AA city council approves Main Street closure on game days.
AA.com story, by Ryan Stanton:
Seems to have been driven by security imperatives; the threat of a large car-bomb next to the streetside wall of the new West Concourse. Lots of citations to DHS in the runup to the vote. One AA.com commenter had an interesting notion; wondering if a new concourse in the South endzone would similarly require closure of Stadium Blvd.
With the University's election to press for this (the city council vote was 7-4, reflective of lots of local opposition to this inconvenience but the overwhelming influence of the Big U), it once again highlights the persistent lack of good infrastructure around the Stadium. Michigan really needs to keep working on parking and traffic, when they are doing things like building basketball annexes that rob parking places and closing Main Street to choke traffic flow.
Perhaps you don't (or maybe you do) know how tempting a target the Ann Arbor City Council became, for another vote last night. I'll leave that one alone.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:50 AM ^
Closing Main Street won't choke traffic flow, because during the times in question, Main Street HAD no traffic flow. It only had "WHY DID YOU TAKE MAIN STREET WE HAVEN'T MOVED IN 20 MINUTES."
Absolutely this! What's more, this may have been spun as a security issue, but this is consistent with the council's urban planning vision in which driving into downtown AA will become increasingly more difficult. If you want to drive in, you will meet traffic slow downs, increased parking prices, and lots of frustration. Fortunately, there are also plans on the docket to add transit to AA via different busing/light rail options that will run up from Plymouth Rd down through the city/university and down to the mall.
If the goal is to achieve a pedestrian fan-friendly experience then this will certinaly help achieve that goal. However, for those of us who have to drive in from out-of-town, it will paying higher premiums (cost-wise and mentally) to make it to our favorite tailgate locations...not that it's ever been THAT easy to drive on game days.
The problem is, is that now that Main is officially closed, all that spill-over will flood the side streets that everyone used to avoid Main.
Looks like I'll be sticking around the post-game tailgate a bit longer this year before driving back to Cleveland.
Not that this is a bad thing.
Little known fact. MgrowOld ran for Ann Arbor City Council in 1980 but was defeated by Susan Greenberg in Ward 1 by about 250 votes. Sadly the "Reagan Revolution" did not apparently reach me.
My understanding is that the modified plan as was approved last night is to allow street reopening immediately after the game. Not quite sure what "immediately" will mean; but that might be a positive development.
Personally, I almost never go over to the west side on a game day. I certainly won't now.
The fact that some people suggest that Main Street was already choked with traffic, and was therefore an undesirable thoroughfare... where does all that traffic go now?
But in much the same way a parking lot is choked with traffic. The volume is relatively small. The rate of getting cars through is just terrible.
Just another inconvenience piled onto those of us who go to games. Year by year, my couch is seeming like a more and more attractive option.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:22 AM ^
Michigan really needs to keep working on parking and traffic, when they are doing things like building basketball annexes that rob parking places and closing Main Street to choke traffic flow.
This is a joke, right? You think parking places are more important than having a renovated Crisler and a long-overdue basketball practice facility?
August 9th, 2013 at 10:01 AM ^
Well... The argument does hold water when you consider there isn't enough parking for the stadium to begin with, and Athletics has systematically overpromised for event parking in that lot for about twenty years. Not to mention the fact that those lots are consistently full on weekdays with university-related parking as well. I'm not saying I didn't want the Crisler renovation, but eating a bunch of parking spaces was definitely the most glaring and negative side-effect of the whole thing.
With all these infrastructure updates Brandon is pushing through, it's amazing to me that Athletics hasn't yet figured out what to do with parking. It's the elephant in the room. And no, shuttling more and more people from Briarwood is not the correct long-term solution.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:15 AM ^
Yes; I never suggested that a basketball annex was "more important" than anything. All that I said -- correctly -- was the that annex eliminated some prime football parking. It exacerbated an already-bad problem.
I've said it here before. Not only am I assured of being correct, I happen to know that the athletic administration knows that I am correct: parking, for the Victors Club members who are paying PSD's, are finding themselves backing up in terms of parking priority. We have lost priority to the suiteholders. We have lost priority and space to increased handicapped parking.
There have been a few improvements. The bittersweet paving over of historic Ferry Field will presumably add some space. The relatively new Brown Lot, in the far South athletic campus is another option.
