Changes to Ann Arbor That You Liked or Disliked the Most
Mates,
I'm old and am now in the time of my life when I take my kids back to AA. When we wander the campus I naturally notice and point out changes. For instance, when I was there in the '80's there was exactly one (that I recall) apartment building of any significant stature, the one on S. University a couple blocks down from East Engineering.
You had the Campus theatre right there on South University also. And Village Corners is now a giant apartment complex. I can understand the need for such things, but I don't have to like them. There are many more changes in the intervening nearly 40 years (when did I get so ancient?), and many of those I have not seen or noticed.
Two questions today:
1. What changes have you noted in AA that most impacted the city, whether good or bad?
2. If you were King/Queen for a day, what changes would you make to the city that would make it more pleasing to Your Highness?
Hope you are all well,
XM
Personal nostalgia for me is the Nectarine Ballroom -- ordered pitchers there when I was 17.
Moe's -- affordable M gear.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
I would like to have Espresso Royale, Dinersty, and Middle Kingdom back...
March 30th, 2023 at 11:32 AM ^
Definitely miss ERC. The new place on State St. is weird and empty.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:40 AM ^
Dinersty was a go to spot before my evening screenwriting course in the Frieze Building. I'm still bummed it's gone (Dinersty and Frieze)...
March 30th, 2023 at 12:50 PM ^
Espresso Royale was generally known as “Cafe Pretentious” in my circles during undergrad. Their website still claims campus locations. Not so?
March 30th, 2023 at 12:53 PM ^
ERC closed early on in the pandemic. Their website must not have been outdated.
"Cafe Pretentious"? Hmm. When I was on campus, it was mainstream. Rendez-vous on South U. and the place on Maynard (forget its name) were more pretentious, I'd say.
This was early 90s, which is a long time ago. I may be misremembering, but I was pretty sure it was ERC. You couldn’t walk by without seeing someone at a table on the sidewalk in a beret with a German philosophy book or something of the sort. It alway struck (the much younger and less mature version of) me and my friends as the place for people who were trying very hard to pass themselves off as intellectuals. Maybe the vibe changed or my perception was off the whole time, but the “Cafe Pretentious” label was a thing.
Now that I think about, there was definitely a difference between the State St. ERC and the Main St. one. The Main St. one definitely had more of that vibe. It was more of a grad student/townie place.
The State St. one was a more typical undergrad place.
At that time, espresso and any coffee other than cheap drip was considered pretentious in America but now espresso drinks are mainstream so it's probably more a change in culture overall that caught up to the pretentiousness. You're probably right that in the 90s, high end coffee culture was relatively niche and pretentious.
Not Depresso Royale? That's what I'd always heard.
Also, to slightly digress, for the next time I am in Ann Arbor where is the best third wave coffee place? I'm a big fan of the lighter fruitlike Ethiopia coffees, for context.
Hyperion in ypsi has natural coffee… other roasters might too
Ha! Was just about to mention that nobody I knew ever called it anything other than Cafe Pretentious.
I never lived in AA but visited since the 70s and dated girl there in the 90s.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:27 AM ^
The change that annoys me the most is the installation of bike lanes all over town and the accompanying elimination of parking spaces and traffic lanes. It was hard enough to find a parking space before but it is getting to the point where I will have to borrow George Jetson's car if I want to go for a visit.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^
Accessible pedestrian and bike friendly streets in a college town? The horror! /s
March 30th, 2023 at 11:57 AM ^
I do actually live here, though. And I agree with OP. I love the idea of bike lanes in ann arbor. But right now, they are underutilized and create more hassle than benefit. If there comes a time when a lot of people use them, they will provide a great benefit, but we’re just not there.
March 30th, 2023 at 12:03 PM ^
Explain how we would get there without building them first?
March 30th, 2023 at 12:16 PM ^
Have enough people biking in the first place. People biked before bike lanes, but not enough to justify bike lanes, IMO. I’m sure part of the logic of building them, which I think you are getting at, is the hope that more people would bike vs driving if there was a bike lane; however, that hasn’t happened in a meaningful way so far.
March 30th, 2023 at 12:39 PM ^
the concept of bike lanes is very good. the execution of bike lanes in AA has been ridiculous and literally punitive to the rest of the folks who drive, and who outnumber the bicyclists by an order of magnitude.
remember, nobody or very few at best ever use those lanes during the vast majority of the school year, say from late october through most of march. school is basically sept through april. hundreds of cars vs. a handful of bikes for most days of the school year. incredibly inefficient use of space and resources.
also, the 'traffic calming' measures like built out curbs-to-nowhere and traffic posts don't 'calm' traffic any more than if someone choked you out and said it was 'breathing calming'.
Agree that traffic "calming" is really just making it so difficult to drive that you just don't do it. Choking it out so to speak.
And while you're right that there's not a lot of bike traffic, I'd be curious to know how much a combo of increased pedestrian, bike and cab/rideshare traffic replaces any choked out drive-and-park traffic. i.e are retailers negatively impacted by any decreased drive-and-park traffic?
