Description
For almost 3 years, our neighborhood off of Liberty Street has voiced serious safety concerns with traffic and speeding by business trucks, citizens, schoolbuses,AATA,even city employees in city vehicles 🚗, and we have pleaded before another child or student (or even senior or disabled citizen like myself) gets killed for the entire stretch of Liberty from Main to Westbrook Stadium have serious signage , reduced speed and crosswalks well painted and marked.
Nothing has been done EXCEPT finally up to Virginia Avenue from 7th Avenue. The stretch that was most critical due to the abundant children and disabled older citizens - from Eberwhite Woods to Gordon Foods on Liberty Street was ignored completely .
In fact one old crosswalk by bus stop and apartment was not even painted to be seen in this poorly lit stretch of Liberty . Signage is covered by overgrown bushes and plants.
No crosswalk or signage has been placed at Liberty and Dartmoor as requested and we are frankly fed up waiting for the Ann Arbor Mayor Taylor and his employees paid by our taxes to take action.
Before elections - broken promises. Many of us voted in faith for Mr.Taylor only to be disillusioned now.
It’s almost as if this stretch was purposely left without any safety signage or appropriate safe sidewalks. The bike lanes are not even safe to use.
We have a Facebook Page with photos and video of the issue and no response.
We called the Mayor leaving messages even as late as this week due to Halloween 🎃- NO response.
Does a citizen need to get killed or hurt before something is done ? First he gave it to the police to handle as if they are not short staffed enough and said they were “ studying “ the issue . That was June 2018 .
NOTHING SINCE . This is unacceptable and we are proud of the Ann Arbor city we live in and enjoy . This lack of response almost deliberately - and discriminating against the poorer end of Liberty is not the Ann Arbor we know .
We demand action for the safe of safety immediately .
Thank you .
10 Comments
Acknowledged City of Ann Arbor (Verified Official)
Seth (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Thank you Seth - I actually have learned patience is a virtue and we have been patient . THREE YEARS patient with a promise from the Mayor he would take care of this prior to being elected and he received my vote.
I would be happy to join the coalition and love this town more than life itself as a Wolverine and alumnus and giving my son one of the best educations.
Let me explain what patience though happened last time i personally implored for action across from Huron High School - after a year of sending photos and begging for action - my heart sank . A young student from Community High taking classes at Huron was killed trying to cross the street. KILLED. My own son knew him and was heartbroken . Do we wait this long again ?
Immediately all the requests I had made to the city and traffic engineers got signage up - flashing lights, signage all along Fuller and then even police patrols . My heart broke for his family .
So i ask you .... it’s been 3 years of asking the city to fix this part of Liberty ... with emails from the Mayor saying they were
“studying the issue” and would get back with us in June . Since then nothing.
Last night on Halloween- I watched parents driving their children elsewhere as not one police car - not one change was made and the speeding was outrageous .
Do we wait until someone is killed again? Ann Arbor is known for being proactive.
I have cancer . I don’t know how much time I have left but I do know this - I love my neighborhood and I love Ann Arbor.
I will not give up - I will keep working on this with our neighbors until justice is done and we have a safe streets especially here on this end of Liberty where so many children live in homes and apartments and deserve the same safety.
Thank you for your reply and I hope we can understand why one life lost already is too much .
Alessandra K
City of Ann Arbor (Verified Official)
Requests for additional speed enforcement can be made through the AAPD's Traffic Complaint Questionnaire: www.a2gov.org/trafficcomplaint
Staff are pleased to work with the Eberwhite School community regarding requests for improved access to the school. These requests are normally funneled through the school's safety committee and the district's Transportation Safety Committee.
Closed City of Ann Arbor (Verified Official)
Reopened An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Acknowledged City of Ann Arbor (Verified Official)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
🔸And please explain who decided that there a crosswalk is “ not indicated .” And that this is “ midblock “?
🔸Furthermore why are residents especially our children and seniors at this end downHILL from Virginia discriminated against by not being offered a crosswalk ?
🔸you can’t cut brush down or add lights by the bus stop until Spring either ?
🔸How convenient to say no crosswalks can be painted until Spring after asking for this for years ? Surely you can do something?
🔸Not sure what you are taking about on Dartmoor but we need a crosswalk on Liberty and Dartmoor and action yesterday before another child is killed....... or senior or disabled resident or just any human being is seriously injured and we are not just speaking of pedestrians.
🔸Please stop blowing us off ( pardon our French m) and closing the subject . This subject is NOT closed.
