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.
Has anyone been keeping a tally of the number of times this has happened!?!?
I’m getting the sense that there might be some kind of problem here. :)
I would phrase it this way.
The number of times the sign has been run over (4 by my count) in the number of months since it was erected (4 months) suggests exactly how dangerous this intersection is for pedestrians and bicyclists.
It also suggests that additional traffic calming steps (e.g. a traffic light, lowered speed limit, or traffic island) is critically necessary.
Eric: There IS a traffic island! (see [photo] ) I’m thinking it needs a big water-filled crash barrier at each end of the island. Maybe something like item 42C-50 from this page: [link]
Again, as much as I hate them, this might be the place for a traffic hump, bump, or whatever.
There is a flashing yellow light on 7th and a flashing red light on Washington. I don’t think putting a full signal there would be very practical with the one on Huron so close.
Any sense of whether it is 7th or Washington traffic doing the destruction? Maybe this is an artifact of the YMCA’s location further down the street.
It needs lighting.
That’s an interesting point. Wonder how feasible a street light or other mounted light might be.
As a frequent crosser of that street, I don’t think it’s due to YMCA traffic – it’s more likely the people who come barreling south on 7th and continue going south on 7th, not people turning on or off of Washington.
At least two of the times the sign was hit, it was from people turning from Westbound Washington onto Sounthbound Seventh.
@Trevor — Does that turn require a wide swing? Meaning if you cut sharply left off Washington onto 7th (like perhaps people were used to) you’d drive across the island? I was driving north on 7th the other night and thought the spot wasn’t very well lit and is so small that a person not paying attention could easily miss it. (Or NOT miss it, as the case may be.)
Sorry, I didn’t mean to say traffic island. I meant to say “mini roundabout.”
Something like this: [link]
It would have to be very visible of course, with physical massing and appropriate signage.
There are mini-roundabouts on Easy St. that are kind of interesting to think about there.
This is a nice post about options: [Link]
How about a stop sign on 7th?
As of Feb 3 the count was ten times since it was installed Oct 8, 2009, FOUR months ago.
October: 16, 19
November: 4
December: 11, 16, 21, 23
January: 4, 13, 20
I’ve now got a webcam pointed at this intersection, so we can see exactly what is happening in these accidents. [link]
I’ve already caught one accident on camera: [link]