Strongest Town 2023, Round 1: Ann Arbor, MI vs. Franklin, MA
Welcome to this first round match-up in the eighth annual Strongest Town Contest! In this round, 16 towns are facing off, and eight will advance to the next segment of the contest, based on your votes. We invite you to read answers representatives of these cities provided to questions we posed, and then cast your vote for which place you think is the strongest.
Can’t decide? If you’re looking for inspiration, check out how we describe the Strong Towns approach.
You may vote once per match-up. Round 1 voting closes at noon CT on Thursday, March 23. For rules, and to follow along with the contest, visit the Strongest Town Contest page.
Note: All entries are lightly edited for clarity and readability.
VOTING FOR THIS ROUND IS NOW CLOSED. RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY, MARCH 24.
ANN ARBOR, MI
Entry submitted by: Trevor Brydon, Suzann Flowers, Kaitlyn Sledge, Karsten Van Fossan, Carter Sandstrom, Hunter Heyman, Jordan Hunter, Zihua Qian.
What are people in your city doing to decrease the negative impacts of parking on the community?
The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has jurisdiction over the roads, parking, and other street elements of central Ann Arbor. The DDA has begun a “Complete Streets” program, by which people-friendly street additions such as curb/bus bump-outs, wider sidewalks, and protected bike lanes have been built. This has served to decrease the parking supply available in the city and increase throughput for local businesses by making the downtown more accessible for pedestrians and allowing space for outdoor dining. Besides the DDA, the city of Ann Arbor has also opened several parking lots owned by the city for development, either by private developers or the city’s housing commission, which will greatly serve the growing population of the city through new housing and other amenities. The city has also removed all parking requirements from new developments.
What are people in your city doing to shift the focus toward maintaining your existing infrastructure instead of just building more roads?
Ann Arbor emphasizes preserving the life of existing assets over new construction. The city uses a visual rating system tool, PASER, to assess pavement distress and match with maintenance interventions. This method provides a consistent annual read and is shared broadly through a public-facing dashboard. The city also identifies and builds in safety features when scoping pavement preservation projects. While not expanding, state-owned trunklines that connect downtown to the freeway are a high-speed obstacle to providing connected, low-stress bike facilities, transit amenities, and local walking connections. The city is studying the benefits and costs of assuming jurisdiction of these trunklines by weighing the long-term cost of maintaining, repairing, and replacing these roadways against the city’s ability slow to vehicle speeds, add safety features, and complete critical bike networks.
What are some recent changes to your community's zoning laws that have resulted in increased housing flexibility and options? What is being done to change your community's approach to land use to allow for more incremental development?
In 2021, Ann Arbor made it legal to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in single-family homes in all zoning districts. They also removed parking requirements, deed requirements, and minimum lot size requirements for building an ADU. However, due to an owner occupancy requirement and a lack of clarity and communication about the change, the ADU building rate has remained low. In addition to ADUs, Ann Arbor recently passed TC1 zoning. This zoning flips lot size and parking minimums and makes them maximums instead of minimums, and is meant to encourage transit-oriented development, particularly along transit corridors outside of downtown and the University of Michigan’s central campus.
Tell us a little about the progress people in your city are making toward greater accounting/budget transparency.
The city of Ann Arbor created public-facing accounting tools that provide transparency and visualize how money is spent on capital projects. For accounting, the city has provided budgets, financial reporting, and audits for the past 19 years on the city’s website. As a demonstration of ongoing transparency, the city has also developed an online tool called A2OpenBook to make technical documents easily accessible. A2OpenBook is updated daily and shows the city’s budget and actual expenses from July 2010 to the present. Other online tools show how projects are prioritized and funded. Three recent examples include a map of all projects funded through the American Rescue Plan, a dashboard showing progress and prioritization towards filling all city sidewalk gaps, and an interactive map relating pavement conditions to planned road projects.
What are people in your city doing to build streets that are dominated by people and accommodate automobiles—not the other way around?
