Blog Post
Let the Bridge Work Begin - Big Project Next to the Big House
by Debbie G.
You've been winding your way through the single-lane situation on East Stadium, eagerly anticipating the next phase in the Ann Arbor Bridges project. Well, the wait is almost over. Beginning in November 2011, the Ann Arbor Bridges Reconstruction project will begin.
The Project Update Press Release details, concretely, every phase of the project. Leaving no cone unturned in their effort to keep citizens informed, the city will provide updates on the website throughout the reconstruction.
And speaking of the Big House, Sparty sends his best.
Blog Post
National Train Day
by cecile
Today is National Train Day, a celebration of national rail travel sponsored by Amtrak.
Locally, Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje and the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers will celebrate National Train Day with coffee and donuts. Mayor Hieftje will read a proclamation from the City in support of train travel and present it to the conductor of Amtrak train #351 heading to Chicago.
The Ann Arbor District Library has a wonderful collection of materials train-related. Here is a small sampling to help you celebrate:
The Train set in Paris 1944, starring Burt Lancaster, is an exciting film about the French Resistance and a German colonel trying to steal a vast art collection.
Strangers on a Train is the film noir Alfred Hitchcock classic.
Orient Express: the Life and Times of the World's Most Famous Train is about the luxurious European train operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits.
Blood, Iron, & Gold : How the Railroads Transformed the World chronicles one of the greatest technological feats of the 19th century.
China’s Great Train is about the building of the great “Sky Train” the world’s highest railway that goes to Tibet.
Blog Post
Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Trolley
by amy
While browsing through old newspapers and listening to the radio at our archive this afternoon, I caught part of a 2006 interview with Hugh Martin, composer, lyricist and arranger of such classics as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Boy Next Door" and "The Trolley Song" from the great 1944 musical Meet Me In St. Louis. Martin, who died last Friday explained that he was browsing through an old newspaper at the Beverly Hills Library when he saw a photograph of a trolley with the caption, "Clang! Clang! went the trolley"...and three hours later the song was done. In his honor, and because my love of old musicals, libraries, newspapers and photographs just collided and I can't help myself, here's a photograph of an old Ann Arbor trolley. May it inspire you to write the next great American song.
Thanks to Site 3 of the Downtown Historical Street Exhibits Program there are several photographs of old Ann Arbor trolleys to choose from. And if songwriting isn't really your thing, we have an entire book on the subject.
Blog Post
Ann Arbor Connector Open House
by Debbie G.
The public is invited to attend the Ann Arbor Connector Open House on Monday, Nov. 15 in the Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Branch Multipurpose Room. There will be two sessions: 3:30 p.m. ~ 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. ~ 8:00 p.m. to discuss the the Ann Arbor Connector Feasibility Study. The information session will highlight the various transit technologies that are feasible including bus, bus rapid transit, streetcars, light rail transit and personal rapid transit technologies. And there will be plenty of time for comments and Q&A.
Blog Post
Have 5 Minutes to help TheRide develop a Transit Master Plan?
by amy
TheRide is developing a Transit Master Plan for Washtenaw County to set the direction for how the transit network will be developed over the next 10, 20 and 30 years. The plan will be monitored and adjusted periodically, and although it will focus on transit, it will also address alternative and complementary transportation modes such as walking and cycling.
Help inform the direction of the new Transit Master Plan by completing this questionnaire on your vision for transit across the county. You can also request an alternative format either by email at TransitMasterPlan@TheRide.org or by phone at 1-734-794-1880.
Read more about the questionnaire and the Master Plan process at movingyouforward.org and in this July 3 article from The Ann Arbor Chronicle.
Blog Post
Brush Up on Bicycle Safety!
by CasualTim
Joseph Kane's Famous First Facts, a wonderfully informative and interesting resource, notes that it was on this day in 1896 that the first reported automobile accident causing injury in the United States occurred. This first injury accident was an automobile-bicycle collision resulting in a fractured leg, and represents a cautionary event that's still relevant 114 years later.
Keeping cyclists safe is everybody's responsibility. Even way back then, the law relied on cyclists to be visible in traffic and to pedestrians, and to outfit their bikes appropriately for the conditions. According to an article in an 1899 edition of the New York Times, that city's own squad of bicycle policemen had made 65 arrests by 10pm on June 4th, most of which were for cyclists riding without a light and bell.
To help cyclists of all ages try to avoid the various road and traffic hazards, the AADL offers many helpful resources.
Try this search to get you started on bike safety materials for young and beginning riders. There is also a Safety Town run jointly by the Ann Arbor Police Department and the Ann Arbor Public Schools Community Education & Recreation Department. Safety Town was founded in my hometown of Mansfield, Ohio in 1937 by a traffic commissioner and a kindergarten teacher, and "includes pedestrian safety, bike safety, stranger safety, drug awareness, fire safety, school bus safety, outdoor safety and seat belt safety." I remember having an absolute blast riding my tricycle around the miniature town (with Mansfield landmark buildings and working stop light!), obeying all the rules of the road I'd just learned. If the program is anything like it was back then, I can strongly recommend it for any young person.
Even we old(er) cyclists need to keep reminding ourselves how to stay safe. Here are a few books that might help us stay upright and moving forward. Parts of David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling are actually very relevant to bicyclists (and anyone in traffic). I haven't read anything anywhere that's had a better effect on my understanding of visibility, sight lines, and awareness.
For a little perspective, Kane reports that almost exactly three years after that first accident, a bicycle officer made the first ever arrest of a driver for speeding. The driver was traveling at the "breakneck speed" of 12mph on NYC's Lexington Ave.
Oh, and did I mention that speedster back in 1899 was an electric car?
Blog Post
All Aboard! for the Fuller Road Station Meeting
by Debbie G.
The City of Ann Arbor will host a third public meeting on the proposed Fuller Road Station transit center on Thursday, May 6, 2010, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. in the 2nd floor Council Chambers, City Hall . To learn more about the bus, rail and train hub envisioned for the region, read the AnnArbor.com article outlining Phase I of this joint project between the University of Michigan and the City of Ann Arbor.
Blog Post
Stimulus Strategy for Better Biking
by Debbie G.
Join Ann Arbor Transportation Department staff on Thursday, May 7, 7 p.m. at City Hall for a discussion of planned improvements to city streets to make them more friendly to bicyclists and pedestrians. Plans include eight miles of new bike lanes, improving 24 miles of existing bike lanes and better signage, all courtesy of federal stimulus funds and local resources.
And to find out about the best bike rides in the area and a hands-on display of the best bikes to ride, join us Wednesday, May 6, 7 p.m. at the Downtown Branch for Washtenaw County Bike Rides with author Joel Howell and Ann Arbor Cyclery.