Ann Arbor City Election Candidate Survey 2022 Responses: Mayoral

The WBWC's mission is to make Washtenaw County a national leader in bicycling & walking by improving facilities, policies, and community support through advocacy and education. Each Ann Arbor city election, we send a survey to council and mayoral candidates in an effort to illuminate their perspectives on walking, biking, and overall mobility issues. The responses to the survey are published on our website in advance of Election Day. We do not editorialize on the responses. The survey is for informational purposes only.

	​Christopher Taylor	Anne Bannister
What proportion of your weekly trips, on average, are done by single-occupancy vehicle, carpooling/ridesharing, transit, walking, or bicycle? Explain	Hard to say. I tend to drive in and out of town for work, but when we go into town for social/entertainment or around the neighborhood, we tend to walk.	​The candidate did not respond to the survey despite repeated requests.
What are your thoughts on the current bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Ann Arbor?	Ensuring that residents can safely bike and walk around Ann Arbor is an important quality of life goal. We’ve made great progress – miles of new sidewalks, bike lanes and bikeways, improved crosswalk designs, substantial progress on the Bandemer-Barton Trail connection, Allen Creek Railroad Berm Opening Project, and completion of all Tier 1, 2, 3, 4 School Safety Projects. If re-elected, I will continue to work to improve pedestrian and bicycle access and infrastructure.
What is your impression of the current traffic calming tools the City is using? Current traffic calming efforts are budgeted for $30,000 per year. Is this adequate? Would you propose to adjust this budget item?	Traffic calming is a resident-initiated solution to resident-identified problem. I don’t know whether $30K is the right amount because I don’t know the typical cost of an implementation nor do I know the backlog of approved implementations. Bottom line, we should not have a backlog -- if that means more money, then more money.
Other communities factor cut-through traffic into their rubric for Traffic Calming qualification. Would you support addressing cut-through traffic by adding diverters and bicycle boulevard treatments to problem locations?	Yes.
Do you support reducing vehicle lanes for a low-stress bicycle and pedestrian network, assuming it increases vehicle travel time?	Yes.
What are your thoughts on eliminating or reducing current parking minimums for new developments in Ann Arbor?	I support eliminating parking minimums for new developments. Parking minimum requirements make our city less dynamic by ceding valuable and potentially productive land to unproductive parking lots. Instead of devoting a significant amount of city land to parking lots, we should instead focus on building new housing and making our city more accessible for those without cars.
What are your thoughts on Vision Zero (striving towards zero fatalities or serious injuries)?	I strongly support Vision Zero. As Mayor, I consistently worked to reduce vehicle-related injuries and fatalities, and if re-elected I will continue to do so.
Should a portion of road millage money be allocated towards crosswalks, pedestrian infrastructure, and a bicycle network? Why or why not?	Yes! Roads are meant to be shared—they do not belong solely to cars, but also to pedestrians and bicyclists. It is important that we continue to build pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to reflect this belief and improve Ann Arbor’s quality of life. Further, I initiated the 40/40/20 allocation of A2’s Public Safety Rebate from the County, which allocation funds an additional $500K pedestrian safety per year.
Should Ann Arbor have a specialist staff member devoted to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure?	Yes.
Please share your short- and long-term vision for transportation and mobility in Ann Arbor.	Ann Arbor is not a city of cars — it is a city of people. In the short-term, we will continue to expand walking and cycling infrastructure to enable people to move freely throughout the city without driving. We will continue to support public transportation, including through rezoning certain areas in the city to support this public transit vision. Long-term, we will significantly reduce vehicle miles traveled through the development of a robust bikeway network, denser zoning that contributes to increased walkability, and improved safety measures for pedestrians and cyclists alike.
What makes you a strong candidate in regards to walking and bicycling in our community?	We’ve built miles of new bikeways, bike lanes, and sidewalks. I’ve defended A2’s Crosswalk Ordinance. We’ve implemented TC1 to make A2 more transit friendly. We’ve centered walking and biking to reduce carbon. If re-elected, I will continue this work. I will continue to support the building of sidewalks and bikeways. I will continue to support development that makes people front of mind. I will continue to fight to build a city that can be traversed safely and efficient without a car.