 6:30-8:30pm.
Wednesday, May 3
Ask a Driver. (See Tuesday, May 2nd for a description of this event).
Location: Blake Transit Center lobby, 331 S. Fourth Avenue.
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
]
AATA “Transit 101.” Do you want to find out what’s happening
with the bus service to Ypsilanti? Would you like to ride the bus, but
you’re not sure how to start? Do you have suggestions about how
AATA could improve their service? Drop by the downtown Library during
Transit 101 for one-on-one time with AATA staff & drivers and learn
more about all the transit opportunities in Ann Arbor.
Location: Ann Arbor District Library, Main Branch, 343 S. Fifth Ave.,
AADL Free Space, Third Floor.
Time: Drop-in between 4-7pm.
Thursday, May 4
AATA Ask A Driver. (See Tuesday, May 2nd for a description of this event).
Location: Ypsilanti Transit Center.
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
AATA Open House. Visit AATA headquarters for an in-depth look at our
local transit system. Find out how our transit system is funded, how routes
are created, how a fare box works, and tour the bus garage and much, much
more. Individuals, families and groups welcome. Make your trip event more
fun and ride the Route 6 to the AATA Headquarters. Visit www.theride.org
for route schedules and times.
Location: AATA Main Office & Garage, 2700 S. Industrial Hwy.
Time: 2-7pm
"Transportation Planning 101."
Upset about the condition of roads or sidewalks in your town? Do you wish
pedestrians and bicyclists had better facilities in your community? Want
to find out how to make sure future plans are made with your input? The
Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition (WBWC) will host a special presentation
on transportation planning for citizens. Staff from SEMCOG, WATS, and
the City of Ann Arbor will explain the transportation planning process,
how projects get funded and how citizens can get involved at the local
level to guide the process. Emphasis will be placed on planning for nonmotorized
transportation. This presentation will take the place of the regular monthly
WBWC Meeting. This event is part of series of Curb Your Car Month
events, for more information visit www.getdowntown.org.
Location: Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Avenue, AADL
Free Space, 3rd Floor. Time: 7-9pm.
Friday, May 5
AATA Passenger Appreciation Day. Riding the bus just got better! To thank
riders for their patronage, AATA will be giving out $2,000 worth of prizes
to passengers throughout the day.
AATA Ask a Driver. (See Tuesday, May 2nd for a description of this event).
Location: Ypsilanti Transit Center.
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Use Your Feet Week ~ May 7th- May 13th
Sunday, May 7
Volkssport Walk- New in Ann Arbor are the Washtenaw Wanderers, an American
Volkssport Club. Share in the spirit of walking in a fun, family-oriented,
social environment. Meet friends, enjoy a scenic walk along the Huron
River and improve your physical and mental health. 10 km trail. Begin
between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm and end by 4:00 pm, to receive an award and
celebrate with pea soup and frankfurters. For more information call Gallup
Park at 662-9319.
Location: Gallup Park.
Time: 10am- 4pm.
Monday, May 8
Walk to the Park –Warm up with a 20-minute guided downtown trek,
then join in the celebration of walking with music, local celebrities
and surprises.
Location: Liberty Square Plaza, corner of Liberty and Division.
Time: 12-1pm
Tuesday, May 9
Lunch time walks with Amy. Amy Kuras from the City of Ann Arbor’s
Department of Parks and Recreation will lead you on a brick, lunch time
walk. Take a break from work and stretch your legs. You’ll meet
new people, increase your physical and mental health, and learn new downtown
walking routes. Maps of downtown walking routes will be provided.
Location: Meet in front of City Hall (5th & Huron), 100 N. Fifth Avenue.
Time: 12:15- 1:00pm.
Thursday, May 11
Lunch time walks with Amy. Amy Kuras from the City of Ann Arbor’s
Department of Parks and Recreation will lead a brisk walk. Take a break
from work and stretch your legs. You’ll meet new people, increase
your physical and mental health, and learn new downtown walking routes.
Maps of downtown walking routes will be provided.
Location: Meet in front of City Hall and the Police Department, 100 N.
Fifth Avenue.
Time: 12:15- 1:00pm.
Saturday, May 13
Bike Maintenance Workshop. You enjoy riding your bike, but do you know
how to maintain it properly? Maintaining your bike will not only help
it have a longer life, but also make your ride safer and easier. This
is an introductory bike maintenance class. Bring your bike, we'll supply
the tools.
Location: Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness, 2107 W. Stadium (668-6484)
Time: 2-4pm
Get Out and Bike Week (May 14 – May 21)
Monday, May 15
Dexter Ice Cream Ride. Celebrate the beginning of Get Out and Bike Week
with a fun group ride along Huron River Drive to the Dexter Dairy Queen
for ice cream, then back to Ann Arbor. Distance 20 miles. This event is
part of series of Curb Your Car Month events, for more information visit
www.getdowntown.org.