For what it's worth, the most recent study of this question, using restaurants (and perhaps restaurants and retail may be different, perhaps this is a covid-era phenomenon) on streets that had either had traffic calming or had closed to traffic altogether during the covid era in five fairly different cities (Boston, SF, Boise, Burbank, Chicago), showed a pretty significant increase in business activity, ranging from 12% to 61%.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-11/the-business-case-fo…
Another study that was for all retail across 12 cities for a longer term showed either positive or neutral effects. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_reports/210/
Interesting and not surprising. Good data. People like retail and pedestrian friendly areas. It's calming. They're happy to walk to get there.
Another related and relevant phenomenon is that study after study shows more lanes don't reduce time spent in traffic. They simply encourage more cars on the road to fill the new lanes and time spent traveling remains static. And apparently those added cars aren't even adding to increased retail patronage.
(FWIW, reducing the number of lanes also doesn't impact commute times after people adjust routes and travel method in response to any initial and slight uptick in travel time).
So there's really nothing to complain about here.
A lot of people, particularly in AA, biked on the sidewalk, though, which was wildly dangerous for both bikers and pedestrians.
people always tag this behavior as "dangerous", however i can't see how an accident between a pedestrian/bike is more dangerous than a 4,000-40,000lb vehicle particularly when phone-use-while-driving is nearly 100%
Sidewalks cross driveways. Motorists pulling out of driveways are expecting to see and stop for pedestrians. A bicycle going 10-15mph on the sidewalk that a driver would have to see out of a side window and may not be expecting creates a hazard in that situation. Also, it’s a hazard to pedestrians unless it’s a wide sidewalk
Exactly, cars are looking for other cars when they pull out of alleys, parking garages, and driveways. Not looking for bikes speeding down a sidewalk.
My kids feel safer riding their bikes on sidewalks but I tell them to stay on the street where it's safer because cars are looking for them. That's the why you can't build fences or structures right up to streets (but you can to sidewalks which makes for blind spots).
The simple logic of "have enough people biking in the first place" will likely infuriate the under utilized bike lane advocates.
The truth about bike lanes is they're not simply to benefit existing bikers, they're equally intended to make driving inconvenient enough to encourage more biking.
They're as much an attempt at social engineering as protecting bicyclists safety 🤷♂️
That phenomenon is not unique to Ann Arbor.
It never works though, because there are only a finite amount of people that can just bike everywhere for everything no matter the weather.
And I am a guy that biked everywhere for everything no matter the weather when I lived in Ann Arbor. But even I recognize that it is not practical to force that on everybody.
I lived a couple miles south of campus and used them when biking to campus every day when they weren't choked with snow.
While, sadly, I mostly had them to myself I thought they were great and made life as a biker really easy. The issue is they became beyond useless in the winter, which as we all know in AA lasts forever. They're a good idea and I loved them when they were available, but I wonder at the practicality in a place where winter is just so long.
Ditto.
There's all kind of pressure about this along the front range of Colorado as well (so not just college towns). I'm glad it's happening. Maybe if drivers respected cyclists and pedestrians more in the first place, removing entire lanes of traffic wouldn't be needed.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^
Bike lanes serve people who live in the city. That an out-of-town driver is inconvenienced the handful of times they may visit is irrelevant.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
I wouldn't say irrelevant - but yea, the expectation of coming to Ann Arbor should be that its meant for college kids who don't have cars. I think every Wolverine probably has a memory of some angry driver yelling at them in a crosswalk or while biking, and I'd have to say if there are more bike lanes that is undoubtedly a good thing. You may have to park further away but, hey, it's Ann Arbor.
One of the great things about Ann Arbor and campus is how un-car centric it is. You can walk almost anywhere on campus. Ever been to a college campus that is primarily commuter? Thinking back to my days visiting GVSU where half of campus is parking lots. Ann Arbor should always prioritize bike/pedestrian/bus and let people in cars fight for spots in parking garages
I did my grad degree in Westwood at UCLA. It's mostly a commuter school as most people choose to live in wider LA surrounds. The traffic was absolutely miserable since everyone commuted. And it doesn't have the charm of Ann Arbor for the reasons you mentioned.
Ann Arbor actually has really favorable traffic relative to its population density precisely because most people don't drive.
I did my grad degree in Westwood at UCLA. It's mostly a commuter school as most people choose to live in wider LA surrounds. The traffic was absolutely miserable since everyone commuted. And it doesn't have the charm of Ann Arbor for the reasons you mentioned.
Ann Arbor actually has really favorable traffic relative to its population density precisely because most people don't drive.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:41 AM ^
But what if I want precisely what I want precisely when I want it regardless of who else it affects? Isn't that my right as an American? Prove me wrong.
Biking to the stadium on gamedays from the north side of town was glorious.
I’m an A2 resident and hear/read this parking complaint often, but cannot for the life of me understand it.
