Politicians are split about whether Ann Arborites approve of how they’re running the city (see Inside Ann Arbor, p. 13). But after voters renewed the city’s streets and sidewalks millage by a staggering four-to-one margin in August, no one questions their desire for better streets. “At the door someone looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Raise my taxes and fix my roads,'” says councilmember Chuck Warpehoski.
Warpehoski’s wardmate, Jack Eaton, has a simple explanation for the millage’s success: “We have crummy streets.”
Warpehoski agrees, noting that in the city’s surveys, only 15 percent are rated as being in “good” condition. But he sees better roads ahead. “What a lot of people don’t know is that we have a plan to get to 70 percent in good condition in ten years,” Warpehoski says, “mostly through preventative repairs.”
