City Advised to Avoid Drastic Changes with Complete Streets Project

Birmingham took a page out of Ann Arbor’s book Wednesday night as the Planning Board moved forward with the Complete Streets projects, hearing a presentation from Ann Arbor Transportation Program Manager Eli Cooper at its .

The presentation comes after the , a Michigan-wide project to make city streets friendly for pedestrians, bicycles and mass transportation, such as buses.

The Planning Board has been hearing reports on Complete Streets for several months. Cooper’s presentation Wednesday night covered how to implement the project and potential costs.

What’s key, Cooper said, is gradual, progressive changes in a community — drastic changes can be expensive and unpopular.

“Evolution, not revolution, is the way to frame a discussion,” Cooper said. “When we are older and more mature communities, we don’t have to revolutionize suburbia. We have to work within the fabric of the community that exists.”

Adopting the Complete Streets principle is not only key to improving traffic flow, Birmingham's Planning Director Jana Ecker said at Monday’s City Commission meeting, it will also help the city receive state funding for transportation projects. According to House Bill 6152, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2011, “Complete streets legislation requires governments and road agencies to plan for nonmotorized transit, such as walkers and bicyclists.”

According to Cooper, leadership is important in developing a Complete Streets plan for any city, especially in Ann Arbor.

“Community leadership is key,” he said. “Part of the reason I left the Pacific Northwest to come to Ann Arbor was because of the leadership that was there. It helps to make my work easy and it provides direction.”

While many of the Complete Streets projects were implemented downtown and in the city’s suburbs, the majority of work was spent improving traffic flow in the city’s downtown hub.

“We took a three-lane downtown street and reduced it two lanes,” he said. “We counted the cars time and time again. We wanted to improve the pedestrian realm. (Then), instead of a narrow sidewalk where pedestrians are put upon by vehicles moving close by, we calmed down the street by reducing the travel lanes and creating bike lanes.”

Negative reactions to the changing city streets isn’t uncommon, Cooper said. “I received the title, ‘Menace to Motorists.’ (They said) I was taking away their road.”

The Planning Board heard the report as part of a study session, during which it took no action. The board will report to city staff, who are in the process of developing procedures and policies as to the city’s plans to implement Complete Streets.