Comments on: Greenbelt Group Briefed on Pittsfield Plan

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:35:04 +0000

@9: Vivienne, all good points.

I was mostly trying to figure out my own reaction in hopes that might be useful for clarifying the messaging.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:08:51 +0000

The University of Michigan campus does not belong to the residents of Ann Arbor. They are entitled to limit access to it at any time and it is not a place to picnic, for example, or to play an impromptu game, hold a group meeting, or any one of many activities that one might use open space for. (UM students, of course, do all those things, but it is their campus.)

Whatever the disposition of the Library Lot, the UM campus should not be offered as our downtown greenspace. It is not downtown, and it is not ours.

By: Eric Boyd

Eric Boyd — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:00:11 +0000

Although I otherwise always support the development of parks in Ann Arbor, the argument for a “downtown park” has never resonated with me, even though I used to live and work downtown. Even when I worked across the street, I never felt the need to use Liberty Square.

In trying to figure out why, I think the reason is that I think of the Diag and area in front of Rackham as “Ann Arbor’s downtown greenspace.” As such, the argument for increased density and downtown development resonate much more strongly with me then the proposal for greenspace next to the library.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:07:48 +0000

The “little park for a little while” was at the corner of Main and Ann, where the newish county building (the Clerk, Treasurer, etc.) stands. The old Salvation Army thrift store was bought by the county and demolished to leave that space. It was the site of a homeless tent city (as a demonstration, I think) briefly before the county landscaped it to make a very pleasant little park with benches and small trees. That was used for several years by the African-American celebration and I don’t recall vagrants being a major problem.

We have a task force and other programs to deal with panhandlers and the homeless. I think that some allergic reaction remains from the way Liberty Plaza was taken over at one point, and the Library had some problems when there was a very large population of needy people housed in the old Y. But I’m getting tired of the knee-jerk response that any open space immediately becomes a hazard because of undesirables. Unfortunately, the director and some AADL board members have taken this position. The key is to have a space that all of us use. Traffic is what makes open places safe. People traffic, I mean, not cars. An open space with opportunities for both organized and individual activities is characteristic of all great cities.

By: Allan Feldt

Allan Feldt — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:40:48 +0000

Before the current county court house was built, there was an older courthouse with a fairly spacious front lawn which served as a gathering place for various community events, speeches etc. When the new courthouse was built during the 1950s, it was built around the old courthouse, out to the sidewalks. As the new building was completed, furniture and equipment from the old courthouse was transferred directly to the new one, sometimes through adjacent windows. Then the old courthouse was torn down leaving what was is now an interior parking lot. Thus the last public green space in downtown Ann Arbor disappeared.

A number of citizens would like the roof of the fifth avenue parking lot to become some kind of public space gracing the center of Ann Arbor once again. By “green” we mean both ecologically green in terms of water retention, carbon footprint etc. as well as the color green as in vegetation, etc. It seems to some of us that Common Council is being short sighted in throwing away this unique opportunity to enhance our downtown in exchange for a few additional parking spaces and more asphalt and concrete, however well drained.

By: Tom Whitaker

Tom Whitaker — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:39:09 +0000

For that matter, won’t a surface parking lot also require security to ward off crime, panhandling, and other issues? In fact, there are many more places to hide and misbehave among the vehicles in a surface parking lot than there are in a wide-open plaza or park.

By: Tom Whitaker

Tom Whitaker — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:34:12 +0000

@2: There is nothing “green” about building a massive underground car warehouse and installing huge plastic tanks beneath it to collect, and eventually drain rainwater (and possibly groundwater) to the stormwater system. “Green” would be allowing this rainwater to be directly absorbed by plants and trees which would provide at least a little oxygen production that might put a small dent in the huge greenhouse gas emissions being vented out of this concrete monolith.

Honestly, the scare tactics being used against any consideration of a public space at this location are ridiculous. Even the most ardent supporters of a huge development on top of this structure are calling for a significant portion to be dedicated to a public plaza of some kind. Will this plaza not have the same potential to attract undesirable behavior if not designed and managed properly?

By: abc

abc — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:56:46 +0000

@2 (sort of)

Huron and Ann are parallel. Might you mean the corner of Main and Ann; there is a lot there. Actually there are two parking lots on that corner but one is private.

But then maybe you meant Fourth and Ann, again there is a big one and a little one and again the little one is private.

Or maybe you meant Huron and Ashley. Now that corner has lots of parking lots. As does Huron & 1st, and 1st & Washington. But then again you could have meant 5th & Huron where yet another corner lot exists.

It sure seems that Ann Arbor has a lot of corner parking lots. And I clearly need to find that guide to urban planning that suggests that the key to a successful downtown is to provide asphalt parking on most corner lots.

By: Leah Gunn

Leah Gunn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:00:25 +0000

That piece of property, located where the County Building is now, at the corner of Huron and Ann, was called “A Little Park for a Little While”. It had a path and a picnic table and a lawn. However, the county had to fence it off because it became a haven for drug deals and other unacceptable behavior. It may seem like a good idea, but it won’t work. The parking structure has a very large storm water retention system buried below it, which serves not only the structure, but any future development surrounding it. So it is already “green”. The top of the structure will be, temporarily, surface parking, by resolution of City COuncil.

By: Allan Feldt

Allan Feldt — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:52:17 +0000

While I am very impressed with the success of Ann Arbor’s Greenbelt program including its positive effect on the rest of the county, it seems a shame that there is so little support for the effort to place a small spot of greenery in downtown An n Arbor to recreate the green space we lost when the old county court house was demolished in the 1950s.

We have the chance to add some green downtown by developing a rooftop green space on top of the underground parking structure being build on Fifth Avenue. It can be call the Library Green. Admittedly, we probably cannot afford a full fledged park like the Boston Commons above our parking structure but certainly if Big George’s Appliances can put a green roof on their structure, Ann Arbor should be able to pupt a green roof on top of its newest parking structure – and put it at ground level where we all can see and enjoy it.