Compared to Madison, we may be okay. Compared to Columbus and even East Lansing, Ann Arbor is a pain in the ass.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:20 AM ^
It's not so much increased handicap parking as the ADA-mandated regulation that each space have an empty, coned-off space next to it. So someone with a handicap permit in the Blue Lot actually has an empty spot of extra tailgating space. The number of passes hasn't increased all that much, but the space required has doubled.
The real problem in my eyes are two things. Schembechler Hall routinely asks for about a third more parking passes than it needs, so the friends-and-family spaces in the meat of the Blue Lot are largely empty for most of the year. Secondly, the suite parking is almost never full, so you have numbered parking spaces that are empty either all the time, or until shortly before kickoff.
It's a shame the way the Blue Lot tailgating culture has nosedived in the last five years. Everyone is gone, and you're staring at an empty parking lot for most, if not all of the day.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:28 AM ^
100% correct.
I just want to make sure:
You're upset that handicap people have enough space to comfortably exit their vehicle (among other things)?
No, I'm not upset. The ADA regulations are what they are, and for good reason. It's a good thing. I'm just pointing out that the handicap spaces in the Blue Lot eat up twice as many parking places as there are passes for the lot, which only adds to problem Athletics has gotten themselves into with vastly overcommitting the Blue Lot with capacity upgrades, suite parking, and the Champion's Club. It's but one of many factors that make up a pretty complex problem.
Here is a more detailed account of what is happening. The Blue Lot is lined almost entirely for regular, non-handicapped parking. In the areas designated for handicapped parking on football Saturdays, they take cones and block off one of every three parking places. So that a row will be: Empty space~Parking Space~Parking Space~Empty space. And so on. So that every designated handicapped space has an empty space on one side, either right or left. All of that is done, instead of painting real handicapped-space lines in blue, because the Blue Lot is so multi-functional. There would be different needs and configurations, depending on basketball, football, some other event, or a weekday.
Bando described the larger problem exactly right.
More high-quality parking is needed. If Mr. Brandon expects me to keep shelling out $2400 a year for a PSD -- that's almost $85 per ticket each and every game even before I pay face value for all of those tickets -- he very much needs to think about providing a game day experience that is worth that.
I recognize that not everybody can get a space in the Blue Lot. But parking is a big problem throughout the south campus, and I expect something better than what there is at present. Ohio State has a better game-day experience surrounding their football stadium.
Where would you like to see this additional parking placed? (this isn't rhetorical)
DB maintains a parking structure on any of the parking lots in the University's control on South Campus would be cost prohibitive. I look at the demand, both on football Saturdays and the other 300+ days a year those spaces are used, and I just don't see how the math doesn't work out.
And for the other poster who said he doesn't care about the Blue Lot, I think what's happening there is emblematic of the bigger picture. The lack of space in the Blue Lot (which used to house pretty much everyone who donated to the Athletic Department) is putting strain on every other colored-pass lot in the University's control. The Gray Lot, Purple Lot, Brown Lot, etc. are all bursting at the seams, which then puts pressure on the non-University paid lots. There simply isn't enough parking to facilitate an event for 110,000+ people (which you could probably make 130,000 if you consider the people who come to the game without tickets). It's a huge problem when one looks at the bigger picture. We're just talking about the Blue Lot because that's the highest-profile example of where things are breaking down, especially since it's mostly empty with suite-holders and Athletic Department friends-and-family who don't use their spots. It's a mess.
I laugh that you describe this as "the larger problem."
Nothing here is large. Both the number of parking spots lost and those effected is tiny relative to the 100K in the stadium.
A relatively miniscule amount of parking spots in a parking lot only a tiny fraction of fans can use are reserved for the handicapped or family and friends of those in the Athletic Department.
I am not personally worried one tiny bit about this tiny amount of parking space not being allocated to a couple of extra people that feel immensely entitled.
If the cost is too high or the experience lacking, don't go. There are plenty of people that would love to see a game and don't feel entitled to having Dave Brandon slurp their balls.
The handicapped catch all the breaks. Amirite?
No, wait; wrong picture.
Here:
August 9th, 2013 at 10:15 AM ^
Parking is a nightmare but it's not really just an issue with the AD. The university as a whole really isn't very accomodating to cars. The supply of university parking spaces is much much lower than the demand. I've got to think it's intentional given the faith that they have in their bus system and desire to create a pedestrian friendly atmosphere.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:29 AM ^
Why isn't shuttling people in the best long term solution? If you're not tailgating out of your own car, shuttling in, or some other form of alternative transportation should be encouraged. The fewer cars near the stadium, the better the game day situation is for everyone.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:39 AM ^
I don't want to ride in some freaking bus. I like my SUV. A shuttle isn't better for me. Not in any way, shape or form. I want to tailgate from my own car.
