Ann Arbor’s Urban Facelift
Exploring congestion trends and their impact
—By Adam Karibian
As any Ann Arbor resident knows, the start of the academic year means that traffic is hectic and shopping at any retail spot becomes almost impossible. And don’t even think about going downtown. Roughly 50,000 people make up the student body of the University, so these setbacks come to no surprise. With the student population continually increasing from 2% last year to 3% this year, Ann Arbor now has the title as the state’s largest university. However, even during the summer when most students are away, it seems impossible to navigate through the Ann Arbor roads. Traffic congestion in downtown Ann Arbor and throughout the city seems to be an ongoing problem that has been a more serious issue in recent years, with the closure of important streets or their replacement in entirety. The question that remains is how can Ann Arbor deal with traffic congestion, and what are the main reasons for this problem? Are more roundabouts and public transportation services the answer, or does Ann Arbor need to update their public policy?
Roundabouts
The United States has roughly 9,000 modern roundabouts throughout the nation, with Michigan’s total number doubling in the past 10 years to roughly 200. Roundabouts prevent high speeds from vehicles, improve safety of drivers and passengers, and reduce vehicle pollution. However, the main question yet to be answered is the keys to solving traffic congestion in populated areas like Ann Arbor. “The process for any transportation agency to pursue a roundabout as an intersection solution takes a fair amount of pre-planning and data analysis. With all projects, we start by asking the basic question, ‘What are the challenges we are facing at a given intersection?’ Safety, congestion, or both are the typical leading concerns,” says John Katers, head roundabout designer at OHM.
OHM Advisors, one of the leaders of roundabout design across Michigan and Ohio, has over 20 years of roundabout design experience. Katers says that his team “starts by gathering 24-hour traffic flow information using portable sensing cameras. The cameras produce a data set of the volume of vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians making each of the movements at the intersection for a 24-hour period.” By doing this, Katers and his team are able to compare and contrast the effectiveness of stop signals and roundabouts. After this process is completed, Katers main role at OHM is to compare all options in terms of cost versus benefit, arriving at the best possible solution in terms of safety and value.
It’s evident that a lot of thought and process are applied into roundabouts. In addition, roundabouts vary based on location. Katers says that “In urban settings the approaching vehicle speeds are typically low, space is limited, pedestrian levels are high, and ‘perfect or near-perfect’ congestion relief is less important…while a rural setting is the opposite: approaching vehicle speeds are typically high, space is more available, pedestrian levels are low, but “perfect or near-perfect” congestion relief is also needed. Suburban settings can vary between urban and rural, depending on the intersection.” In a city like Ann Arbor, where space is limited but pedestrian numbers are high, finding a roundabout that fits an urban setting is crucial. Regardless of what roundabout design a team may say is best for an area, every roundabout produced will reduce speeds to 15 to 25 miles per hour, due to vehicles having to yield at the roundabout intersection. In terms of traffic congestion, the previous statement sounds counterintuitive. However, even though overall speeds are lower for vehicles, lower speeds help to smooth out the flow of traffic by reducing abrupt accelerations and decelerations as well as fewer lane blockages and disruptions from high-speed accidents.
MDOT and city plans
The Michigan Department of Transportation, or MDOT for short, was highlighted in an MLive article by Lucas Larson in August 2023 that suggested the implementation of a $41-million double roundabout near M-14 and the Huron River Bridge. MDOT conducted a comprehensive study that suggested the road ramps of M-14 should be closed for the construction of a double roundabout due to the fact that vehicles had a hard time merging onto M-14 during times of heavy congestion. In addition, there was a major problem with heavy trucks merging off the ramps of M-14. Careless driving has led to numerous accidents in this area, as well as fatalities.
Not only does MDOT’s proposal provide congestion relief and safety, but it also will increase environmental safety. There are multiple parks under and adjacent to the Huron River Bridge, as well as inhabited wetlands. Fuel spills by commonly occurring truck crashes are harmful to these small wetlands.
The roundabout movement in Ann Arbor is consistently growing, with another project that has almost been completed. The Earhart Road Project has implemented three mini roundabouts and bike lanes to the roads that connect Geddes Road to Greenhills Drive and Greenhills Drive to US-23. Implementing roundabouts is a step in the right direction for Ann Arbor, as it is a great way to calm traffic congestion and prevent major accidents. Nonetheless, Michigan roads should be a topic of great concern for the city.
