Title
Resolution in Support of the Reimagine Washtenaw Corridor Improvement Study (CPC Recommendation - Approval: 7 Yeas, 0 Nays)
Memorandum
Reimagine Washtenaw is a regional planning initiative established to improve the economic health of the Washtenaw Avenue corridor through land use and transportation enhancements. The steering committee is coordinated by the Washtenaw County Office of Planning and Economic Development and includes the City of Ann Arbor, City of Ypsilanti, Pittsfield Township and Ypsilanti Township. Additional partners include the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), which has jurisdiction over the road, the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (The Ride) and the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS).
The Reimagine Washtenaw Corridor Improvement Study was funded by a HUD Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant and was completed in April 2014 (see http://www.washtenawavenue.org and attached Planning staff report). The Study provides a dimensional plan for future cross sections of each segment of the corridor. The recommendations accommodate vehicular, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian modes of travel. Additionally, the location of bus stops with enhanced amenities, or “Super Stops”, were identified. TheRide has already budgeted for the construction of at least one Super Stop in the near future.
MDOT staff has indicated a desire for the four participating communities to endorse the recommendations of the study through resolutions of support. This cooperative effort will encourage MDOT to support future planning and street enhancement initiatives in the corridor. The individual resolutions collectively acknowledge that each community supports and endorses the recommendations of the study, with the understanding that future, more detailed analysis will be required, as well as coordination with MDOT, in order to implement all of its provisions. Resolutions of support were recently adopted by the City of Ypsilanti, Pittsfield Township and Ypsilanti Township.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed resolution on December 16, 2014 and recommended that the Mayor and City Council approve the “Resolution in Support of the Reimagine Washtenaw Corridor Improvement Study.” At the same meeting, the Planning Commission added the 2014 Reimagine Washtenaw Corridor Improvement Study to its list of planning documents to be used as resource information in support of the City Master Plan.
Attachments: 12/16/14 Planning Staff Report
12/16/14 Planning Commission Minutes
Staff
Prepared by: Wendy L. Rampson, Planning Manager
Reviewed by: Sumedh Bahl, Community Services Area Administrator
Body
Whereas, ReImagine Washtenaw is a cooperative, multi-jurisdictional planning, place-making, transportation, and economic development effort, led by Washtenaw County with stakeholders that include the Cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and Pittsfield and Ypsilanti Charter Townships, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, among others;
Whereas, Washtenaw County secured a $3,000,000.00 Community Challenge Planning Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which funded, in part, a comprehensive transportation study of Washtenaw Avenue, known as the Corridor Improvement Study, completed in April 2014;
Whereas, The Corridor Improvement Study was the result of an 18-month planning process, involving significant public input, that provided a detailed plan for the future of the corridor that incorporates specific land use, transportation, non-motorized, and public transit goals;
Whereas, The success of the Corridor Improvement Study depends on all stakeholders working cooperatively to implement its provisions, including future public right-of-way limits necessary to improve the roadway in the future to provide for adequate vehicular travel lanes, non-motorized facilities;
Whereas, All four local units of government have adopted, or will adopt master plan and zoning regulations to ensure that future private land use patterns provide for walkable, vibrant, mixed-use districts that emphasize a sense of place, sustainable development, and integration with public transit;
Whereas, The Corridor Improvement Study is an important mechanism to establish a clear, consistent public improvement plan for future public right-of-way, in order that a vibrant, high value transit-oriented corridor can be achieved; and
Whereas, The Ann Arbor City Planning Commission recommended on December 16, 2014 that the Ann Arbor City Council support and endorse the recommendations of the Corridor Improvement Study;
RESOLVED, That the Ann Arbor City Council hereby supports and endorses the recommendations of the Corridor Improvement Study, with the understanding that future, more detailed analysis will be required, as well as coordination with MDOT, in order to implement its provisions.
As Amended by Ann Arbor City Council on June 1, 2015