Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition - Sustainable Transportation

April Action Item!  Sign this petition to show your support for the Jackson Road 4-3 lane conversion. Project details below. 

A proposed Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project to convert the section of Jackson Avenue in Ann Arbor between Dexter and Collingwood has meet with recent loud opposition. The proposed project would convert this portion of Jackson Avenue from four, ten foot, lanes to three, 11 foot, lanes with a dedicated center turn lane, bike lanes and additional pedestrian crossings. The project was supported by city staff, received 20 favorable comments at a public meeting and received a resolution in support from city council, but a recent  article in annarbor.com about the project generated a wave of negative commentary and letters to MDOT from members of the public concerned the conversion will cause congestion and mayhem by adding bike lanes and reducing travel lanes.  

Picture credit: Ryan Stanton, annarbor.com

Not surprisingly, WBWC strongly supports this conversion this bike/ped friendly road conversion.  However, we strongly believe all users will benefit from the conversion, not just cyclists. The benefits include: 

1) Improved Traffic Flow: MDOT completed an analysis and computer modeling for the 3-lane traffic operation at Jackson Ave, including modeling for the traffic flow during the rush hours. MDOT determined that the 4-3 lane conversion would improve the traffic flow at the corridor, not create more congestion as opponents suggest. 

2) Traffic Calming: Speeds along Jackson Road are dangerously high, posing a risk for both pedestrians and motorists. From 2008- 2010, there were 70 accidents along Jackson Ave with an injury rate of 19%. The conversion to three lanes is anticipated to slow speeds and thus reduce the frequency and severity of accidents as has been the experience on other 4-3 lane conversions in Ann Arbor.  

3) Improved Travel for Larger Vehicles: 10 foot travel lanes provide little room for error. The conversion , which is consistent with complete streets principles, would increase lane size and improve travel for the operators of larger vehicles like buses and trucks which frequently travel on this state trunk line. 

4) Increased Pedestrian Safety: Not only will the conversion allow for the additional of pedestrian crossings, but the conversion is also, as noted above, anticipated to reduce speeds. Posted speeds are 35mph, but real speeds are closer to 45mph. A number of studies have shown that 5 percent of pedestrians would die when struck by a vehicle traveling 20 mph, about 40 percent for vehicles traveling 30 mph, about 80 percent for vehicles traveling 40 mph, and nearly 100 percent for speeds over 50 mph.  This section is both residential and has a public swimming pool which generates a great deal of pedestrian traffic. 

5) Increaed Bicycle Safety: 

As motorists, we seem to believe that four lane roads are better for travel. However, in realiity, traffic engineers are finding that 4-3 lane conversions can not only create more "complete streets" since they offer the opportunity to include better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, but also improved travel and safety for motorists. The Annarbor.com article noted that Platt Road (from Packard to Ellsworth) was converted from four to three lanes and had 20 to 30 accidents per year, prior to it's conversion, but in the last two years is down to six or seven.

Given the frequeny we hear the question "Are bikes vehicles", we thought we'd re-post this informative response. This answer was orginally posted in a discussion on WBWC's google group list serve by Kathy Vonk. Kathy is a  Ann Arbor Police Department officer and League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor, among her many qualifications. 

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"I asked one of the Ann Arbor city attorneys about this, as well as the Executive Director for the League of Michigan Bicyclists. Here are their responses:


From the city attorney: I agree that bicycles are not included within the Michigan Vehicle Code definition of “vehicle”. That being said, as the posting points out, bicyclists operating on the public roads are still subject to the Michigan Vehicle Code, section 257.657: “Each person riding a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, or moped or operating a low-speed vehicle upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter… That means red light/stop sign violations, wrong way street violations, etc., as well violations that are exclusive to bicycles (see MCL 257.656 et. seq. and UTC sec. 28.1603 et. seq.). 


And from Rich Moeller, ED LMB (edited): We (cyclists) are not vehicles, but the vehicle code gives us "virtually" the same rights as cars. I have not found anything yet that is a negative for us not being classified as a vehicle according to the code.

We have lost a great friend, community member and cycling force behind WBWC.

Much of this community is possible directly because of her efforts and she will never be forgotten.

Last spring, WBWC and the City of Ann Arbor surveyed motorists in Ann Arbor to see what local drivers knew about our local crosswalk law and to get a better sense of their self-reported behavior. After a summer of education, we're at it again to see what type of progress we've made in Ann Arbor. Please take a few minutes to take this survey (even if you took one last spring) so we can get a better sense of our community progress.

SURVEY CLOSED! Thanks for all your responeses! We received over 1800 in 6 days and now we're busy looking at the data. We'll share our findings as soon as we can.