Goal: Provide infrastructure and policies for efficient modes of transportation
Our transportation system will be more efficient when we make it easier to walk, bike, and/or bus to work and shopping. We already have bus stops within 1/4 mile of almost every parcel in Ann Arbor. New bike lanes, traffic calming street designs, and bike path connections are in the works.
Efficient Mobility Indicators
State of Our Environment 2007
Transportation in the Ann Arbor Area is heavily dependent on the automobile. Vehicles registered in Ann Arbor collectively traveled an estimated 923,495,230 miles in 2000. However, the good news is that many Ann Arbor workers commute in ways other than alone in their car and this seems to be increasing.
The City of Ann Arbor has a long history of integrating pedestrians and bicycles into the urban transportation system. In 2005, the League of American Bicyclists recogonized Ann Arbor as one of the most bicycle-friendly communities in the nation. In 2007, Ann Arbor has once again been designated as a Bicycle-friendly community, at the Bronze level, by the League of American Bicyclists.
Three major public agencies provide bus service within Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA). The AATA is the only one of the three to provide bus transportation to the general public. The University bus service functions primarily as a link from the North Campus to the Main Campus and the Public Schools provide transportation for Ann Arbor School District students only.
Related Indicators
What the City of Ann Arbor is Doing
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Non-motorized Transportation Plan:
This 2007 comprehensive plan identifies the critical need to expand the city’s infrastructure to provide a transportation network of over 38 miles of on-road bicycle lanes, 25 miles of sidewalks, and 129 mid-block crossings, in order to establish the physical and cultural environment to support and encourage safe, comfortable, and convenient ways for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel throughout the city and into the surrounding communities.
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Model for Mobility: This planning effort, is to replace the existing (early 1990’s) Bicycle Master Plan with a comprehensive citywide non-motorized master plan emphasizing pedestrian travel, bicycle travel, and access to-and-from mass transit. The City seeks to improve and expand bus service, implement bicycle lanes on 90% of major roads, and improve pedestrian amenities. The City is also in the planning stages of an Ann Arbor to Detroit transit line and working with MDOT and a local business owner to establish a commuter rail along US-23 to Brighton or Howell.
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Ann Arbor Area Clean Cities Coalition: a US Department of Energy (DOE) designated program created to encourage voluntary participation to build alternative fuel infrastructure and incorporate alternative fuel vehicles into local fleets. Through 2005, the Ann Arbor coalition has over 1,700 AFVs in operation in our community and invested over $1,000,000 locally in alternative fuel infrastructure. The Program has two primary goals 1) to reduce harmful emissions from vehicles and 2) to reduce our reliance on oil as a transportation fuel. The DOE is trying to achieve alternative fuel vehicle goals (following the Energy Policy Act of 1992) for municipal fleets through voluntary programs such as the Clean Cities.
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getDowntown Program - This program represents a combined effort among the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, DDA, Chamber of Commerce, and the City. The program promotes a variety of alternative commuting options and manages the go!pass discount bus pass program which provides had 342 participating businesses and 4,493 go!pass holders in 2004-5.
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Green Fleets Program -This program, inspired by an initiative of the U.S. Cities for Climate Protection aims to reduce the City's fuel use by 10% in ten years through the purchase of fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles. Ann Arbor currently operates two natural gas heavy-duty trucks, sixteen other natural gas vehicles, two neighborhood electric vehicles, over 150 pieces of equipment running on biodiesel and its first fuel cell car.
You Can Help
- Use alternative modes of transportation. Try the bus, dust off your bike or walk to work.
- Consider alternative fuels. Try using biodisel or E10 (10% ethanol). Buy that flex-fuel vehicle in preparation for E85. Find a local alternative fueling station.
- Drive efficiently. Keep your tires properly inflated. Drive smoothly and avoid fast starts and stops Buying a new car? Make fuel efficiency a priority and consider hybrids, flex-fuel vehicles and biodiesels! Combine trips when running errands.