WHAT COULD BE
BECAUSE the people of Ann Arbor are over-governed and under-served by our city government there is good reason to seek change.
There should be a complete review of the city code with the specific purpose of identifying and deleting regulations that are not really needed.
There should be a separate review of existing parking restrictions with a view of eliminating those that do not really advance the public welfare. For example, if parking were restored on the south side of Geddes between Washtenaw and Hill St., over 60 former spaces would be rescued. The arb would be much more accessible. Traffic would be calmed.
There is widespread feeling that the police power of the city has been perverted for the purpose of using it as a source of revenue. When the AAA was new, an early project was the identification and publicizing of speed traps. They destroy respect for the law. If the police were really interested in preventing speeding, it would be more effective if they drove up and down the street at the speed limit.
There is additional public perversion in the practice of extorting money for affordable housing from developers of other housing. This adds thousands of dollars to the cost of construction of each housing unit, encouraging sprawl. The burden falls upon either the developer or the buyers, depending on circumstances. It makes new housing in the city less competitive with homes in the surrounding townships. If we have a shortage of affordable housing it affects everyone, not just those who build new housing. The city council could, if it wanted to, stop this extortion and see if the voters will approve a millage for affordable housing.
There was a time when on two Sundays in the year, one in spring and the other in autumn, when people could put stuff they didn’t want on their lawn extensions and anyone could take it. During the next week the trash collectors hauled away what wasn’t taken. This reduced the amount of trash that had to be hauled and made living in AA cheaper. It could be revived, even though some merchants aren’t enthusiastic, if we had more enlightened leadership.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the city council repealed the law requiring property owners to clean snow and ice from public sidewalks. Let’s face it, the system doesn’t work. Too many excuses, some of them valid. There is no logic in the notion that the city’s obligation to clear snow stops at the curb instead of the front property line. If the voters approve, there could be a millage for sidewalk snow removal. This is the test of the public will. The problem of building and repairing sidewalks should be dealt with the same way.
It is time to get real about transportation. Neither rail nor water transport will do it. The nineteenth century is over and that is that. The congestion on US-23 north of town is, by far, our most effective deterrent to urban sprawl. Maybe the city could get the state to leave it alone. When something works, don’t fix it! Incidentally, the railroad underpass of Dexter-Pinckney Rd. just west of Dexter is another fabulous barrier to sprawl.
We need leaders who recognize that both the Allen Creek Greenbelt and a park at the 5th Ave. parking lot site are very desirable.
There should be a complete review of the city code with the specific purpose of identifying and deleting regulations that are not really needed.
There should be a separate review of existing parking restrictions with a view of eliminating those that do not really advance the public welfare. For example, if parking were restored on the south side of Geddes between Washtenaw and Hill St., over 60 former spaces would be rescued. The arb would be much more accessible. Traffic would be calmed.
There is widespread feeling that the police power of the city has been perverted for the purpose of using it as a source of revenue. When the AAA was new, an early project was the identification and publicizing of speed traps. They destroy respect for the law. If the police were really interested in preventing speeding, it would be more effective if they drove up and down the street at the speed limit.
There is additional public perversion in the practice of extorting money for affordable housing from developers of other housing. This adds thousands of dollars to the cost of construction of each housing unit, encouraging sprawl. The burden falls upon either the developer or the buyers, depending on circumstances. It makes new housing in the city less competitive with homes in the surrounding townships. If we have a shortage of affordable housing it affects everyone, not just those who build new housing. The city council could, if it wanted to, stop this extortion and see if the voters will approve a millage for affordable housing.
There was a time when on two Sundays in the year, one in spring and the other in autumn, when people could put stuff they didn’t want on their lawn extensions and anyone could take it. During the next week the trash collectors hauled away what wasn’t taken. This reduced the amount of trash that had to be hauled and made living in AA cheaper. It could be revived, even though some merchants aren’t enthusiastic, if we had more enlightened leadership.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the city council repealed the law requiring property owners to clean snow and ice from public sidewalks. Let’s face it, the system doesn’t work. Too many excuses, some of them valid. There is no logic in the notion that the city’s obligation to clear snow stops at the curb instead of the front property line. If the voters approve, there could be a millage for sidewalk snow removal. This is the test of the public will. The problem of building and repairing sidewalks should be dealt with the same way.
It is time to get real about transportation. Neither rail nor water transport will do it. The nineteenth century is over and that is that. The congestion on US-23 north of town is, by far, our most effective deterrent to urban sprawl. Maybe the city could get the state to leave it alone. When something works, don’t fix it! Incidentally, the railroad underpass of Dexter-Pinckney Rd. just west of Dexter is another fabulous barrier to sprawl.
We need leaders who recognize that both the Allen Creek Greenbelt and a park at the 5th Ave. parking lot site are very desirable.
posted by Clan Crawford, Jr. | 8:17 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home