Safety Deficiencies

WATS has already begun to collect comments on pavement, bridge, congestion and non-motorized deficiencies throughout the County. This post will focus on safety deficiencies including both intersection and segment deficiencies.

If there is a segment of road or intersection where you think a large number of crashes occur, please make a comment and let us know where. If your comment is regarding a safety concern along a segment of road, include not only the road name but the ending intersections of the segment such as Arkona Road between Maple and Goodrich. If your concern is at an intersection please indicate so by providing both cross streets in your comments such as the intersection of Arkona Road and Sanford Road.

When providing a comment please include your name, the community you live in, and if you feel comfortable, your email address so that we can contact you with any questions. If you do not feel comfortable including your email address, you may still provide comments, however, to allow WATS to document and keep track of your comment, please include your email address with your comments in an email to us at wats@miwats.org.

For more information on crashes in Washtenaw County check out the crash data section on the WATS website.

Michigan Transportation Funding Task Force Report Released

A report recently released by the Transportation Funding Task Force, appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm, recommends significant changes to the way funds for transportation are collected.

The full report of the Transportation Funding Task Force can be accessed by clicking here.

Associated Press writer, David Eggert wrote an article which discusses some of the recommendations of the Task Force. That article can be viewed by clicking here.

Leave a comment to let WATS know what you think of the information presented in the article as well as your opinions on the report of the Task Force.

Travel Time Analysis Video

At the November Technical Committee meeting a presentation was given that provided some examples of functions the WATS Travel Demand Model can perform. WATS uses the Travel Demand Model as a base for identifying congestion deficiencies in the Long Range Plan.

The embedded video is an example of a function called network time band analysis. This example uses estimated congested travel time to show the distance a vehicle could travel in two minute intervals, up to 20 minutes, from a user selected point. While this example may not be used directly in the Long Range Plan it is an example of how congested travel time information can be useful.

The Technical Committee requested this video be placed on the blog for everyone to see.
In the video, a point in the City of Chelsea is selected at W. Middle Street. Animated bands representing 2 minute travel intervals are drawn where light blue is 2 minutes from the selected point up to red which is 20 minutes away.



Please feel free to post a question about what is being displayed.

Non-motorized Deficiencies

WATS has already collected comments on pavement, bridge and congestion deficiencies throughout the County. This post will focus on non-motorized deficiencies including both sidewalk and bike deficiencies. A non-motorized deficiency can exist if an area does not have non-motorized facilities such as a sidewalk or bike lane or an area whose non-motorized facilities are inadequate or in disrepair. WATS is also interested in locations where pedestrian crossings are difficult and the addition of crossing islands may be needed. Until recently an example would be, “There is no sidewalk along Washtenaw in front of Glencoe Hills Apartments or it is difficult to cross Stadium between Maple and Pauline. Examples of bike comments previously could have included the need for bike lanes along Platt between Packard and Ellsworth.

When providing a comment please include your name, the community you live in, and if you feel comfortable, your emial address. If you do not feel comfortable including your email address, you may still provide comments, however, to allow WATS to document and keep track of your comment, please include your email address with your comments in an email to us at wats@miwats.org.