Pothole problems
It’s evident that lengthy road construction projects in turn lead to increased traffic congestion. Michigan’s history of potholes and poor road quality doesn’t help this ongoing problem. Michigan has brutal winters that last for months on end, which causes damage to roads from freezing and thawing. “Because of its highly variable weather and the moderating effect of the Great Lakes, it gets more freeze and thaw than most states do,” says Paul Egan of the Detroit Free Press. The “swampy” soil conditions of Michigan combined with its irregular weather pattern pose major problems for road construction and reconditioning.
As the City of Ann Arbor puts it, “potholes are defects in the road caused by water entering the asphalt through surface cracks…. Water freezes in early winter, causing it to expand, then it thaws when it is warmer.” Every freeze and thaw cycle causes the underlying base of the road to collapse, forming disastrous potholes.
Public transportation in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor public transportation has a presence primarily composed of TheRide, a not-for-profit organization, and the University of Michigan bus system, better known as M-Bus. Both public transportation operations provide citizens with access to all of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. However, should the city of Ann Arbor provide more funding to these transportation services to alleviate even more congestion? Taylor Bowie, reporter for WEMU, states that Michigan’s future plans are to funnel money into transportation services to alleviate congestion and reduce traffic volume. Increasing transportation production means that the state must find more workers to place on schedule.
Bowie states that Ann Arbor council members have decided to implement broader ranges for public transportation by expanding bus services to highways around the area. In return, this proposal will increase incentive for public transportation, now not having to rely on owning a car for highway access.
Construction
One major concern for traffic congestion that doesn’t seem to have a sole solution is the mass construction that takes place in Ann Arbor, especially downtown. Main Street already lacks space, so construction jobs that take months on end and permanently close access to streets doesn’t help at all. Long-term construction can also take a toll on the sales of businesses, especially local ones in Ann Arbor. Small businesses have a large representation in Ann Arbor, meaning that if their street location needs to be shut down for a project there could be serious concerns for their survival.
As reported by the Michigan Daily in 2022, the long construction on State Street caused interrupted traffic flow and limited access for pedestrians. Bus drivers were faced with an even harder task of maneuvering through the hectic construction site, meaning that arrival delays were very much in play.
“As for the impacts of construction, there is a truncated construction season in Michigan…. We also must work around major events (like the art fair and home football games) to ensure some amount of access—this in turn may affect project schedules as multiple projects may try to get ‘in and out’ of an area before one of these events takes place,” says Raymond Hess, transportation manager for the city of Ann Arbor. This timeframe makes the end and start of the year hectic for university students because of the closing and opening of new construction projects from the city. Hess states that after extensive research, city officials deemed the month April through November to be the most optimal time for street projects.
Car overpopulation?
In today’s world it seems like less and less people are carpooling due to a variety of reasons. Especially post-pandemic, most coworkers, classmates, or associates have given up on trying to plan their morning schedules for carpooling. Carpooling is a great way to reduce pollutants and save less on gas. Ann Arbor citizens shouldn’t let the carpooling movement become a fad, this calls for rewarding carpoolers for cutting emissions they would’ve used while driving alone. TheRide suggests an app for new and experienced carpoolers called CommuterConnectMI.org. This app incentives carpooling by giving users points for not driving alone. With the app’s points, members can redeem them for restaurant coupons, retailer discounts, and gift cards. The app is free and just another way to incentivize users to reduce traffic congestion.
Though not intended solely to reduce congestion, “the City’s carbon neutrality plan calls for a 50% reduction of vehicular miles traveled in favor of using more sustainable forms of transportation like walking, biking, or taking the bus,” says Hess. This means that government officials are putting effort into reducing the city’s carbon footprint. Hess also says that while “the city is supportive of carpooling and vanpooling, we rely on others to establish and run such programs…. The University has a vanpool program and the AAATA’s getDowntown program promotes bus passes for downtown employers.” There are a variety of carpool initiatives in Ann Arbor that mitigate congestion but reducing traffic can’t be completed by just raising awareness for carpooling.
Closing thoughts
For now it seems as if the City of Ann Arbor has worked diligently to provide fast and affordable solutions to tackle traffic congestion. The main idea to note is that there is not one solution that will ultimately eliminate traffic congestion in Ann Arbor, but rather a blend of solutions that can reduce and tamper congestion. Hopefully residents of Ann Arbor will see a multifaceted approach emphasizing collaboration, innovation, and community involvement to combat traffic problems in Ann Arbor.
Feature photo by Maria Lupan via Unsplash