There are several giant parking garages all in the downtown (main to state) district. It’s not hard to find them and park, and really just means you have to walk a block or two to your destination.
I can understand why people don't like the bike lanes, but I love them. I knew several people who were badly hurt or killed while biking in the years before protected bike lanes. I scaled back my own riding, especially in winter. It broke my heart to bike less, but I figured better that than break my actual bones.
Now that the bike lanes are protected I'm much happier to saddle up and ride through town.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
For a long time there were two high-rises: Tower Plaza (on William St) and University Towers (South U). I lived in Tower Plaza once, and it was OK although it didn’t have any parking (nuts for a 26-story building). I always thought it should have had a restaurant or observation deck at the top. It’s still the tallest building in the county and the view must be awesome, but you have to live in the top floors to find out.
I remember when Skyline HS opened, the name was laughed at because Ann Arbor, at the time, still had just the two tall buildings. That was only 15 years ago. The flood of new high rises is because U-M keeps expanding its enrollment. Since the turn of this century it’s gone from about 36,000 to over 50,000.
March 30th, 2023 at 12:19 PM ^
Was a student 1981-85, when Harold Shapiro was president. He wanted to shrink the student body size, in part to save money for there were some majors that graduated no more than 10 people a year. Not sure if he actually said these words, but they got parodied a lot on campus - SMALLER IS BETTER - the joke written on the desks in the study stalls of the Grad Library was:
Harold Shapiro - smaller is better
Mrs. Harold Shapiro - smaller is NOT better
:>)
March 30th, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
State street has lost a lot of its charm, but at least a few A2 institutions still exist.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:30 AM ^
UM’s enrollment has grown significantly in the last 20 years, to the point where in fall 2021 UM’s enrollment was over 50,000 and larger than MSU. I know it’s all about the mighty dollar but if I were all powerful I would (1) turn back the clock and limit the enrollment such that we don’t need all these new, really tall, apartment buildings to house the students and (2) put a lower cap on the number of out of state students admitted as the percentage of out of state students has also increased over the years. Yes, I’m old and miss the more intimate feel of the area from days gone by.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:45 AM ^
#1 is a double-edged sword. Yeah, I get there's a huge population crunch, but it's hard for me to get on board with slashing enrollment back down, especially since I would love for my son to be able to go there when he gets older. I just have these fears that it's going to become impossible to get in unless you have some amazing life story, similar to how I struck out at the Ivies I applied to despite having the grades and SAT scores.
#2 will never happen, if for no other reason than state funding has continued to decline. Yes technically U of M is a public school, but it's nearly private when you consider just how small a percentage of funding comes from the state. You can't slash funding to tiny levels and then expect the school to overprioritize in-state students...
Last I checked it Michigan got around 8% of its funding from the state. That's it.
It's damn near a private school, and every once in a while there is some chatter about it going private.
The Univ. of Michigan is not the land grant institution for the state of Michigan, that is Michigan State. They should prioritize in-state students to a much higher degree than U of M.
ShadowStorm, if you are in-state you don't have as much to worry about.
With the shrinking high school age population in Michigan, it's actually getting a bit easier for in-state students to get an acceptance.
The competition for out-of-state admission is crazy, however. I was talking to a friend of mine who live in Boca. His daughter has taken 14 AP classes and has a 34 ACT...and he's pretty sure she won't get in to Michigan.
Ann Arbor native/Michigan grad who currently lives out of state (IA) and has a high school junior interested in attending U of M. By all accounts, in the era of the common application which encourages absurd numbers of applicants, the competitive schools are inundated with applications. And they can in turn be as selective as they want, prioritize admission of underserved populations, and make it semi-impossible for kids from middle to upper middle class backgrounds to get in, even with good grades and extra-curricular participation.
The few kids that I know personally who get in from out of state are able to check a non-caucasian box on the demographic profile form and that seems to make an enormous difference. Those kids all have fantastic GPA's in high school and high test scores and more, so I don't resent them at all. But those of us with regular kids who don't fit any special categories don't have the same chance of seeing our kids attend U of M that we had many decades ago.
I'm not entirely sure that the growth has been that extreme? UM's 2022 total enrollment was 51,225, with 32,695 undergraduates (MSU has like 39,000 undergraduates and 50,000 total, so the big difference is in the undegrad/grad mix). I think UM has been hanging around that 30,00 undergrads/50,000 total for the last several decades.
No, these enrollment numbers are unprecedented. For a long time it was in the neighborhood of 22K undergrad/36-37K total. It didn't hit 40K until about a decade ago and just passed the 50K threshold in the fall 2021 term.
This accounts for almost all of Ann Arbor's population growth over the past 20 years, and it's why so many apartment buildings are popping up next to campus. It's also why they're building more dorms (the new dorm complex on Elbel Field will hold 2,300 students).
Yep, I was class of '04 and our undergrad class had about 5,000 students (and about 20k total). I am shocked to read that it's now up to 32k total. That is very different than 20 years ago.