A Bounce in Your Step
Geoff Larcom praises Ann Arbor’s walkability, even though the city fails to appear on a recent list of walkable cities compiled by the American Podiatric Medical Association. According to an A2 podiatrist, “Ann Arbor’s mix of parks, the river and a navigable downtown that has easy terrain and the added bounce of college students” make it ideal for pedestrian traffic. While we’re sure that all of these things, especially the “bounce of college students,” make for nice scenery, we’d prefer a Kroger downtown.
” Seel compares Ann Arbor to larger walking havens such as Madison and Austin, Texas, also college towns.
“It’s not too urban, but just urban enough,'’ Seels says of Ann Arbor.”
The cities he’s comparing Ann Arbor to are 2x and 6x the population of The Deuce, respectively.
posted by Dale on December 12th, 2005 at 12:53 pm“just urban enough”?
posted by Brandon on December 12th, 2005 at 1:08 pmStrong enough for an urbanite, pH-balanced for a suburbanite.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on December 12th, 2005 at 1:10 pmOddly enough, I like walking around Madison more than AA. To be fair, I’ve never lived there - it may wear down eventually. I have lived in Ithaca, which is a tossup - the pedestrian commons area downtown is really kind of nice. The problem is walking (through the gorge path or otherwise) to get from Cornell campus to downtown - you need time to spare.
My favorite pedestrian crossing:
Huron and Fletcher. Where they changed the light to blinking-yellow. A bit further down by the Ingalls intersection you’ll find the lovely crosswalk where no car will ever stop for you, and where I’ve gotten damned fucking close to being hit many, many, many a time. When I was in Ithaca, every crosswalk had a sign “cars must stop for pedestrians”. I was thinking of making my own posterboard one and putting it up there, but never got around to it, having classes and work and all.
But there was a bounce in my step every time I walked across, of course. I’m young, a college student, and idealistic. Not cynical or sarcastic in the slightest.
posted by Jen on December 12th, 2005 at 2:06 pmWell, the thing is that downtown IS pretty “walkable”; that’s one of the reasons that the greenway was such a stupid idea in the first place. The problem lies in the places that are accessible through walking–affordable retail outlets and restaurants are few and far between on that list.
posted by Lazaro on December 12th, 2005 at 4:16 pmIt depends on what you mean by “walkable.” There are certainly lots of flat surfaces to walk on, but where can you go?
posted by ann arbor is overrated on December 12th, 2005 at 7:30 pm“just urban enough”?
posted by leighton on December 13th, 2005 at 12:20 am√translation: Not too many black people to make you cross to the other walkable side of the street.
Ah, I forgot that “urban” is code for “black” these days. Like “urban” music. And young “urban”… oh wait.
P.S. Leighton, you should get that band I emailed you about at the E-bow sometime.
posted by Brandon on December 13th, 2005 at 1:17 amWe’ve had the Hard Lessons at leat 10 times now (actually were the first place to have them in the area)…oh wait, you meant another band was it the High Strung? They are coming. They aren’t urban, though they may appear on UPN soon.
posted by leighton on December 13th, 2005 at 1:23 amDescent of the Holy Ghost Church, dude. Best new local band of 2005. Sweeping folk-rock ensemble… sorta like a rootsier, darker Great Lakes Myth Society with different instrumentation. They’ve been looking for more shows in A2-Ypsi rather than just the Stick and Lager (even though they live locally). They draw pretty well, too.
The Hard Lessons are also great, though. And at The Halfass January 13 to boot. Shameless plug. Ahem.
posted by Brandon on December 13th, 2005 at 1:28 amI just realized that “sweeping folk-rock ensemble” makes them sound like someone who’d have a regular gig at The Ark or open for Rootstand. Let me add, “but not lame.”
posted by Brandon on December 13th, 2005 at 1:37 amHuron street is a death trap. It’s where everyone who isn’t familar with the common practice of pedestrianism ends up driving when they visit Ann Arbor. I’ve seen many very close calls in which the pedestrian almost died.
When State street near campus was made a two-way street, I almost died twice by falling into my old habit of looking only to the right when crossing (heading East)…
posted by A2Zealot on December 14th, 2005 at 11:24 am“pedestrianism”?
What exactly were the situations, anyway?
I think what conflicts I’ve had have been with left turners, who aren’t careful about checking for pedestrians crossing their path.
posted by Bruce Fields on December 14th, 2005 at 1:10 pmGroups good enough to play the Ark (at least on nights when admission is charged) are not lame.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on December 14th, 2005 at 1:46 pmActually, in musical circles, a gig at the Ark is highly coveted. Of course, there is a no dancing policy, so certain bands/artists wouldn’t really work there.
posted by OFWinsurgent on December 14th, 2005 at 2:28 pm“Groups good enough to play the Ark (at least on nights when admission is charged) are not lame.”
“Actually, in musical circles, a gig at the Ark is highly coveted.”