Location: Meet at Wheeler Park (located between 4th and 5th and Depot).
Time: Meet at 5:15, depart at 5:30.
Wednesday, May 17
Ride of Silence. On May 17 at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin
in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the
roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or
injured while cycling on public roadways. The Ride of Silence is a free
ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent
during the ride. The ride aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police
and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways.
Start location: In Ann Arbor, cyclists will meet at Wheeler Park at 6:45
& will begin at 7pm. For more information, visit www.rideofsilence.org
Friday, May 19
Bike to Work Day Ride and Rally. 7:30-8:30 a.m. Ride with Mayor John Hieftje
from Northside Elementary School, or connect with commuter convoys starting
at Michigan Stadium or the Zion Lutheran Church on West Liberty heading
for Ann Arbor City Hall. Rides depart each location at 7:45 a.m., with
festivities beginning at City Hall (5th & Huron) at 8 a.m. Complimentary
coffee and bagels will be served. A prize drawing will be held for a Timbuk2
bike messenger bag.
Saturday, May 20th
Ann Arbor Mountain Bike Ride. Enjoy a guided tour of Ann Arbor’s
mountain biking trails. This 10-15 mile ride will showcase official and
nonofficial trails on the north side of Ann Arbor. Riders of all ability
levels welcome. This Curb Your Car Month event is sponsored by the Michigan
Mountain Biking Association.
Location: Meet at the Bandemer Park parking lot located just inside the
entrance to the park at the intersection of Barton Drive and Whitmore
Lake Road, right off the M-14 expressway at the Barton/Whitmore Lake exit.
Time: Meet at 9:45, leave at 10am sharp.
Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Bike Ride. Join us for a fun, relaxing Ann Arbor
to Ypsilanti (or vice-versa) bike ride. Explore a portion of the Washtenaw
County Border to Border trail, make new friends, and foster connections
between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. The Ann Arbor group will ride to Ypsilanti,
enjoy lunch at Depot town, & join up with bike riders leaving from
Riverside Park in Ypsilanti at 2pm.
Location: Ann Arbor riders will depart from Bandemer Park. Meet at the
parking lot located just inside the entrance to the park at the intersection
of Barton Drive and Whitmore Lake Road, right off the M-14 expressway
at the Barton/Whitmore Lake exit.
Start time: 11:30am sharp, meet at 11:15.
Share a Ride Week (May 22 – May 26)
Monday, May 22nd
Traffic Engineering 101. Are you interested in learning more about
how our roads are designed? Would you like to find out how the needs of
bicyclists and pedestrians are balanced with the needs of motorists in
our road design and traffic signaling? Les Sipowski, Senior Project
Manager with the City of Ann Arbor, will discuss the basics of traffic
engineering and field any questions you may have about the process at
the local level.
Location: Ann Arbor District Library, Main Branch, 343 S. Fifth
Ave., AADL Free Space, Third Floor.
Time: 7- 8:30 pm.
Tuesday, May 23rd
AAPD Bike Commuting Skills Workshop (Beginner Level) In this class instructed
by Officer Kathy Vonk, a League of American Cyclists certified instructor,
bikers learn pre-flight inspection, proper landing techniques to avoid
injury, toe clip drill, look back, rock dodge, instant turn, emergency
and wet braking, directional changes curbs, parking blocks, and group
riding protocol.
Location: Meet in front of City Hall (5th and Huron), 100 N. Fifth Avenue.
Time: 6:30-8:30pm.
Wednesday, May 24th
AAPD Bike Commuting Skills Workshop (Intermediate Level) In this class
instructed by Officer Kathy Vonk, a League of American Cyclists certified
instructor, bikers learn more advanced cycling techniques such as riding
up and down a set of 3-4 stairs, riding down 8 or more stairs, low speed
maneuvers (cone course), bicycle limbo, mounts and dismounts.
Location: Meet in front of City Hall (5th and Huron), 100 N. Fifth Avenue.
Time: 6:30-8:30pm.
Thursday, May 25
Ridesharing 101. Do you wish you could share the cost of your commute
with someone, but not sure how to connect with someone who has the same
commute? Drop-in and AATA staff will be on hand to answer all of your
ridesharing questions. Free car sun shades to attendees while supplies
last.
Location: Ann Arbor District Library, Main Branch, 343 S. Fifth Ave.,
AADL Free Space,
Third Floor. Time: 4-7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 30th
Curb Your Car Month Grand Finale! Join us in bringing Curb Your Car Month
to a close with a good movie, lively discussion, and great beer. We’ll
be watching "End of Suburbia,"
a thought-provoking film that explores the American way of life and its
prospects as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply.
Dave Konkle, Energy Coordinator for the City of Ann Arbor, will lead the
discussion after the movie and bring this global debate back to the local
level. A social hour will follow. Appetizers will be provided. BYO money
for beer.
