Healthy Streets Pilot Project

Healthy Streets Pilot Project

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted every aspect of life including the funcitionality of downtown neighborhoods. The ability to use streets in a flexible way provided opportunities for communities across the country to address some of these challenges including:

• Increased demand for biking and walking space due to the need for social distancing coupled with decreased transit service and capacity.
• Increased pressure on curbside space due to the need for social distancing coupled with reduced operational capacity for indoor commercial activity.
• Decreased traffic volumes leading to less congested streets resulting in increased motor vehicle speed.

In response to these challenges, the Ann Arbor City Council passed companion resolutions, one from the DDA for downtown streets and one from the City for locations outside of DDA boundaries, authorizing the installation of 90-day pilot projects to expand safe social distancing for pedestrians and cyclists based on best practices, work in other cities, and data.

Temporary treatments, barricades and cones, were used to created expanded walking and biking areas on the following streets:

• Miller/Catherine from First to Division – two-way separated walking/biking lane on the north side of the road
• Division Street from Packard to the Broadway Bridge – two-way separated
• South Main Street from Packard to William – one-way separated walking/biking lane on both sides of road
• Packard at the “triangle” (Hill to State) – one-way separated bike lane on both sides of road
• State St/N. University – two-way separated bike lane connecting to the William St. Bikeway

Pilots were in place in 2020 from late August until early November.

Project Information

Pilot results – technical report January 2021

City Council presentation June 2020