7 streets in Ann Arbor likely to see repairs in 2012: Did your street make the list?
There's been a lot of talk lately about the condition of Ann Arbor's city streets, which city officials say are in mostly good condition — despite some residents' opinions to the contrary.
But of the streets that perhaps have seen better days, which ones are likely to see repairs anytime soon?
Spring Street residents erected signs calling for repairs to their crumbling street in May. The street, which was scheduled for repairs already, has since been fixed by the city.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Liz Rolla, senior project manager in Ann Arbor's project management unit, told AnnArbor.com this week there also are at least 7 likely candidates for repairs in 2012:
- Dexter (Maple to Huron)
- Packard (Platt to US-23)
- Hill Street (South Forest to Washtenaw)
- West Madison (Seventh to Main)
- Pontiac Trail (Skydale to City Limits)
- Fourth Avenue (Huron to Liberty)
- Fifth Avenue (Depot to Beakes)
In addition, Rolla said there are several other residential streets that could see repairs, but those have yet to be determined.
Which streets do you think should make the list? Leave your comments below.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.
Comments
Marshall Applewhite
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 11:20 p.m.
I just wish they would use better construction methods while doing these repairs. You can already see signs of serious deterioration on portions resurfaced two years ago.
Cathie
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 8:25 p.m.
Where's Jewett Street? (Unable to download full list-way to go!)
Ann English
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 10:51 p.m.
Jewett Street runs from S.Industrial to Packard. There is a traffic signal at Jewett and Packard.
CynicA2
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 6:15 p.m.
Well, well, well... What a surprise! The car-hating Hieftje and his cronies not telling the truth about our roads?! I can't believe it! Some people cannot tell a lie, and some people cannot tell the truth - the Hieftje and company can't tell the difference! All the west side feeders, except W. Liberty, are in bad shape - Miller, Dexter, Jackson/W. Huron - and Liberty is headed in the same direction fast. The amount of resources devoted to street maintenance is paltry, compared to the need. I suspect that until voters chuck the Hieftje into one of those famous buckets that he loves to squander on useless fluff, not much will change. Unless, of course, he rides his bikey into one of the larger potholes, and simply *vanishes*! One can always hope.
Concerned Citizen
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 3:27 p.m.
"In November 2009, then, AnnArbor.com reported that 189 miles of roads in Ann Arbor were found to be in poor condition. According to the graph that accompanied Stanton's June 14, 2011 piece, between 2009 and 2010, Ann Arbor resurfaced 11.5 miles of streets, including both major and local streets. That would, of course, mean that there remain at least 178 miles of roads in poor condition, perhaps more if roads that were in only fair condition deteriorated further. " The numbers are off Ryan. Why not report on that. The city is not reporting accurate facts it seems.
say it plain
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 3:14 p.m.
Okay everyone, let's get busy on email and the phone... here's a link to the city office which takes reports about road conditions... they claim there that our input is "very important" in determining what projects get done ;-) somehow I'm suspicious lol... but in case we wanted to try: <a href="http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/annual/Pages/StreetConditionReportingProcedure.aspx" rel='nofollow'>http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/annual/Pages/StreetConditionReportingProcedure.aspx</a>
Berda Green
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 3:12 p.m.
my street need help too
Annie
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 2:52 p.m.
@Elizabeth - I do not know that Stadium will be getting fixed at the time of bridge repair. I have not read that anywhere, and, really? So what? They can't at least PRETEND they are fixing it like they are PRETENDING they are fixing that bridge? Is there a time line for that bridge, I wonder?
Adam Jaskiewicz
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 8:08 p.m.
Well, they were just doing some work on that stretch of Stadium between Packard and Industrial a few years ago... maybe two or three years ago? Doubt they'll touch that again. Looking at the plans for the bridge, it looks like the project goes from the Golf Course entrance to White St. I hope they pave the other few feet while they have it closed, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Annie
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 6:19 p.m.
Thanks for the link, Adam. But I still don't see anywhere that says the street is going to get fixed with it. From my understanding, it looks like the bridge is getting all the funds.
Dog Guy
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 6:16 p.m.
OOps, I meant 2012 elections.
Dog Guy
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 6:15 p.m.
The Stadium bridges timeline involves a photo opportunity for John Dingell just before the November, 2011, elections.
Adam Jaskiewicz
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 4:25 p.m.
The City has a timeline on their page about the bridge project: <a href="http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/Pages/EastStadiumBridges.aspx" rel='nofollow'>http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/Pages/EastStadiumBridges.aspx</a> It looks like they plan to start construction in October and finish it in fall of 2012.
Laiane
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 2:30 p.m.
Dexter needed serious repair work done last year (and the year before that). Let's hope this is more along the lines of "remove the rubble and replace/re-pave the road" -- not the "stick a bandaid on it" method. Every now and then, driving into the downtown on Dexter, I think "I see the Viet Cong are still bombing our roads at night." I can hardly wait to see what it's going to look like after one more year and another pothole season.
Jake
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 2:26 p.m.
Stone School between the I-94 bridge to Ellsworth, the AATA buses and city trucks to the Wheeler center have taken a toll. In my Jeep, it's like I'm off four-wheeling, the road is so bumpy and patched!
YpsiLivin
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 2:19 p.m.
The link to the revised list of street projects isn't working <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/2011_Resurfacing%20_Street_List_and_Schedule/">http://www.annarbor.com/2011_Resurfacing%20_Street_List_and_Schedule/</a>
SFK
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 1:31 p.m.