🔸Raymond Hess finally responded as the Mayor will joy and have us succinct time frames to reach him all week and some days none. This is not okay . Is he only part time ?
🔸What happened to the “ engineering study “ Mayor Taylor promised ?
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
⬇️Response again to the anonymous “ city official “
City of Ann Arbor (Unidentified City Official who posted anonymously) wrote:
“Thank you for contacting the City regarding your concerns for pedestrian mobility. “
🔸Answer : “ pedestrian mobility”??!!
No pedestrian SAFETY esp our special needs citizens and children and seniors... our teenagers going to school and drivers who are at high risk of a severe car accident due to speeding .
CITY (Unidentified City Official who posted anonymously):
“ The location indicated in this item appears to be a mid-block location, approximately 300 feet west of the enhanced crosswalk at Virginia Ave. “
🔸Answer: “ Mid-block “?!
Wrong . This is not midblock as from Virginia Avenue to West Stadium there is NOTHING to slow down cars and trucks and semis ( who abuse tight here) which once can easily see is 4-5 blocks !!!!
CITY (Unidentified City Official who posted anonymously)
“This location is not indicated as a location for an additional major mid-block crossing in the City's non-motorized plan. “
🔸Answer - Redo the plan folks. We have been asking for 3 YEARS with petitions and requests for traffic calming ignored . Be proactive . Telling us this is “ not indicated in the city’s non motorized plan“ is continuing to be deaf to the continued safety issues while the rest of Liberty is taken care of almost like preferred residents though we all pay the same taxes . BE PROACTIVE . No life or serious bodily injury is worth hindsight later. We will not be collateral damage .
*
* WE NEED A CROSSWALK AT LIBERTY AND DARTMOOR PERIOD TO SAVE LIVES AND ENSURE TRAFFIC SLOWS DOWN AND DOES NOT ENDANGER OUR CHILDREN , OUR SENIORS, OUR RUNNERS AND BIKERS, OUR DISABKED RESIDENTS LIKE MYSELF ANY MORE.
🔸We also recommend strongly a four stop sign 🛑 at Liberty and Dartmoor . We will not stop asking until action is taken even if it takes another 3 years .
CITY ((Unidentified City Official who posted anonymously)
“ The major mid-block crossings identified in the plan for the section of Liberty between Virginia and Stadium also includes an enhanced pedestrian crossing just west of Dartmoor. “
🔸Answer : this is not even a clear answer and has nothing to do with safety issues or speeding or any of the concerns in our petitions . We are not impressed.
CITY (Unidentified City Official who posted anonymously) :
“Pavement marking maintenance staff have been notified of the request for pavement marking renewals, which will be seasonally restricted until spring. “
🔸Answer : “ seasonally restricted until Spring “ !!
How very convenient for painting the crosswalk now after asking for this specific fix for over a year . Wait until the next few dry days and just do it . No more excuses please. This fix is easy and only a small part of our concerns . In addition put flashing lights by the crosswalk that half exists by bus stop up across from McKinley Apts .
CITY ((Unidentified City Official who posted anonymously):
“ Requests for additional speed enforcement can be made through the AAPD's Traffic Complaint Questionnaire: www.a2gov.org/trafficcomplaint “
🔸Answer: Please don’t push us elsewhere again or refer to police as the mayor did in June 2018 - we have done this numerous times and it’s tiring and we are just a bit fed up . Look at those records.
CITY(Unidentified City Official who posted anonymously):
“Staff are pleased to work with the Eberwhite School community regarding requests for improved access to the school. These requests are normally funneled through the school's safety committee and the district's Transportation Safety Committee.”
🔸Answer - we are all one team and many Eberwhite parents have signed these petitions not wanting another child killed as happened on Fuller . Why not listen to us instead of re-directing us again ? We see what you are doing. Why not be “pleased” to work with us as well ?
This stalling will cost the city money we can’t afford if anyone does get hurt or killed again. Take action now .
🔸Finally you never addressed the speed signs 4 feet from one another encouraging vehicles to SPEED UP on Liberty towards West Stadium from 30-35 mph ( across from Eberwhite Woods where a quadriplegic young lady lives)
🔸Your answer should also have included Ray Hess and Mayor Taylor being apprised and when the next city council meeting is on this. Even with my cancer, I will not be silent as I represent every concerned citizen who lives anywhere here on Liberty and does not want to see another fatality of a child or any resident in Ann Arbor because of your distractions and lack of prioritizing this issue.
Alessandra Kellermann
Representative for Neighborhood Petitions
1881 West Liberty St
Ann Arbor 48103
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