Ann Arbor has a comprehensive transportation plan that is making rapid progress towards a Vision Zero goal—no one dies or is seriously injured in crashes on Ann Arbor’s streets. Following the city’s Pedestrian Safety and Access Task Force report in 2015, Ann Arbor City Council made it an official city goal to have zero traffic-related fatalities on city streets by 2025. An additional resolution in 2017 reaffirmed the city’s commitment to eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by reducing vehicle speeds and minimizing the consequences of human errors. Ann Arbor has made sufficient progress in the past few years and will continue to. There are safer and more interconnected bike lanes and sidewalks, as well as a better transit operation and just better transportation, overall. Ann Arbor’s comprehensive plan can be found here.
What is your favorite thing about your town?
Ann Arbor is a mid-size Midwestern town that hosts a flagship university with global reach. The features that we love about our town are a result of decades of city leadership addressing varying challenges Ann Arbor has, and will continue to, face. The ongoing dedication to make proactive changes citywide has resulted in community support for a five-year, $2.38 million transit millage and a 20-year, $140 million climate millage. These revenues are dedicated to reducing automobile dependence by expanding hours and frequencies of bus service and building out the All Ages and Abilities bike network. In the summer, Ann Arbor has a tradition of closing areas of downtown to motor traffic for live music, sidewalk dining, and strolling through the streets. There are annual festivals, fairs, and other open community events that draw crowds of people to these spaces in Michigan’s long evening summer light.
FRANKLIN, MA
Entry submitted by: Cobi Frongillo.
What are people in your city doing to decrease the negative impacts of parking on the community?
We are currently in the process of reducing parking minimums in our downtown zones and revisiting our shared parking policies. We recently opened up the municipal lots for more shared parking (for an appropriate fee) and implemented a stormwater fee that will encourage reduction of unproductive impervious surfaces.
What are people in your city doing to shift the focus toward maintaining your existing infrastructure instead of just building more roads?
We are transitioning away from assumed public acceptance of subdivision roadways and are using the majority of our federal COVID funds on infrastructure maintenance.
What are some recent changes to your community's zoning laws that have resulted in increased housing flexibility and options? What is being done to change your community's approach to land use to allow for more incremental development?
We recently upzoned to by-right residential density of 20 units per acre in our downtown core and 18 units per acre in the surrounding residential zones, as well as expanded areas that allow up to three-family buildings by right. We are in the process of expanding by-right accessory dwelling units and revising restrictive dimensional standards that prohibit incremental development. Our new inclusionary zoning policy was tailored to ensure we actually increase affordable housing production, not just restrict development.
Tell us a little about the progress people in your city are making toward greater accounting/budget transparency.
There has been a major increase in discussion from public officials around our growing liabilities, how they came to be, and what can be done to reverse course. This includes producing value-per-acre maps and even bringing Chuck Marohn to town for a panel discussion with local leaders!
What are people in your city doing to build streets that are dominated by people and accommodate automobiles—not the other way around?
We have greatly expanded sidewalk connectivity, including pedestrian paths to connect otherwise walled-off subdivisions to key areas. We returned our one-way Main Street to a two-way street with wider sidewalks and a large free-flowing "crosswalk" area. We've implemented traffic-calming techniques, including street trees, curb extensions, stop signs, and speed tables. We also received grant funding for barriers, tables, and chairs that allow for more regular "open street" events. Finally, we recently attained eligibility for a grant program that allows us to expand our bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
What is your favorite thing about your town?
Franklin boasts a wealth of historic, cultural, and recreational assets (including the nation's first public library!) that help us stand out in the sea of Greater Boston suburbs. Previous generations successfully fought off urban renewal efforts and retained a beautiful, walkable downtown core around our commuter rail station. Our strong public amenities and gathering spaces earn us regular accolades among the best towns to raise a family in America, and our continued housing production has allowed us to maintain stronger income (and improving cultural) diversity relative to our peers.