Well the bus worked great for the inbound trip to the office. However when you're done working and ready to head home it's a distressing feeling when you and a friendly homeless guy named Matthew are the only 2 people standing at the corner of Michigan and Griswold waiting for the bus which is now 15 minutes late. I decided to cut bait and bid adieu to Matthew who was not at all concerned about making the bus.
Luckily friend John K. is still at work in a nearby office tower. He will be done in 20 min. and can then give me a ride home. What a great luxury-- but not so great for others who may not have been as lucky. The next day I emailed the folks at SMART Bus and I was soon sent a detour map showing that all westbound buses were following due to some building renovation projects. Apparently the regular riders had this information. Now a hardened veteran I am prepared to attempt a there AND back trip this Tuesday. Hopefully the detour route does not change again.
PS- while waiting for Johnny K. I was able to stop in the downtown Borders in order to check out my wife's new book "The Parents Guide to Speech and Language Problems" D. Feit, 2007, McGraw Hill Professional. In order to help give the local author a boost I repositioned a few other volumes so that the PGSLP could face cover out. If you are in your local bookstore I encourage you to help promote the cause and position her book accordingly.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Bus day one
There's a reason that they call it the SMART ("suburban mobile authority for regional transportation") bus. A quick bike ride from Chez Richardson, 2 bits, already 1/2 full with young to mid professionals, texting and checking messages on the way, relaxing ride and boom -- dropped off right downtown. 45 minutes for what would have taken 30 min. plus in my 28.5 mpg sedan. And saving $10 or more on parking. Viva le SMART!
I do have to admit that I initially thought I was waiting on the wrong street when I saw a different bus go by. But a quick call to homebase to check the route map online and a walk 1/2 a block away put me at another stop-- and then in the end it turned out that both stops were on the route.
The SMART website also said that each bus has a rack for 2 bikes in the front. I did not see that, but I've emailed their office as I may not have been looking in the right spot. That will leave a challenge for the next trip which will be after Labor Day. We're taking the kids to Lake Michigan with a stop at the Meijer Gardens along the way. We'll make sure that the DIA Rodin is properly sited in its temporary location.
I do have to admit that I initially thought I was waiting on the wrong street when I saw a different bus go by. But a quick call to homebase to check the route map online and a walk 1/2 a block away put me at another stop-- and then in the end it turned out that both stops were on the route.
The SMART website also said that each bus has a rack for 2 bikes in the front. I did not see that, but I've emailed their office as I may not have been looking in the right spot. That will leave a challenge for the next trip which will be after Labor Day. We're taking the kids to Lake Michigan with a stop at the Meijer Gardens along the way. We'll make sure that the DIA Rodin is properly sited in its temporary location.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Walk the walk
It is somewhat ironic to be working on a transit oriented design development for the proposed Ann Arbor to northerly towns commuter rail line, while at the same planning the logistics for my own commute on the "SMART" bus routes into downtown Detroit.
As an architect and partner in an architecture firm located in Brighton, MI -- 20 minutes north of Ann Arbor -- I have been able to be a part of a pretty large amount of growth for the past decade and a half. And as this town continues to grow and increase its commitment to being a walkable community I continue to learn something new from each project. But I also can't help but cast an eye to the east, to downtown Detroit, the heart of Southeast Michigan.
Once a city of two million inhabitants, it recently fell into 11th place on the list of U.S. cities at eight hundred plus thousand people. With a rich architectural past there are many quality structures in the city -- from Mies Van de Rohe's Lafayette Towers to the Smith Group's Guardian Building. From such rich building stock I see tremendous opportunity for adaptive re-use and redevelopment projects. Several loft type residential projects have already been completed around the city for example.
So armed with my daylight calculation spreadsheets, powerpoint case study of adapting a former General Motors office building into a K - 8 parochial school, and my bus schedule I head back to the city. The city where I once lived and walked each day along streets lines with elm trees in order to get to elementary school. And my father took the bus to his job downtown. Circle of life...
As an architect and partner in an architecture firm located in Brighton, MI -- 20 minutes north of Ann Arbor -- I have been able to be a part of a pretty large amount of growth for the past decade and a half. And as this town continues to grow and increase its commitment to being a walkable community I continue to learn something new from each project. But I also can't help but cast an eye to the east, to downtown Detroit, the heart of Southeast Michigan.
Once a city of two million inhabitants, it recently fell into 11th place on the list of U.S. cities at eight hundred plus thousand people. With a rich architectural past there are many quality structures in the city -- from Mies Van de Rohe's Lafayette Towers to the Smith Group's Guardian Building. From such rich building stock I see tremendous opportunity for adaptive re-use and redevelopment projects. Several loft type residential projects have already been completed around the city for example.
So armed with my daylight calculation spreadsheets, powerpoint case study of adapting a former General Motors office building into a K - 8 parochial school, and my bus schedule I head back to the city. The city where I once lived and walked each day along streets lines with elm trees in order to get to elementary school. And my father took the bus to his job downtown. Circle of life...
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