Call for Volunteers: Public Hours / Open Shop - Week of 5/18/2025 + Upcoming Events

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Ian Ogden

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May 15, 2025, 10:38:40 PMMay 15
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Evening, everyone. Pardon the late email.

I. WEEK OF 5/18: Public Hours / Open Shop x2
416 W Huron

After their usual weeklong absences, Sundays and Tuesdays are back next Sunday and Tuesday, during which the CC workspace will be open for folks to work on and receive support in working on their bikes -

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II. SUNDAY, 5/18: Huron River Day 2025
12-4 PM, Gallup Park

HRD 2025.jpg

This Sunday is also the Day of the Huron River and the weather's looking downright decent. We'll be at Gallup Park with our friends from the Bike Alliance to catch some rays, help folks work on their bikes and support the Huron River Day Bike Valet.

Another volunteer or two would be very helpful, particularly from 2-4 PM - if you have some free time this Sunday afternoon, please sign up below -

Volunteer Signup - Huron River Day 2025:
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III. SUNDAY, 5/18: CC Steering Committee Meeting
4-5:30 PM, The Internet/Zoom

Following Public Hours is Common Cycle's monthly Steering Committee meeting (a bit hot on the heels of the later-than-usual meeting in April). All are welcome - feel free to email in...@commoncycle.org and we can send the Zoom details.
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III. [VARIOUS] Upcoming Events / Opportunities
Looking into June, some other events / opportunities to help bemused members of the riding public work on their bikes are below. If in the enviable position of knowing your schedule several weeks in advance, please feel free to sign up for one, both, or neither:

Day/Time

Event, Location, & Volunteer Signup

Sat, 6/7/2025, 12-5 PM

African American Downtown Festival, Kerrytown

Sat., 6/14/2025, 12-4 PM

YMCA Block Party, Downtown YMCA


Ride goodly,
Ian O.

Ian Ogden

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May 18, 2025, 9:12:02 AMMay 18
to commo...@googlegroups.com
Morning, all. Thanks to those who've signed up to help with Huron River Day today - looks like we have solid coverage there.

We could use some additional help during Public Hours today, as well as on Tuesday evening; if you have some unspoken-for time, please consider signing up -
Call to Action from TNI, WBW, BAW - Safety Can't Wait

Also, as the City of Ann Arbor finalizes its budget for the next fiscal year tomorrow evening (5/19), please see the call-to-action/rally organized by our friends at Walk-Bike-Washtenaw, the Bike Alliance of Washtenaw, and the Neighborhood Institute, summarized by Adam Goodman and Kirk Westphal below.

Pardon the longish, Sunday AM email. Have a good rest of the weekend,
Ian
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---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Kirk Westphal <he...@neighborhoodinstitute.org>
Date: Sat, May 17, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Subject: ACTION ALERT: Rally to Demand Road Safety Funding - MONDAY 6:30pm at City Hall Plaza


Please join us and other advocates in front of Ann Arbor City Hall at 6:30pm this coming Monday (5/19) to protest ongoing deaths and injuries and demand funding for road safety in the city budget!


5-19-2025 safety can't wait rally flyer.jpg


Last Monday (5/5), we presented our Safety For Stadium petition to City Council. Sadly, only a few hours after that meeting ended, a man in a wheelchair was killed in a crosswalk by a drunk driver while trying to cross Huron St - another of our city's deadly multilane roads - a block from City Hall.

In our comments at that City Council meeting, we noted that the city administration's proposed budget includes ZERO dollars for "quick build safety projects" to reconfigure deadly multilane roads like Stadium. Fortunately, Councilmember Briggs plans to bring forward a budget amendment to change that - but we remain far from certain that this amendment will gain majority support.

We, along with other local advocacy organizations, are planning a brief protest this coming Monday, 5/19 at 6:30pm in front of City Hall, immediately prior to the City Council meeting at 7:00pm. This is the critical meeting at which City Council will be amending and adopting the city's annual budget. See the attached press release for further details.

After the protest, we will proceed to Council Chambers to watch the meeting. (For anyone willing, we encourage you to speak at public comment in favor of Councilmember Briggs' budget amendment. This time, there is no public hearing, so you'll need to call the Clerk's office earlier in the day on Monday to sign up for a speaking slot. See the instructions on the city website; when asked, you can say the agenda item you wish to comment on is "DS-8: Resolution to Adopt Ann Arbor City Budget and Related Property Tax Millage Rates for Fiscal Year 2026".)

But even if you aren't up for speaking, your presence at the protest and/or in Council Chambers will help make a difference!

Whether you can attend Monday or not, it would also help to email your City Council representatives directly (and cc cityc...@a2gov.org) *by Sunday* with a subject line such as "Support road safety now," "Fund quick build road safety," "Pass the road safety amendment" etc. and describe your experiences using Ann Arbor roads — on foot, with mobility devices, by bike, or by car. Our representatives are well aware of the data, but stories from people who are directly affected by their dangerous roads can be compelling.

As always, please reach out with any questions!  We'll be hosting our monthly coffee hour on Thursday at Sweetwaters where we can debrief on the meeting and other initiatives.

Adam Goodman and Kirk Westphal
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