Location: Arbor Brewing Company, Tap Room, 114 E. Washington.
Time: 7-10pm.
Ypsilanti “Gets Active”
Due to the efforts of the Ypsilanti Health Coalition, Ypsilanti will
also be participating in May National Bike Month activities as well as
a number of walking activities. A full update of events will be posted
by early May on a new webpage of the Coalition, which can be found at
www.getactiveypsi.org.
Events scheduled as of mid-April include…
Monday, May 15th – Community Walk – Starting from Frog Island
Park (west of Rice Street, near Depot Town, 6:30pm to 8pm.
Thursday, May 18th – Bicycle Maintenance Clinic - Bicycles In Town,
118 West Michigan Avenue – Downtown Ypsilanti, 7pm. Learn basic
skills to keep your bike on the road! Items to be covered in this free
session include, how to fix a flat tire (a skill every cyclist should
know), basic bike maintenance (cleaning and lubricating a chain, seat
adjustments, safety checks, etc.) and what items to install on your bike
to make it more useful (i.e. fenders, bell, mirror, etc.).
Saturday, May 20th – Bike Fair – Riverside Park – 11am-2pm
– Bicycle information, talks, handouts, childrens helmet giveaway
(quantity limited).
Saturday, May 20th – Go West! Discover Biking West Toward Ann Arbor
– Bicycle ride from Riverside Park to Parker Mill. 2pm. Routes of
7 or 12 miles round trip. This ride will largely feature completed portions
of the Cross County Non-Motorized Path.
LMB Director Memorial Ride
The League of Michigan Bicyclists is inviting all cyclists to the 2nd
Annual Lucinda Means Memorial Bike Parade & Advocacy Day on May 23rd
in Lansing Michigan. This years parade will be held in conjunction with
Smart Commute 2006. The parade begins at 11:15 sharply in E. Lansing at
the SW Corner Of Kalamazoo
and Harrison (across from the MSU Breslin Center) and will end at Lansing
City Hall.
After the Parade join the LMB in advocating for bicycle friendly legislation
with your State Legislature. The LMB is organizing a literature drop of
bicycle information and a letter of support for upcoming bicycle legislation
to each lawmaker's office. Please RSVP to volunteer to help with
the literature drop by emailing jlindenmayer@LMB.org or calling 1-888-642-4537.
Speakers Include Senator Michelle McManus who will discuss upcoming bicycle
friendly legislation, LMB Board Chair Phil Wells, and Lansing Mayor Virg
Bernero who will give out local commuting awards.
Helmets are required to participate in the bicycle parade. Pre register
for a free "I Heart My Commute" T-shirt & a free lunch ticket!
For more information or to pre register please visit our website: http://www.LMB.org
Online Pedometer
According to a recent note from Peter Jacobsen, "The Google
Map Pedometer is now available. This is a fun tool that allows you
to plot and calculate the distance of your own walking route. There is
also a calorie converter so you can figure out howmany calories you burned
on your walk..."
”Healty Places Act” Legislation Introduced In Congress
In an Apr. 20th Hill op-ed piece, Sen. Barack Obama and Dr. Georges Benjamin
said, "The theme of this year's National Public Health Week, April
3-9, is 'Designing Healthy Communities, Raising Healthy Kids.' It's a
theme that's both important and timely, since today these kinds of communities
are being increasingly engineered out of existence. Right now, nearly
one-third of Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks and less
than half of our country's children have a playground within walking distance
of their homes. This lack of a safe place to walk and play is a major
contributor to the growing numbers of overweight children, which has already
become a serious health problem in this country. Childhood obesity increases
the risk of developing diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
In fact, one-third of the children born in 2000 are at risk of becoming
diabetic. Hospitalizations among children and adolescents for diseases
associated with obesity have also increased dramatically between 1979
and 1999, and hospital costs have more than tripled.
"Unfortunately, obesity is not the only effect of these unhealthy
communities on our children. In too many places, children often live in
homes or attend schools where they are exposed to unsafe levels of lead,
mold or other toxins. A growing reliance on cars has led to increased
air pollution from vehicle emissions. And so it's no surprise that asthma
is now the most common chronic childhood disease, with three times as
many children dying from it since 1980. For all of these reasons, we urge
your support for the Healthy Places Act of 2006, which will be introduced
this week. With the hope of designing better communities that promote
healthier living, the bill brings together all levels of government to
address environmental health issues, not only in the doctor's office but
also on the neighborhood sidewalk, on the school playground and on Main
Street..."
> Find out more on the Act
Rides Of Silence To Honor Bicycle Fatalities – May 17th
Join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph) in
honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public
roadways. The main cornerstones of the ride are to 1) honor those who
have been injured or killed, 2) raise awareness that we are here, and
3) to ask that we all share the road.
