Brown Recommended for N. Main Group
At its May 23, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor public art commission (AAPAC) unanimously recommended that Connie Rizzolo Brown be nominated for a position on a task force to study the corridor along North Main Street and the Huron River. That recommendation will be forwarded to mayor John Hieftje.
The task force was established by the city council at its May 7, 2012 meeting, with membership to include the following: one member of the park advisory commission, one member of the planning commission, one resident representing the Water Hill neighborhood, one resident representing the North Central neighborhood, one resident from the Old Fourth Ward, one resident representing the Broadway/Pontiac neighborhood, two business and property owners from the affected area, and one member of the Huron River Watershed Council.
At its May 21 meeting, the two sponsors of the resolution that created the task force – Ward 1 councilmembers Sabra Briere and Sandi Smith – proposed adding three additional representatives: a member of the city council, someone from the boating/fishing community of river users, a representative from the Huron River Citizens Association. Tony Derezinski (Ward 2), who also serves on AAPAC, then proposed an amendment to add an AAPAC member to the task force. The AAPAC addition was passed by council on a 6-5 vote. [See Chronicle coverage: "Positions Added to North Main Task Force"] Appointments are expected to be made at the council’s June 4 meeting.
At AAPAC’s May 23 meeting, Derezinski told commissioners that “basically, we need someone at the table.”
The task force is charged with delivering a report to the city council more than a year from now – by July 31, 2013 – that describes “a vision to create/complete/enhance pedestrian and bike connection from downtown to Bandemer and Huron River Drive, increase public access to the river-side amenities of existing parks in the North Main-Huron River corridor, ease traffic congestion at Main and Depot at certain times of a day and recommend use of MichCon property at Broadway; …”
Earlier than that – by the end of 2012 – the task force is to make recommendations on the use of the city-owned 721 N. Main parcel.
Brown has served on AAPAC since early 2009, and has chaired the commission’s projects committee. She is a principal of Rizzolo Brown Studio, an Ann Arbor architecture firm.
This brief was filed from the basement conference room of city hall at 301 E. Huron, where AAPAC held its meeting. A more detailed report will follow.
This is frustrating. Is there some way that things are *supposed* to be done so that these lanes aren’t blocked? I either have to go up on the sidewalks and endanger pedestrians/worry about cars coming out of driveways, or I have to ride deep into the road, and on liberty, that doesn’t always feel so safe ;(
I agree – quite frustrating. This is my first fall in Ann Arbor and while I love all the bike lanes I hate that they are currently equivalent to leaf pickup lanes.
Per the City’s website:
“For bike commuting safety, properties facing marked bike lanes on the street may only put leaves in the street 24 hours before the scheduled pickup day.”
Tomorrow (November 18) is the scheduled pick up day for this area.
What do you all think about stopping the leaf pickup (and the pickup of other compostables) next year? We won’t be able afford to continue doing it for more than a few years in any case. Recycling is more likely to pay for itself for a little longer. Will the public accept it now, not until it’s no longer economically feasible, or not even then?
Here’s a link to the city’s fall leaf collection schedule.
Stopping leaf pickup is a rotten idea.
I don’t know what it means to say we can’t afford it. Can we afford to pick up trash? Of course, there’s a cost associated with it. What’s the alternative? It’s unreasonable to expect that I can compost that volume. How about letting me burn it?
“We won’t be able to afford to continue doing it for more than a few years in any case.” Do you have some inside information, Steve? Is that because of the many dollars wasted in various unwise projects that the city has engaged in, including the new single-stream recycling plan? That is going to cost us a lot of money upfront for no real service improvement.
There is a practical need for the leaf pickup. Streets would become impassable without it. Burning is not an option. I personally compost the leaves on my property, but I can’t process the deadwood and some other compostables. Composting is a hard physical effort beyond the capability or desire of many people. It also requires a fair amount of space on the parcel. And it is hard to imagine how it would be accomplished for rental properties.
This is a basic service. If the city can’t afford it, we should be scrutinizing a good many optional programs such as the ambitious building, transit, recycling, and green energy programs that consume so much money. Or are you trying to withdraw money from basic services to pay for those, Steve?
One never sees these mounds on Huron. Folks on Huron have piles on the tree plot (between the sidewalk and road). Shouldn’t tree plots stowage be the same for bike lane roads?
Vivienne, the only information I have (and it’s not “inside”) is that the world has very likely passed peak oil production, which has huge economic implications for every level of government. Yes, much of our current spending could be considered “wasted” in the context of peak oil and the economic crisis.
I could just as easily pose the question about any city service/spending, but this item was an opportunity to ask it about leaf collection. Recycling is a different matter because it results in energy savings, as do the investments in “green” energy and certain transit programs. (Parking structures? No.) Composting by the city has a revenue stream from the sale of the finished compost, but it doesn’t reduce energy use. I think it will be interesting to examine from that perspective.
We need to start discussing such questions as a community. We’re in this together and the repercussions will affect all of us.
For a very informative series of videos on peak oil and its implications, go to this website. For another excellent series of videos that help explain the logic behind the peak oil model as well as limits to growth, go to [link]. (Part 6 of the series includes some of the key points.)
Growth is over, folks. Let’s find ways that we can comfortably enjoy that fact.
I have been wondering how the leaves get picked up on Huron (the ones stored on the parklawn strip). In the surrounding neighborhood, they get pushed around by front loaders. On Huron, do they block the lanes and use people with rakes to get the leaves onto the street?
What about bagging leaves for pickup?
That’s what we do in Ypsilanti Twp. It keeps the streets cleaner in my opinion, and it really isn’t any more difficult to bag. I’ve always watched the elaborate leaf pick up efforts in Ann Arbor that involve backhoes and blocking off streets for hours. In Ypsilanti Twp a truck comes, a guy gets out and he throws the bags in the truck. Done.