We need to encourage people to spend more time downtown,
not move through quickly. By widening the sidewalks
or adding diagonal parking or taking a look at two-way traf-
fic again, it would have some impact on the Blake Transit
Center. People would think about it differently - not just as
transportation but as a destination.
-Focus Group Participants
Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a quintessential university town
with a population of 100,000, including a university population
of 30,000. Whereas other midwestern cities have experienced
suburban flight, the sizable student population has
helped the downtown area sustain a strong pedestrian and
transit orientation. Main Street, always the historic heart of
the city, has received new vitality in recent years with reinvestment
in the older commercial buildings and their adaptive
reuse as retail shops and services. This investment was
made possible in part by a 25-year commitment to caring for
and preserving downtown as the city's prime retail corridor
and historic center - a commitment that, by necessity, favors
people over cars.
Further Reading:
Main Street and the Blake Transit Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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