Transportation

Ann Arbor is best place to successfully age

I know, huh? But what the folks at CNN really want to reinforce is that A2 is aces for AARPsters looking out for their health and well-being. Excerpt: "The Milken Institute analyzed data for 78 indicators of success, including health care, housing, transportation, education opportunities and cultural experiences. They then weighted the indicators based on survey information regarding what was most important to seniors - health care and financial security landing at the top of their concerns." Read the rest here.

Shepherd Intelligence Systems adds to staff, boasts steady growth

Shepherd Intelligence Systems is in turtle mode, i.e. slow and steady growth to win the start-up race. The downtown Ann Arbor-based company has added a handful of new contracts over the last year. It has also hired one person, rounding out the company's staff to 10 people "It continues to do very well," says Adrian Fortino, CEO of Shepherd Intelligence Systems. "We hope to add a a few more businesses and people this year." Shepherd Intelligent Systems is commercializing the University of Michigan's Magic Bus program. That software, tested by the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority in 2010, allows system riders to follow bus progress on their smart phones. Users can see where their bus is on real-time maps and estimate times of arrival. The company has steadily added a few more bells and whistles to this technology and broadened it customer base to a range of vehicle fleets. The company first started with governmental mass transit agencies and has now grown to include fleets of vehicles at universities across the U.S. and private transportation fleets, such as limo companies. "It has grown at a pretty steady pace," Fortino says. Source: Adrian Fortino, CEO of Shepherd Intelligence Systems Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Superior Dam improvements, signs aid navigation on Huron River Water Trail

Can density decrease traffic congestion?

Propose a building over three stories and what's the typical response? "Oh, the traffic!" Plantizen blogger Todd Litman points to an Arizona study that shows greater density can actually reduce traffic congestion. Excerpt: "There is plenty of evidence that land use factors such as density, mix and road connectivity affect the amount people travel. However, the study made an important additional discovery. It found that roadways in more compact, mixed, multi-modal communities tend to be less congested. This results from the lower vehicle trip generation, particularly for local errands, more walking and public transit travel, and because the more connected street networks offer more route options so traffic is less concentrated on a few urban arterials. This contradicts our earlier assumptions." Read the rest of the story here.

Video The Real Costs Of Traffic

In roughly four minutes you can learn what induced travel demand is, why it matters, and why alternative transportation is so important for our region. It's fast, fun, and informative. Go on, click the link. Learn something new.

Ann Arbor plugs into 18 new electric car charging stations

The electric tide is coming to Ann Arbor, and the city's downtown development authority wants to embrace it. Last week the city held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for 18 new electric vehicle charging stations placed in six city parking structures:  Fourth and William, Maynard, Ann and Ashley, Forest Avenue, and Fourth and Catherine, as well as the soon-to-open Library Lane facility. The Ann Arbor DDA has found the usage to be higher than expected at the stations, some of which have been in place for the last month, according to Dave Konkle, the DDA's energy programs director. On average, three cars a day plug in to the 220-volt, 30-amp type 2 chargers at each station. "They can charge five times faster than the ones you plug into your own house," he says. The stations offer free plug-ins, although normal parking fees apply. The average charge uses about 80 cents' worth of electricity, says Konkle. The outlets were funded through a $110,000 U.S. Dept. of Energy's Clean Cities Recovery Act grant passed through the Clean Energy Coalition. Konkle says within the next two months the DDA will be adding a link to its website showing the locations of the chargers and whether they are in use at that moment. A mobile phone app with this real-time availability information will follow. With the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf out in circulation, and the new Ford Focus and Prius plug-in hybrid following at their heels, "Our logic was that this is certainly something that is coming and Ann Arbor needs to be ready for it," Konkle says. Drivers can "take their electric cars and, without worrying, they can come to downtown Ann Arbor and park and plug them in and go to the restaurants or the music venues or whatever they want." Source: Dave Konkle, energy programs director, Ann Arbor DDA Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