On May 17 at 7:00pm, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America
and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent
procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling
on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the
road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights,
and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.
In Washtenaw County, the ride of silence will start at Wheeler Park in
Ann Arbor (intersection of 4th and Depot streets) The ride begins at 7:00pm
and is cosponsored by the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition along
with the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society. For more information, contact
Mark Erzen (Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society) at merzen@aol.com or Paul
Alman (Washtenaw Bicycling & Walking Coalition) at palman@comcast.net.
The national Ride of Silence website is at www.rideofsilence.org.
Safe Route To School Coordinators Hired In 22 States (Including Michigan)
In another Safe Routes to School E-News article, "A key provision
of section 1404 of SAFETEA-LU is that each state must hire a full time
Safe Routes to School Coordinator to manage the state program”.
"According to FHWA's website, as of March 24, 2006: 22 states have
hired their official SRTS Coordinators, 14 states have named an interim
point of contact for SRTS, and 15 states have not yet named SRTS Coordinators
> List of state SRTS Coordinators
> List of state bike/ped coordinators
In Michigan, Lee Kokinakis is the director of Michigan’s SR2S program.
It is now statewide (they had had a 2-yr pilot program in only certain
counties). For more information, visit www.michiganfitness.org
and www.saferoutesmichigan.org
Urban Design Can Contribute To Obesity
People who live in neighborhoods that have a mixture of residential and
commercial uses appear to have lower levels of obesity than people who
live in neighborhoods that are closer to being 100 percent residential,
researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
have found.
To date, obesity research has focused on ways to change individual behavior
but with obesity rates continuing to climb, researchers are now turning
their efforts to the built environment and the interventions that might
be effective in fighting the problem.
Working with various city departments, Andrew Rundle, who holds a Ph.D.
in public health and serves as assistant professor in the Department of
Epidemiology at the Mailman School, and his research team, are gathering
data on neighborhood features that affect a person's diet and activity
levels. These features include land use, density of bus and subway stops,
availability of nutritious food, the location and quality of parks and
recreation facilities - even the number of trees on a street and the number
of buildings with elevators.
"The more mixed an area, the skinnier people are," Dr. Rundle
said. "Mixing supports walking, it supports incidental activity and
it makes you independent of an automobile." The data also indicates
that as the density of bus and subway stops increases in a neighborhood,
the body size of residents goes down. Again, it is thought that public
transit allows residents to be independent of private automobiles and
they will walk more. Upon completion of the research, Dr. Rundle expects
to have a large base of evidence linking the built environment to body
size.
With Americans in the grip of an obesity epidemic since 1975, Dr. Rundle
hopes his research findings will bring a discussion of health to urban
planning decisions in New York City and across North America, at the close
of his four-year study. "If we can influence zoning so that neighborhoods
are not 100 percent residential, so you can walk to a corner store because
you have a corner store, that's huge, that has real public health significance,"
he says.
Dr. Rundle believes that subtle changes in lifestyle repeated over and
over can have a tremendous influence on a person's body size. "The
epidemic of obesity is like an epidemic of a thousand paper cuts. There
are many subtle little pokes and prods and they all accumulate toward
us getting fat. There is no magic bullet that will curb the rise in obesity.
And that is why it's so hard to fight the epidemic. You don't have one
target to hit, you have one thousand targets to strike to win."
In addition to funding by the NIEHS, Dr. Rundle's work to address obesity
and associated health issues is also supported by The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. Earlier this month, Dr. Rundle presented his findings at the
Active Living Research conference, supported by the Foundation to identify
creative approaches for increasing levels of physical activity among Americans
of all ages and backgrounds.
Web Resources
ONSITE PARKING: THE SCOURGE OF AMERICA'S
Commercial Districts;" Planetizen article by Mott Smith; March
31, 2006. http://tinyurl.com/l3dw7
THE PRICE OF PARKING ON GREAT STREETS
Planetizen article by Donald C. Shoup, FAICP; March 29, 2006.
YOUNG ADOLESCENT PEDESTRIANS' AND
CYCLISTS - Road deaths: analysis of police accident files;" TRL
Report TRL620.
HOW TO DEVELOP A PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
ACTION PLAN - Final Report; (FHWA-SA-05-12); by Zegeer, et al; Pedestrian
and Bicycle Information Center; for Office of Safety, FHWA; 2/2006.
BICYCLE SITE ADDS FREE BIKE E-CARDS
"There are several dozen bicycle specific e-cards with more being
added every week. Our goal is to have 100-200 bicycle e-cards or more."
"REVITALIZATION" - A
new (free) magazine devoted to "redeveloping, restoring, renewing,
and revitalizing our communities and natural resources."
Crosswalk
Safety Videos - The Halifax Regional Municipality (Nova Scotia) and
Global Television Network jointly produced some crosswalk safety videos.
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