The main west-side arteries are all in bad condition: Miller, Dexter, Jackson, and Huron. Swerving to avoid the holes and sharp edged/poorly patched cracks has made these roads even more dangerous. Please fix them this year. Two more years of deterioration will destroy my car. I wonder why the sidewalk replacement of perfectly fine corners/curb-cuts is going on when these roads are in need of immediate resurfacing. Safety has been compromised.
Rod Johnson
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 3:07 p.m.
The sidewalk replacement is the result of an ADA lawsuit. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing the city can do about it.
say it plain
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 1:23 p.m.
So, Ryan, do you have any evidence that the city looks at these citizen comments? I mean, they 'disagree' with us anyhow, right, claiming that our city's streets are mostly 'good'. Maybe instead of doing surveys and polls you could report on how to tell the city that our streets are terrible...
glacialerratic
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 1:23 p.m.
Stadium, between Packard and St. Francis, is the worst stretch, apart from the Stadium Bridge portion that's scheduled for replacement/repair. The poor quality of the last resurfacing shows in the long and deep cracks parallel to the roadway.
63Townie
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 1:04 p.m.
Jackson between Huron and Mape wasn't on the list? That is one dangerous, narrow street.
Tintin Milou
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 2:40 p.m.
It has 4 lanes, right? Can't be that narrow... . And if you wanna make a road safer, the best way to do so is to narrow it, especially in residential areas. BTW one could easily save a lot of maintenance costs, increase safety and brighten up many neighborhoods by narrowing streets.
MarieT
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 12:42 p.m.
Eisenhower between State St. and Boardwalk going East.
Brad
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 12:30 p.m.
The city officials can (and do) say whatever they want, but the streets here are not good. Where do you even start? My favorite examples are Rosewood and Jewett which are pretty much rubble except for the a couple of very smooth sections - the speed bumps. Or Packard between Stone School and Eisenhower - rubble again. But why would you expect the city to care about streets - they're for cars for crissakes, and we all know that everyone should be walking or biking anyway.
thinker
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 12:15 p.m.
How about Miller from Gott to Maple? All the trucks going up and down the street in the building of Skyline have destroyed it!
Maxwell
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 6:08 p.m.
Some spots on this stretch of Miller is nothing BUT patch. I suppose it keeps the speeding down...
DDOT1962
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 12:32 p.m.
Yes! There are times when those tandem carriers rattle the windows of every house on Miller as they rumble down the road! Who thinks that much weight is a good thing for a road? And every year they seem to address repair with a couple shovelfuls of asphalt or a small patchwork of new surface. This thoroughfare needs complete removal and replacement. Please!
Elizabeth Nelson
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 12:15 p.m.
@ Annie-- you must know that the stretch you describe (Stadium -> Industrial) is going to get fixed when the bridge gets fixed, a lot bigger job than a mere road resurfacing project. Personally, I think they're waiting for the whole thing to fall in on its own... might save money on the first stage of demolition/removal when it gets rebuilt. I suppose if it did simply fall down, Ann Arbor might also qualify for some additional federal program re: disasters/emergencies? Makes perfect sense to me!
Vince Caruso
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 11:58 a.m.
Some of these streets are planned to get Porous Pavement in an effort to improve conditions in the Allen's Creek and generally the city if state loans and grants are awarded. The rain water and snow percolate into the pavement getting detoxified as they flow to recharge the groundwater. Also provide greatly reduced flooding, heat island, salt use, and road noise. Sylvan Ave received it last year and seems to be working well reducing flooding in the area. EPA recommends its use on urban streets to meet Clean Water Act. The only problem is that the city is planning to use stormwater FEES (and grants if given) to FULLY pay for these porous streets. This would take money from fees for streets that normally and rightfully come from voted on taxes and the general fund. This is not a valid plan as it should be the incremental cost to do the street in porous charged to the stormwater fees. In the near future porous should be the same or less expensive in up front costs. This takes funds from fees from stromwater work and use it for streets reducing stormwater efforts. The porous streets have been advocated by the Allen's Creek Watershed Group for many years and are glad to see it's acceptance, feel real and much needed improvements will occur with it, but the funding is inappropriate and we do not support that.
Jeff Gaynor
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 11:23 a.m.
Glad to see Fourth Ave. and Hill St. on the list - I know those are treacherous for bicyclists, with cars speeding by; likely so the other streets as well. Does anyone know what percentage of Ann Arbor's surface area is made up of roads, parking lots, driveways, etc.?
lynel
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 11:37 a.m.
Jeff, maybe you could work on figuring that out this summer.
Alex B
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 11:15 a.m.
Monroe St. outside of South Quad
Annie
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 11:13 a.m.
I've driven almost all of these streets and nothing can really compare to the state of Stadium between Main St./Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. and Industrial. I seriously feel like my wheels are going to fall off hitting those bumps. You would think the University would be pushing the city to fix this area because of the high traffic volume (the stadiums and golf course).
Annie
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 6:20 p.m.
I haven't seen any evidence of this in any articles I've read, Rod. One can only hope that they take care of it, right along with the bridge project...kill two birds with one stone.
Rod Johnson
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 3:04 p.m.
Fixing that stretch before fixing the bridges wouldn't make sense. I assume repaving there will be part of the larger bridge project, which will happen Any Day Now.
15crown00
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 10:31 a.m.
orange cones all over the place.just don't let em use coal patch.
15crown00
Sat, Jun 18, 2011 : 10:32 a.m.
that's suppose to be cold patch