Brockman and Crestland Sidewalk Project

Project Overview

New sidewalks will be installed along missing gaps on Barton Drive, Brockman Boulevard, and Crestland Drive.

Why is this project being done?

Filling gaps in the sidewalk system is consistent with both Ann Arbor's Moving Together Towards Vision Zero Transportation Plan and Complete Streets Policy. Providing sidewalks where they currently do not exist can:

Improve pedestrian safety
Encourage active transportation and community health
Provide a continuous user experience
Provide more transportation options
Eliminate the practice of walking along the road and across traffic

In November of 2020, voters approved a six-year New Sidewalk Millage. This millage, which will generate an annual revenue of approximately $1.3 million, will be used exclusively for sidewalk gap filling projects. Funding from the New Sidewalk Millage applies to all sidewalks constructed adjacent to tax-paying parcels in the City of Ann Arbor.

The city developed a prioritization system for the public right-of-way where sidewalks do not currently exist. The system considers proximity to schools, transit, and other pedestrian attractors; equity; classification of adjacent road; community support/citizen requests; and safety. This system identifies the highest priority sidewalk gaps for inclusion in the City's Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). Please visit the city's new sidewalk website for more information and to view the dashboard.

Work to be done

Design will begin after the October 2024 public engagement guided walks. Public input will be requested again after an initial design is complete.

During the planning and design process, city staff will reach out to the neighborhood and to individual property owners to discuss the details of the project.

While determining which side the new sidewalk is built on and the alignment of the sidewalk within the right-of-way, staff will consider the following:

Feedback from the neighborhood;
Removing and/or saving trees;
Removing and/or maintaining parking;
Reducing the road width;
Existing utilities, fences, landscaping, and drainage.

Sept. 12, 2024 Information session

Project overview video (YouTube)
PowerPoint slides (PDF)

Oct. 1 & Oct. 3, 2024: A guided walk with project staff was held in each neighborhood.

Barton walk question and answer (PDF)
Brockman walk question and answer (PDF)

Nov. 4, 2024: The post engagement online form for residents to submit questions and concerns about the project closed.

April 29, 2025: An in-person public meeting was held to share the sidewalk project concepts.

August 11, 2025: An in-person public meeting was held to share the revised sidewalk project concepts.

Individual property questions or concerns can be emailed to the project manager: Francisca Chan, fchan@a2gov.org

March 3, 2025:

In the course of working on the design for this project, various constraints and challenges have been encountered, which have led the city to decide to postpone the construction of the Barton Drive Sidewalk project.

The first issue was one of space. After a thorough land survey and review of initial concepts, there is not enough available City right-of-way to construct a safe sidewalk. Staff discussed several options, including obtaining easements from adjacent property owners, physical vertical delineators between bicycle lanes and a sidewalk, as well as relocating multiple utility poles and other items in the right-of-way.

All of these constraints will increase the schedule and cost of the project, making it infeasible for construction in 2026. Filling Barton sidewalk gap continues to be a priority that aligns with Ann Arbor’s Moving Together toward Vision Zero Transportation Plan and Complete Streets Policy and we hope to be able to reach out in the future once we are ready to commence the project once again.

We appreciate your understanding, patience and cooperation.

Thank You,

Francisca Chan

Project Manager

August 18, 2025

The City's resurfacing project is doing some work near Brockman and Ferdon and will be completing the south east and southwest ramps/curb ONLY at that intersection for our project. The work is tentatively next week 8/25/25-8/30/25. Please drive carefully through Brockman/Ferdon intersection during the construction. Sidewalk construction is still scheduled for summer 2026.

April 1, 2025

Postcards have been sent out for our upcoming Public Engagement Meeting #2 for the Brockman and Crestland Sidewalk Project. At this meeting, City Staff will present initial design concepts, answer questions and seek residents feedback on these designs. City Staff has been working hard to develop concepts where trees and sidewalk can coexist and are confident that these designs preserve the beautiful Brockman canopy of trees. The meeting will take place at the Malletts Creek Library in the program room on April 29, 2025 from 6-7:45pm.

We hope many of you will be able to attend. For those of you who might not be able to attend, a summary of the meeting will be posted approximately one week after the meeting. In addition, an online Q&A comment form will be available on this website after the meeting if additional questions would like to be submitted.

Thank You,

Francisca Chan

Project Manager