Thread by @mollyali

Apparently there is some misinformation flying around tonight about the Ann Arbor Transportation Commission. Here’s a little thread about what TC is, why it exists, who serves on it, and all the power it doesn’t have. 1/ #a2council

Disclosure: I am the recently elected chair of Transportation Commission, and have served on it for a year and a half. This thread is factual to the best of my knowledge, and I speak only for myself and my 3 bicycles. 2/ #a2council

Here's the intro of the ordinance establishing TC: "The Transportation Commission is established to foster excellence in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of a sustainable and resilient multimodal transportation network for the City of Ann Arbor... 3/ #a2council

"The Transportation Commission will serve as an advisory body to the City Council and the City Administrator on transportation policy with a focus on accessibility, mobility, equity, and safety for all citizens.” Read the whole thing here: library.municode.com/mi/ann_arbor/c…
4/ #a2council

In section 3 of the ordinance, it lists the “powers and duties” of TC. It’s too many words for Twitter, so I’ll just stick to the verbs:
“Advise"
"Provide comments"
“Recommend"
"Provide recommendations"
“Report"
"Make proposals and recommendations."
5/ #a2council

None of these verbs confer decision making authority on TC. That authority sits with City Council. Any failings or shortcomings of Ann Arbor’s transportation infrastructure are the result of policy decisions at the city, county, and state level. 6/ #a2council

So why do we even have a Transportation Commission? In 2014, A2 created a Pedestrian Safety & Access Task Force to conduct public engagement & develop proposals to improve, yep, pedestrian safety & access in Ann Arbor. Their archive is here: tinyurl.com/r34anrg
7/ #a2council

After an extensive community engagement process, one of the Task Force recommendations was to create a standing committee on pedestrian safety. This idea eventually expanded to include all road users, and became the A2 Transportation Commission in 2017. 8/ #a2council

By now I’m sure you’re wondering: What kind of power hungry monsters would choose to spend 2 to 4 hours every month [checks notes] volunteering to help make Ann Arbor's streets safer for all users? 9/ #a2council

Well, let’s see. Two of us have PhDs in the social sciences (that I know of), and there’s a computer programmer, so definitely no analytical skills to speak of. 10/ #a2council

We’ve got a former City Councilmember, the owner of a bike shop, and several current and former board members of assorted community organizations, so certainly no domain expertise or demonstrated history of service. 11/ #a2council

Our names are all right on the website, and search engines are a thing that exists. There is nothing shadowy or backroom about what is happening at TC or any other Ann Arbor boards and commissions. a2gov.org/departments/sy… 12/ #a2council

I can’t speak for other members of TC, but I volunteered because I spent a lot of time biking to work or the store or the library, dreaming about all the ways I would improve transportation infrastructure in this town if it was up to me. 13/ #a2council

When I was appointed in August 2018, things had been getting better here for bikers and pedestrians, with miles of new bike lanes, road reconfigurations, and safer pedestrian crossings, and I wanted to help the city do even more. 14/ #a2council

I had no idea that just 3 months after my appointment, a new majority would take over Council who was hostile to cyclists, hostile to pedestrians, hostile to children in need of safe routes to school, and that suddenly our little commission would become a target. 15/ #a2council

I had no idea that my fellow volunteers would be targeted for removal by this new majority, that CMs would lie about them, & apparently claim that *we* are the reason pedestrians are dying on our streets(?!). I’m guessing this is not what any of us signed up for. /fin #a2council

I spoke up about the Mobility Committee at the last Council meeting, and apparently that was newsworthy. You can read more of my thoughts here: mlive.com/news/ann-arbor…