I'm always amazed by people who sing the praises of mass transit. I mean, if I am visiting Chicago or New York, I don't mind taking a train. But would I rather be in my own air conditioned car, listening to my own music, with my own party of passengers, coming and going exactly when I want to without waiting in long lines? Uh, yeah...!
I want more cars near the Stadium, so that just one of them can be mine.
On a more serious note, some reasonable expansion of parking is not just needed for football. It is needed for basketball too, and hockey, and it might attract more people for other less publicized events. And as others -- Bando in particular -- rightly noted, Ann Arbor and the University could well use some more parking.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:45 AM ^
Well, mass transit is pretty great when you live in a city where finding a parking place is time-consuming or prohibitively expensive, traffic sucks, car insurance is high, and gas prices are through the roof.
So... Yes, I'll sing the praises of mass transit in cities like Chicago and New York. Because that's how those of us who actually live in these places live our lives.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:53 AM ^
I just think you just have an ethical problem with driving a car onto a golf course.
I get that waiting on line for a bus, then getting to your car, sucks. But the truth is you're going to be waiting in long lines in your car. And the more people that want to drive close to the stadium, the worse the problem gets. If we can encourage people who aren't tailgating out of their own cars to get to the stadium some other way, it's better for everyone.
August 9th, 2013 at 11:08 AM ^
F-!@ YEAH!
August 9th, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^
Well, public policy in the United States is systematically biased towards cars in general and towards over-supplying and under-charging for parking in general. If you looked at the zoning regulations for Ann Arbor (or almost any other municipality) you'd see strict regulations that mandate the MINIMUM number of parking spots required per unit.
My understanding is that the land surrounding the Crisler and Michigan Stadium is extremely valuable. Building a parking lot that will be fully utilized 7-8 days a year is not a wise investment. If there was truly such a high demand for parking I think a third party market actor would have bought a parcel of land and built a parking lot/structure (this logic can be extended to the rest of the city). Since they haven't, I assume that it has not been deemed a profitable endeavor. As long as people keep showing up to the games, I doubt that University is going to invest heavily in new, premium parking for a few days a year.
Finally, If you want more people to tailgate with, you could always go over the Golf Course. I've tailgaited there and had a great time. Or, I'm sure there's some other way that you could trade money for space nearby the stadium. I'm guessing that there's something about the Blue Lot that you like better, but such is life.
I'm assuming you didn't get the "Canyonero" joke in the Simpsons. I'm also not going to bother throwing out terms like "Tragedy of the Commons".
August 9th, 2013 at 10:49 AM ^
Shuttling people isn't the best long-term solution because tailgating in the parking lot of a Meijer then hopping on a bus to the stadium isn't tailgating at a football game. It's tailgating at a mall before you take a trip to a football game.
Michigan football sold itself to consumers in the 1960s based on the idea that you bring your family to Ann Arbor, tailgate near the stadium, walk to the game, and go home. Now that experience is either being built over or priced out of most people's budget. It's just another of the little things being eroded by the new marketing strategy of jacking up prices and putting incentives on donations. It shouldn't be cost-prohibitive to take a family of four to a Michigan football game. But for most families these days, it is. And the lack of parking is a big part of why that's happening.
August 9th, 2013 at 11:07 AM ^
This is an honest question, because I don't drive to the games (I almost always bike in about 9 miles from the north side and hit some regular family/friend tailgates before going to the game ... I know, biker and Euro planner wanna be ... double whammy ... I don't, however, wear lycra when I'm going to the games):
Are both golf courses and Pioneer, plus the Blue lot as currently constituted, not large enough to accomodate the number of tailgaters? If I understand your frustration, you're someone who grew up with a family tailgate in one of the lots nearby the stadium and came to expect a situation where your tailgate was surrounded by other regulars in that lot. And now the university has handed much of that space over to suiteholders, who tend not to tailgate, and the whole culture has dissipated. I can understand that sense of loss. But isn't space for tailgating available on the golf courses or Pioneer (which is where the tailgates I go to are), or is there just not enough space there?
Are people actually tailgating out at Briarwood and Meier?
