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WBWC February 2015 Newsletter

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F O L L O W on F A C E B O O K
F O L L O W on T W I T T E R

WBWC Washtenaw County Guide To Sidewalk Snow Removal

The WBWC has assembled a recently-updated summary of ordinances and requirements for sidewalk snow removal for cities, villages and townships in Washtenaw County. Read details here.

Please note, however, that many governmental units in Washtenaw County (such as Ann Arbor Township, Scio Township, Ypsilanti Township and others) have no sidewalk snow removal ordinances. If the governmental unit you are looking for is not listed on the WBWC list, it is understood that that unit has no snow removal policy or law. If you have corrections to the list, please forward them to the WBWC at info@wbwc.org.

One final note. While nobody wants to become a “squealer”, if you see a sidewalk that is consistently never plowed in an area where it is the law to clear, perhaps a talk, or a note, to the offending party informing that people have been ticketed, would be one way to handle the situation. On the other hand, there are situations where turning in a report is entirely appropriate (i.e. absentee landlords who never shovel). And besides, if you consistently shovel your sidewalk, is it too much to ask that others not only follow the law?

Cross-Michigan Non-Motorized Trail Named

In January, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced the winner in a contest to name the cross-state non-motorized trail that will stretch, in two segments, from southeast Michigan to the western end of the Upper Peninsula. The winning name? The Iron Belle Trail.

The DNR press release on the trail naming noted that…

First proposed as a “showcase trail” by Gov. Rick Snyder in November 2012, Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail will stretch across Michigan and link numerous existing trails to provide both a 1,259-mile hiking route and a 774-mile bicycling route. One end of the trail lies in Michigan's newest state park, Belle Isle Park (Wayne County); the other is more than 900 miles away in Ironwood (Gogebic County). The Parks and Recreation Division of the DNR, as well as other partners, currently is seeking private and public funding to secure and develop trail corridors for Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail. Temporary connectors already are in place along much of the trail and will be made permanent as resources become available. Additional segments of Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail will open throughout 2015, with ceremonial events in communities along the trail to locally mark the occasions.

Locally, the Iron Belle Trail with travel though Washtenaw County using the Border To Border Trail. With this in mind, the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition, along with the Friends of the Border To Border Trail, will continue to work with the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, as well as the Cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, to complete critical gaps that presently exist on the Trail.

Friends Of The Border To Border Trail Update


In the past few months, steps were started to make the Friends of the Border to Border Trail a more “established” trail support group to help further the group’s statement of purpose, that being… “Dedicated to completing, enhancing, and encouraging the use of the Border To Border Trail in Washtenaw County, Michigan.”

In January acting Board of Directors and officers were designated and by-laws approved. The group will soon be a designated State of Michigan non-profit group and by years end hopes to be on the way to obtaining federal 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit status. For a treasury, the Friends was very happy to receive a $2000 gift from RF Events who is the promoter of the annual Holiday Hustle run in Dexter and a big Border To Border Trail booster.

Current projects for the Friends include working towards keeping the Border To Border Trail open (i.e. plowed) between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti over the winter, working with the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission (the main agency behind the Trail) on Trail issues, solicitating volunteers to “adopt” a Trail segment (details at www.bordertoborder.org and click on the “Adopt A Trail” link) and conduct a membership drive. For more information about the group, visit the just-mentioned website or visit the Friends of the Border To Border Trail on Facebook.

Are you a WBWC Member?

Sign up today and you could win an annual bikeshare membership too! 

We believe, and we think you do too, that it is critical to have a transportation system that works at least as well for people on foot and bike as it does for those traveling by car. While we are making progress, we have a long way to go in Washtenaw County and we need your support to amplify the voice of bikers and walkers. If you're not a 2015 member, and we're guessing you're not yet since we were tardy this year in asking people to renew their memberships, we hope you will join today. Right now in fact.

Take the next 5 minutes to join or renew online by visiting the WBWC membership page. Just click on the yellow donate buttons on the left hand side of the page. If you sign-up by the end of February, we will enter you in a drawing to win a year-long membership to ArborBikes, Ann Arbor’s new bike share program.

For those of you who have renewed your 2015 membership, we'd like to say thank you! You should have received your WBWC membership card in the mail. Keep it in your wallet since it entitles you to member-only discounts at a number of local businesses. Please let us know if you haven't (by an email to info@wbwc.org) or need a replacement one or have any suggestions for WBWC's membership committee.

Copyright © 2015 WBW (Walk Bike Washtenaw), All rights reserved.


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