WALLY commuter rail station design work gets the green light

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board's vote last week to release funding for all WALLY (Washtenaw and Livingston Railway) expenditures means the station design phase will now get underway. The total AATA budget for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012 was $230,000, most but not all of which will be applied to the station design, says Michael Benham, AATA's special assistant for strategic planning. WALLY is a planned 26-mile north-south stretch of commuter railway spanning from downtown Howell to Ann Arbor. The rail line would run on existing track largely owned by the Great Lakes Central Railroad. The end point in Ann Arbor, however, is yet to be determined. Track ownership changes on the north side of Ann Arbor to the Ann Arbor Railroad, which has objected to providing passenger service, according to Benham. The Great Lakes Central Railroad terminates in the Plymouth and Barton Road vicinity. That stop could serve the U-M Medical Center, the North Campus Research Complex, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other employers, Benham says, but, "Ideally we'd continue to go downtown and then that would open up a whole separate market for the service, namely the downtown businesses." Site evaluation and station design work will start in either start late summer or fall, after contract negotiations with the design consultant are complete, Benham notes. Once design work is done, the next step, assuming continued public support, would be to develop management plans in preparation for a federal funding grant request. Meanwhile, 24 rail cars, many intended for use on the WALLY line, are being rehabilitated by the Great Lakes Central Railroad. "That project continues to move along. Those cars recently passed some federal tests that qualified them for service." Whether WALLY will evolve past the design phase remains to be seen. The project, Benham says, is in the "out years" of Washtenaw County's 30-year transit master plan. "It's something we need to do the development work on now in order to prepare a fit for possible implementation in the future. So we're kind of taking it one step at a time." Source: Michael Benham, AATA's special assistant for strategic planning Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

WALLY commuter rail station design work gets the green light

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board's vote last week to release funding for all WALLY (Washtenaw and Livingston Railway) expenditures means the station design phase will now get underway. The total AATA budget for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012 was $230,000, most but not all of which will be applied to the station design, says Michael Benham, AATA's special assistant for strategic planning. WALLY is a planned 26-mile north-south stretch of commuter railway spanning from downtown Howell to Ann Arbor. The rail line would run on existing track largely owned by the Great Lakes Central Railroad. The end point in Ann Arbor, however, is yet to be determined. Track ownership changes on the city's north side to the Ann Arbor Railroad, which has objected to providing passenger service, according to Benham. The Great Lakes Central Railroad terminates in the Plymouth and Barton Road vicinity. That stop could serve the U-M Medical Center, the North Campus Research Complex, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other employers, Benham says, but, "Ideally we'd continue to go downtown and then that would open up a whole separate market for the service, namely the downtown businesses." Site evaluation and station design work will start in either start late summer or fall, after contract negotiations with the design consultant are complete, Benham notes. Once design work is done, the next step, assuming continued public support, would be to develop management plans in preparation for a federal funding grant request. Meanwhile, 24 rail cars, many of which are intended for use on the WALLY line, are being rehabilitated by the Great Lakes Central Railroad. "That project continues to move along. Those cars recently passed some federal tests that qualified them for service." Whether WALLY will evolve past the design phase remains to be seen. The project, Benham says, is in the "out years" of Washtenaw County's 30-year transit master plan. "It's something we need to do the development work on now in order to prepare a fit for possible implementation in the future. So we're kind of taking it one step at a time." Source: Michael Benham, AATA's special assistant for strategic planning Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Is regional transit finally coming to Washtenaw Cty?

Time to step outside the Ann Arbor bubble and see how our struggles to establish reional transit are being ocvered elsewhere. Excerpt: "The plan proposes many improvements throughout Washtenaw County including more service to Saline, Dexter, Chelsea and other areas outside the Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor cities; more routes, and more frequent runs of buses; new express buses; more affordable fare alternatives for lower income workers; different fares in peak and off peak hours; fares to allow up to two adults and four children to ride for just twice the fare for one adult; more bus shelters; and improvements to existing bus shelters." Read the rest here.