August 9th, 2013 at 11:50 AM ^
I can't speak about the golf course but I think the lot at Pioneer might be getting close. My father, a season ticket holder for 24 years and an emeritus professor, lost his pass in the Pioneer lot for this season because he doesn't have enough points. He had to buy a pass through the Ann Arbor School District but I'm sure it will be a longer walk for a 75 year old man with a bad knee and hip. He(like many others) is getting close to scrapping things and just watching from home.
What is the tipping point that sees sizable chunks of empty seats? It won't happen for the big games but I can see it for some of the non-conference ones.
August 9th, 2013 at 12:15 PM ^
Yes, lots of loyal season-ticket holders who are paying hefty PSD's are getting shoved down the ladder in terms of parking priority.
If people think that the Pioneer lot is so attractive, the Main Street closure is surely impactful on that option. For anyone coming from the Detroit suburbs, the idea of parking anywhere west of the Stadium is a horror show.
Michigan is lucky to have the golf course parking. It isn't always available, based on weather issues as most of the readers here know very well.
Bando summed it up exceedingly well; a big part of the Michigan game-day experience (as it is in most collegiate environments is the socializing and tailgating before and after the game. Michigan has done little to keep up that part of their bargain with fans. With regard to the "parking lot" aspect of "Champions" parking, and the loss of substantial parts of Blue Lot parking to Crisler and to ill-concieved handicapped parking, the Michigan Athletic Department has actually made things worse.
I wonder if the university has ever considered handicapped spots near the stadium...
Whether the gentleman in question is old and infirm (which will not necessarily get you a handicapped permit, and a state-issued permit is required in order to apply for Blue Lot Handicapped parking) was not my point, although I saw it mentioned as you did.
I was talking about the downward-prioritization of Victors Club parking over the past 2-3 years.
Further as to the silly point you were making; since Bernstein Junior's having sued Michigan, we've now got a lot more handicapped seating inside the Stadium than anybody seems to know what to do with. I see it every home game.
When you called his anecdote representative, what you meant was that part of it was in line with one of your complaints, but you just ignored the part of it that would garner a solution via something else you complained about. Is that right?
What exactly is it that you see every game? Enough seats for handicapped people, ADA compliance, the availability of any extra reserved seats for last minute ticket sales to people who otherwise might not get to see a game, or all of the above?
+1 Funny
August 9th, 2013 at 12:23 PM ^
There are more tailgaters than there are available spots in the current configuration. As the other poster pointed out, the Pioneer lot is at capacity, the Gray Lot is at capacity, the now-smaller Blue Lot is spoken for, the old MMB lot at Elbel is now a FieldTurf practice field, construction down near the Field Hockey field has eaten up spots... The PSD point system in combination with the suites have also pushed a lot of long-time tailgaters down the list, putting strain on the paid parking locations.
It's pretty clear. Over the past ten years, piece by piece, the number of available tailgating locations near the stadium have gone down, while the capacity of the stadium and the parking obligations the Athletic Department has taken on with the suites have gone up.
It's simple math. Less tailgating spots and/or former tailgating hotbeds turned into dead suite parking=less tailgaters=people finding further-out options or not tailgating at all.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:01 AM ^
We're Michigan fans... we find reasons to complain about everything.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:20 AM ^
Exactly. But I would expand on that and say it's both Michigan fans and residents of Ann Arbor who find reasons to complain about everything. And here's one of those issues where both groups have free rein to vent. The Stadium marquee was another one.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:39 AM ^
I know where there is a bunch of parking, get rid of the golf course because GOLF IS STUPID AND THE MOST FRUSTRATING ACTIVITY, NOT SPORT, EVER!!!!1!!1
August 9th, 2013 at 10:42 AM ^
It is very hard to for me to swallow the idea that the University should have scrapped long-overdue plans to bring the basektball facilities up to date just so we'd have more premium parking on seven or eight saturdays out of the entire year.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:46 AM ^
I wish I could bottle the tears of every townie and Diag-lounging hippie in Ann Arbor who is "inconvinienced" by this "government intrusion" on their Pabst Blue Ribbon sipping and Prius-driving to the Kerrytown Farmer's Market
August 9th, 2013 at 11:04 AM ^
I wish I could murder every out-of-state student with a New York accent.
August 9th, 2013 at 11:05 AM ^
I think the main townies objecting are people who sell lawn spaces in the streets off main who are afraid they won't be able to get that extra $3k cash a year they've come to expect.
Anyone who lives in Ann Arbor knows to avoid the Stadium like a plague on football saturdays.