North Main Street Transportation Study

[Matt Catanzarite]

Good Afternoon,
Passing along the following public engagement opportunity to learn about opportunities to improve safety, increase mobility options, and support land use density.

Background
This project will be a one year study (2025-2026) to be performed by Toole Design in partnership with the City and Ann Arbor DDA.

The study location will be N. Main Street from Huron St. to W. Huron River Dr.

https://engage.a2gov.org/n-maintransport-study

Here is a Map of the corridor...
What would you like to see if all options where available?

Matt

[Ken Clark]

I'd like to see bike lanes, chicanes, active speed enforcement with speed monitors altering the signal timing, and metered entry to the expressway.  Oh, also, put back the at-grade railroad wye between the two lines. 

You know, what any country in Northern Europe would do.

Not holding my breath for anything to change there.

BTW, I retire in four years or so.  As a federal employee I can't run for Ann Arbor office.  I plan to show up at a *LOT* more meetings once I'm retired.  Maybe I'll work toward having a first ward councilmember who's as useful as Erica is.

Ken

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[Barbara McMullen]

I didn't know that federal employees couldn't run for A2 office - that seems... odd.

Do you have any idea why?

As for me, I'd love to have fewer lanes and more speed calming.

I hate what a racetrack that stretch is.

I'm just back from my first trip to Europe (London) in decades, and I'm amazed at how much quieter a city of that size is when there aren't many ICE vehicles on the road.

-barb

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/wbwc/1910433173.1853075.1770917213394%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Ken Clark]

Hatch Act.  Since Ann Arbor is one of the rare communities with partisan elections, running for most offices is partisan political activity, which will get you fired and probably jailed for a while (particularly under this administration). 

Ken

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/wbwc/CACeNzQQ99MSqLK5hnYvNo82_rU9GEhhe%3D%3DqCcqoa0r0N2qAA5Q%40mail.gmail.com.

[Barbara McMullen]

Ah, of course - thanks.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/wbwc/531360032.16585.1770920585979%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Kirk Westphal]

Thanks for this, Matt!  

I’ll piggyback and try to connect the dots between the North Main study and the other arterial study already happening.

TLDR, I recommend everyone go to the North Main engagement sessions in March! Things to watch for:  

• Are the designs safe and comfortable for all ages and abilities of bikers and walkers?  
• Are there enough crossings?  
  
• Are drivers forced to go slow enough at every conflict point so nobody will get seriously hurt in a crash?  
  
• If traffic signals are included in the design, can they ensure that drivers go slower than 20mph when green?  

Basically, the redesign options have to prove they're following the city’s Vision Zero and Complete Streets policies!

This is a huge moment for road safety

If we want truly safe, comfortable designs to come out of the North Main study, we need to show up just as forcefully as we have for the A2R2 process (which is coming up with potential designs for the dangerous multilane roads that are already under the city's control, further engagement sessions to be scheduled). It’s the same consultant doing both studies, Toole Design.  

Because of these two studies happening at the same time, this may be the most consequential year for road safety planning we’ve had in at least 20 years — and probably the most important one we’ll see for the next decade.

So if we care about a genuinely safe city and the infrastructure that's needed to achieve it, this is the moment.  And it’s going to require a huge shift in mindset from our leaders and city staff.

Why I'm concerned

In A2R2 discussions, several city staff have said some version of, “There’s only so much we can do" via road design to make people safer.

That mindset explains a lot about why we haven’t achieved our commitment to eliminate deaths and serious injuries: it’s categorically false!  It contradicts both city policy and established Vision Zero practice.  Road design changes — even inexpensive ones — have enormous safety impacts.  That’s well documented all over the world and here in Ann Arbor.  (We're not alone in failing Vision Zero: check out this heartbreaking but excellent recent article.)

It’s also troubling to hear the Toole consultant speak at a Transportation Commission meeting as if we don’t have a zero-death commitment, and as if car throughput is something that needs to be “balanced with other benefits.”  Balanced with what?  Human life isn’t one of several competing interests when you commit to zero deaths.  

City council members have not corrected these statements on the record.  A big THANK YOU to all of you who have expressed concern about this to your representatives.  (If you haven't, please do.)

And again — this is the same consultancy leading the North Main study.  (I unsuccessfully asked city council to amend the North Main contract that they approved with them last year; see email at bottom.)