Not to be a hater on The Ark (it serves a purpose for the older crowd who are afraid of bars and house shows), but most people in the musical circles I travel in think of it as a too-expensive overly-tame boomer/NPR-folk scene and have no real interest in going/playing there if they can help it. Not to say that they don’t get someone good every now and then, but it tends to be the Dick Siegel/Chenille Sisters crowd that dominates that scene.
posted by Brandon on December 14th, 2005 at 10:49 pmSecond that about the Ark. The few shows I’ve wanted to go to either sell out immediately, or just aren’t worth the money. I group it in the same category as the Kerrytown Concert House, although I’ve heard some of the performances there passively.
But no dancing? Seriously? Wow. I’ve even managed dancing on the balcony theater seats at the Fox. How does a venue enforce such a policy? Footloose-style?
posted by Jen on December 15th, 2005 at 3:10 amI missed Nick Lowe at the Ark because I didn’t think it was *the* Nick Lowe. Brilliant move.
posted by Real Big on December 15th, 2005 at 4:13 amBrandon,
Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses, 50 Ft. Wave) is playing there tonight. Hardly tea-sipping music. Last month had Andrew Bird, Head of Femur, Bob Mould.
While Great Lakes Myth Society may not have a gig there anytime soon, it’s not the strictly staid bastion of Thistle and Shamrock listeners you portray in your post.
posted by OFWinsurgent on December 15th, 2005 at 7:56 amFor the record, the reason many artists like to have gigs there is because they pay well and it is a “listening room” as opposed to a bar.
posted by OFWinsurgent on December 15th, 2005 at 7:57 amThe Footloose-style comment is one of the most inspired things I’ve read here… Back to seriousness, though, does anyone know why there’s a no dancing rule? Not that I’m for middle-aged white guys who love bluegrass having the right to do so, it just seems quite silly.
posted by FAA on December 15th, 2005 at 11:20 am“does anyone know why there’s a no dancing rule?”
I want a warning if people are going to keep me from seeing or hearing the musicians. If there’s a raised stage, and if the music is mostly at one (fairly high) volume, then it may not bother me as much.
I saw Joshua Redman there a few years ago. Not “staid”, and definitely not lame by any definition, but I would have been really pissed if people had been flailing around in front of me the whole time.
(What’s wrong with “staid”, anyway? Or “tame”? Or bluegrass, for that matter? If your taste is getting in the way of enjoying good music, then maybe you need to cultivate bad taste.)
posted by Bruce Fields on December 15th, 2005 at 11:58 amThe no dancing rule is part of the “listening room” arrangement, not a Baptist plot. I have seen people dancing in there, and Dave Siglan (a true supporter of indie music for over 25 years) doesn’t hire goons to squelch anyone’s good-time, but it’s not encouraged. Perhaps it comes as a surprise to some folks that many musicians actually like the opportunity to have people pay attention to their songs during a performance rather than being distracted by an audience stumbling around and yelling out orders for drinks.
For the record, I will be stumbling around and ordering drinks at the Lager House in Detroit on Saturday for the Pas/Cal show, which I like as well as any show at the Ark. True rock snobs can appreciate any venue
(that was for you Brandon)
posted by OFWinsurgent on December 15th, 2005 at 1:53 pmI like music, but stumbling around and ordering drinks is my raison d’etre.
posted by Dave on December 15th, 2005 at 3:30 pmI’ve been to quite a few concerts at the Ark where they have had the dance floor cleared and have actively encouraged dancing. I’ve also been to several where people have literally packed the aisles even though there wasn’t a dance floor. Maybe it depends on the artist more than the Ark policy?
The best dancing I ever saw at a concert though was a very surprising venue and artist–a klezmer band at the Power Center where about halfway through the concert several hundred people did a spontaneous conga line through the entire auditorium.
posted by Juliew on December 15th, 2005 at 3:39 pmOkay, okay, the Ark is okay. I just don’t enjoy being there personally, more than anything. and find it awkward, uncomfortable, and a bit cheesy. I get sleepy. I have seen some good shows there over the years, though.
posted by Brandon on December 15th, 2005 at 3:49 pmWell yeah, it is awkward and uncomfortable. They intended this venue to be really cool with lots of great features, but construction costs and building requirements put an end to most of their plans and ended up making it more awkward than they hoped. It was better when it was in the space now occupied by the Neutral Zone or in the original house.
posted by Juliew on December 15th, 2005 at 4:38 pmagreed.
posted by OFWinsurgent on December 15th, 2005 at 5:09 pmI love walking Ann Arbor. But this time of year the city has many residents and a boatload of landlords who don’t seem to care if you are injured on their snowy/icy sidewalks.
posted by Skyhawk on December 16th, 2005 at 12:39 pmSee http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/SafetyServices/Police/sidewalk.html:
“Citizens may call (734) 994-1788 (M-F, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) to report locations which may be in violation of the city snow removal ordinance.”
Also, the wbwc has a summary of local snow ordinances and phone numbers for complaints at http://www.wbwc.org/snow.shtml.
posted by Bruce Fields on December 16th, 2005 at 12:54 pmHm, WordPress guessed wrong on the end of that last URL; try http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/SafetyServices/Police/sidewalk.html
posted by Bruce Fields on December 16th, 2005 at 12:56 pmDude. There is definitely NOT a no dancing rule at the ark. Sometimes they even clear away all the front row chairs to enable dancing. so there.
posted by Anonymous on February 10th, 2006 at 11:26 am