Ann Arbor mayor faces criticism from supporters over Michigan Medicine bridge widening

By Stone Andrews Last updated Feb 14, 2022

ANN ARBOR, MI — The Ann Arbor City Council’s 6-5 vote last week in support of widening the East Medical Center Drive bridge in front of Michigan Medicine continues to draw criticism from pedestrian and bicycle safety advocates.

Mayor Christopher Taylor, who cast what some viewed as a surprise swing vote in favor of adding a fifth lane for automobiles, has taken flak from some of his supporters who don’t see it as consistent with city goals to make streets safer and significantly reduce driving to curb carbon emissions.

“We only have eight years until we’re supposed to reach carbon-neutrality in our city,” resident Michelle Hughes told council after last week’s vote. “We only have eight years until we’re supposed to reduce vehicle miles traveled by 50%. And what we’ve just done today is vote to increase car lanes to one of the major employers in the city and it tells me that you guys don’t have the proper sense of urgency about this.”

Big changes are needed to meet city goals the mayor and council members have said they support and it means no more widening roads for cars and instead the opposite, Hughes argued.

Taylor acknowledged people who normally agree with him on most issues disagree with him on this one. He released a statement on Facebook responding to the criticism, saying reasonable people can reach different conclusions, but his thinking is centered on the fact that the bridge the University of Michigan wants widened leads to Michigan Medicine.

“My decision could have been right, it could have been wrong — but this was my thinking,” he said.

One of the design options for widening the East Medical Center Drive bridge that serves as a main access drive for Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, adding a fifth lane for automobiles.DLZ Michigan

The six council members in favor of UM’s request to widen the bridge to improve automobile traffic flow into the medical complex are Lisa Disch, Kathy Griswold, Elizabeth Nelson, Travis Radina, Ali Ramlawi and Taylor. None have indicated any plans to reconsider their vote, though there’s still discussion about the width of sidewalks along the bridge.

“At this point, I’m not planning on bringing a motion, but I’m always listening,” Taylor said of whether he’ll reconsider his support for adding an extra car lane.

Taylor has been criticized on social media for sending out a reelection campaign email reiterating his support for the city’s A2Zero carbon-neutrality plan and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure two days after voting for the bridge widening.

If the bridge led to an administration building, dorm or even Michigan Stadium, he would have voted no, but he’s thinking about the needs of the hospital system, he said.

“For years I’ve supported and found funding for lane reductions, separated bikeways and a wide array of non-motorized improvements,” he said, adding he’s going to continue to advocate for such things.

But the hospital system is complex and the professionals charged with designing it say the extra bridge lane will allow them to better plan and design “all-mode transportation” for the medical campus, Taylor said, acknowledging he doesn’t typically walk or bike in the area and is relying on their judgment.

Taylor said he had to decide whether he trusts the university’s representations.

“In the end, and it wasn’t easy, due to the complexity of the hospital system and the magnitude of the social good associated with the hospital, I choose to trust,” he said.

Tentative designs also show plans for a new non-motorized pathway passing under the bridge so pedestrians and cyclists traveling east-west along the south side of Fuller Road could avoid crossing East Medical Center Drive.

Another one of the selling points for widening the bridge was that it would include widening the sidewalk along the west side of the bridge. There’s currently a 10.5-foot-wide sidewalk on each side and officials said last week the widened bridge would include a 14.5-foot-wide shared-use pathway on the east side.

What a five-lane East Medical Center Drive bridge in Ann Arbor could look like with a narrower western sidewalk and a wider eastern sidewalk.DLZ Michigan

Residents who’ve since taken a closer look at the design drawings note they only show a 13-foot-wide shared-use pathway on the east side, though. And the west sidewalk would be narrowed to eight feet, amounting to a shift of 1.5 feet of sidewalk width from the west to the east side with no net gain in non-motorized space for pedestrians and cyclists.

That’s correct, City Engineer Nick Hutchinson confirmed this week.

“There is no increase in total sidewalk width,” he said. “It only redistributes the existing width. It is possible that we could get an extra foot of width, but that is as much as can be obtained without adding another beam to the bridge.”

Taylor said he wasn’t aware of the discrepancy between what was stated at the meeting and what the designs show and he said that’s worth taking a closer look.

Molly Kleinman, chair of the city’s Transportation Commission, said every road death is a policy choice and those who voted for the bridge widening are choosing to believe empty promises from UM over many constituents who use the bridge and have shared how dangerous it already is with four lanes.

“It’s scary right now, before we’ve added a lane,” she said. “Widening this bridge for cars will make it more dangerous for everyone, including drivers, including passengers and ambulances. And so I say again, every road death is a policy decision — a policy decision like this one.”

Griswold, D-2nd Ward, said she has talked to Council Member Erica Briggs, D-5th Ward, about concerns about having a narrower east sidewalk and she now plans to support an amendment to maintain a 10.5-foot-wide sidewalk there, even if that adds to project costs. Griswold was one of six council members against a similar proposal from Briggs last week.

Griswold said she has visited the site and now agrees a narrower sidewalk would be a move in the wrong direction.

“If we’re going to do it, let’s do it right,” she said.

One of the design options for widening the East Medical Center Drive bridge that serves as a main access drive for Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, adding a fifth lane for automobiles.DLZ Michigan

Griswold said she still supports an extra lane for cars, as she notices vehicles backed up on Fuller Road in the morning trying to get into the medical complex.

“I don’t want to be in the back of an EMS vehicle having a heart attack when it’s backed up like that,” she said. “And I’m old, so I worry about those things more.”

As a next step beyond the bridge widening, the Fuller Road/Maiden Lane/East Medical Center Drive intersection requires substantial service and safety improvements for all users and the university has said it will help fund those, Taylor said, explaining he wants UM to contribute to that effort without any lingering issues with respect to the bridge.

Intersection improvements would be a major step forward for the thousands of students and other residents who regularly travel in the area in all modes and the university’s resources will be key to getting it done, Taylor said.

Radina, D-3rd Ward, also brought up the university’s commitment of funding in a Facebook post defending his vote last week in support of the bridge widening.

The bridge is in poor condition and rehabilitation costs are being split equally between the city and UM, while UM has agreed to cover the extra cost of widening, he noted.

“The options before us were not perfect; however, we did achieve improved bike and pedestrian infrastructure on the east side of the bridge, which would not exist without widening, and which we can leverage to expand this infrastructure as we develop future transit plans for this area,” Radina said. “Additionally, both city and university transportation staff believe this design will offer us maximum flexibility as we think about the future of both motorized and non-motorized transit in the medical center area.”

Still, it wasn’t an easy decision, Radina said, acknowledging officials have heard from many passionate community members who regularly bike and walk and have concerns about their comfort and safety, and from others concerned about the need to reduce vehicle traffic to reach carbon – neutrality goals.

Jaime Magiera of the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition said transportation-related deaths amount to a public health crisis, and likewise there’s an environmental crisis.

He hopes council will reconsider its decision and follow the suggestions of urban planners and community members who have lost people “to the violence that has come from an automobile-dominated culture,” he said.

“I’m sure that there will be a lot of talk in the community in the coming weeks and coming months about this vote and about the impacts that it’s going to have on the community,” he said, adding he expects to be one of those critical voices.

Before the bridge widening project can go forward, which is expected in 2023, council still will have to vote on a construction contract for it.