ypsi~dixit

Well, I'm being too much of a sourpuss. At least she's offering ideas. Maybe I should, instead of carping. OK, well, a lot more could be done with the river. Canoe livery on Peninsular Park--though, given the recent tragic deaths there in the spillway, perhaps it's an area better avoided.

Actually there are several bike racks on Michigan Ave., just like the ones in Depot Town.

Well, I've never seen any in either spot, and if anyone would have spotted them, it would be me. I'm forever locking my bike to a light pole, sign, trash can, etc.

There are bike racks in a select few locations. One in front of Sidetracks. Two in front of City Hall. One or two by the library. Pretty sparse, though.

I was wondering about the library--thought there might be some there. City Hall? Those are either new or on the north side of the building, I guess. I did the tree when attending Council meetings.

You were right, annon. I didn't doubt you. Just couldn't remember. And yes, they are sparse.

Downtown's biggest asset is also its curse: Michigan Avenue. Lots of neglected window space there in front of passing motorists, but the business owners must diligently fill those spaces with something worth looking at. Something to make people say "Wow!” park their cars and shop. The knuckleheads with their decapitated fetus signs MUST go. To hell with their "free speech". It's an abuse of a sacred right. I'd tear them up but my wife doesn’t want me to spend time in jail, but I'm still tempted. The medians look nice but are loathed by the police and fire dept. Doesn’t make anyone stop, fewer left turns, harder to navigate to parking areas. Holland, MI is worth looking at. Their downtown is clean and inviting, with lots of flowers and shade trees and benches. As mentioned, brooms and vacuum cleaners are a start. But coordinated marketing and reaching out are what needs attention.

I never thought of the median from the police-fire angle: indeed, in that sense it's a barrier making those workers' lives more difficult.

You can restore a 73 Vega but it will still never be a Cadillac.

Or a Schwinn.

The sidewalks in Holland, MI are also heated in winter :)

What about a parking (and bike rack) map? Include a few sponsor-ads to pay for the printing and give a stack to every local business willing to display them. Maybe some kind of visual communication/usability professional would be willing to design it in exchange for a free ad. (Or is this EMU class project fodder?) If there's room, it might include a seasonal events list to give people another reason to keep a copy.

As long as it's useful, the first printing could be plain old 8.5x11 (with a pdf available for anyone to print more if they want.)

Maybe something about advertising the things downtown has to offer to EMU students, rather than beer pong nights at TC's (that's all that is ever in the Eastern Echo). We've got cash to spend, but we just rather go to Ann Arbor, since they tell us what is going on.

I agree on staying open past 5 at most places, at least until 8 or 9.

I've found that a new Jimmy Johns will boost economic growth as well...I've been there every day since it opened last Thursday.

PS. I'm a bike-only-based transportationist, and there are bike racks everywhere I go - depot town, library, city hall, and there is always a line of sign posts to lock my bike to.

A restored 73 Vega may never be a Caddy, but it'll look better outrunning one.

But Ypsi, at one time was the Cadillac of Michigan (not Cadillac, MI). Ann Arbour was once the skank town depicted in that Bob Seger song:
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Main-Street-lyrics-Bob-Seger/5CFC7658B7F119874825699F00195EAD

Holland, MI is, BTW, whiter than the inside of the sun.

leighton Mann, you are so right about Ypsi and Holland. When I took my urban Ypsi teens there for a spring break a few years ago, they asked, "Where are the black people." Everyone there was blond and blue eyed, like truly Holland must be. Being the urban girls they were they felt the absence of normal diversity.
About Ypsi: Unlike Ann Arbor, I have never have had trouble finding a spot to park down town in the past 30 years.

Beer Pong Night!!!

Mary: heated sidewalks? Mercy sakes, that strikes me as just a tad bit excessive.

Fritz: I think a parking map is a good idea. And I saw the bike racks by the library today, and the one by the Sidetrack. I was wrong about there being none. Guess I'm just so used to chaining my bike to a sign that I missed those.

Big Mike: cool to find another bike-only person. You are exactly right: there is no comprehensive Ypsi calendar of events. The Upcoming.org for Ypsi is pretty anemic.

At the risk of looking dumb, a risk I'm quite used to by now, can someone please explain what a beer pong is?

Leighton: you're right about Holland. I can't imagine living there, half-Dutchness notwithstanding.

Holland installed steam heated side walks years ago as part of an effort to capture BTU's which had been wasted to the environment. Benefits include cleared and safer sidewalks downtown. More welcoming to laden last minute holiday shoppers thrudging through those sudden lake effect snow squalls.

Beer Pong

Beer pong is a drinking game played with a ping pong ball and a glass of beer. YouTube has a good video of it being played.

See, now you've *got* to love a blog where readers can debate the future of the city and learn about beer pong at the same time!

Suzie: heh. Thank you.

What ever happened to Beer Chess?

I will answer my own question. Nothing. Beer Chess is alive and well.

"So we had the famous game, biker vs. geek. The geek opened strong, taking pieces by the handful. But beer chess has built into it the demise of chess masters who don't get out much. After a few taken pieces, the geek was playing at half mast, blundering into one bad move after another."

I like the idea of Ypsi having a centralized list of events. Wheels are turning in my head, but I'm not sure whether it would make more sense to utilize what's already in existence (upcoming.org, current, a2 paper) or create something new. You may hear more from me on this...

The inverted "U" bike-locking-things are nicely minimalist an unobrusive... and therefore easy to miss. Overall, I'd say this is a good thing. It makes people less likely to object to adding more where they're needed.

I'm glad people have noticed the bike racks downtown and in Depot Town...some are definitely getting used more than others (e.g. the one in front of Bombadill's gets a LOT of use!). The Ypsi Health Coalition paid for those, as well as ones at the city pool and Parkridge Community Center. They have plans to make a bike map this coming winter and work with the County Parks dept to improve the B2B path through Frog Island and Riverside Parks.