North Main is holding us back

The North Main Problem has been discussed for decades. This article references the North Main Task Force report from 2014, which mentions a report from the 1980s, and so on.  One excerpt reads:  Traffic speed and volumes on N. Main from Depot to M-14 often make this stretch of road feel like a ramp on and off the highway.

Today, it’s still functioning as a highway spur — a car stacking zone before the merge to the single-lane M-14 on-ramp in the afternoon, and a stacking zone for drivers turning onto the single-lane Depot in the morning.  It degrades one of the most beautiful gateways to the city.  Nothing truly great is going to happen there as long as it functions as a car sewer.  A big problem is that the city doesn't control it, it's owned by the Michigan Department of Transportation.

So why are we studying it?

Acquisition of North Main and other MDOT “trunklines” (Washtenaw, Huron, Jackson) has been under discussion since 2022, but there's been little public clarity about timelines or progress.  (If anyone has updates on where that stands, it would be great to hear.)

Is spending $600,000 on a study for a road that the city doesn’t yet own — and hasn’t publicly shown urgency in acquiring — a gamble?  Maybe.  The road needs reconstruction soon, and it’s on MDOT’s to-do list.  If we end up getting control of it, we can implement the results of the study.  If we don’t get control of it before it falls apart, we’ll have to persuade MDOT to redesign the corridor appropriately.  (There’s hope: MDOT has been making some thoughtful choices lately.) 

 

So I'm choosing optimism!  Either way, we have to make sure North Main becomes a low-speed, safe, multimodal street that finally connects people to the river and the incredible amenities nearby.

I'm happy to answer questions here — or discuss off-line anytime.  See you at the engagement sessions!

Cheers,

Kirk

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Excerpt of email sent to council and consultant last year]

I just reviewed the $600k Toole contract for the North Main study that was approved this summer (attached). Similar to the other active Toole contract, the North Main contract and project narrative do not articulate "the elimination of serious injuries and deaths" from the study area as a goal. This study will not produce Vision Zero outcomes. In fact, it neglects to even mention "Vision Zero," except for one time where it lists city plans. (It does, however, use the term "trade-offs" multiple times. What exactly is being "traded-off"?)

This contract needs to be amended immediately to eliminate mentions of trade-offs and mandate Vision Zero-compliant designs that do not accommodate lethal motorist speeds where vehicles and vulnerable road users interact.

As you are aware, City Council's 2015 Vision Zero commitment, 2017 recommitment, 2021 Transportation Plan, and multiple re-commitments to Vision Zero (2023, 2025) do not tolerate trade-offs when designing our transportation systems. It offers a clear framework where, "No one dies or is seriously injured in crashes on Ann Arbor’s streets." Since economic value increases with safe streets, I can only assume that the trade-off being referred to is motorist convenience.

Adding this to the $280k for the other ongoing Toole multilane reconfiguration contract and the completed (and seemingly useless) non-Vision-Zero-compliant $650k Lowertown Mobility Study, this now amounts to $1.5 million on transportation studies that are not compliant with official city policy.

[Matt Catanzarite]

Thanks, Kirk, for the input and resources.

I have added the statement WBWC issued in response to the 2013 Vision for the Future study(https://www.a2gov.org/media/beyd2j4z/nmvtf-report-9-3-13_final.pdf). It’s interesting to note how many of the ideas from that study — and from our statement — have since come to be built. These include:

• The bridge connection from the B2B along Argo Cascades to the DTE site
• Development of the DTE site
• Underpass at the southern end of N. Main near the depot
• Underpass at the northern end connecting Huron River Dr. and Bendemeer/B2B

The 2013/14 renderings showing enhanced crosswalks at Depot St. and Lake Shore Drive still look promising. Additionally, I believe WBW would continue to support extending the east sidewalk north to at least Lake Shore Drive.

A roundabout at Main and W. Huron River Drive could be a strong “Welcome to Ann Arbor — we’re not a highway” gateway treatment, like the N. Maple and M-14 interchange.

I’ve attached a few crash reports along the corridor where speed and visibility were contributing factors.

Crash reports:
Cyclist struck at Depot St intersection - https://ud10.semcog.org/ud10?crash_id=2733625

Traveling at 60mph - https://ud10.semcog.org/ud10?crash_id=2103865

Too fast to react - https://ud10.semcog.org/ud10?crash_id=2603047

Matt