Information About the Crash
In response to a CIAA FOIA request, AAPD released the UD-10 report of a February 6 crash at the intersection of Green Rd. and Burbank Dr. The crash was also described in the March, 2025 City Administrator’s report.
The UD-10 describes a pedestrian crossing on the south side of the intersection in a crosswalk, who was struck by a southbound vehicle. The direction that the pedestrian was headed at the time of the crash is not specified.
Excerpt of UD-10
The satellite view of the intersection shows more detail about the road configuration. Green Rd. is 5 lanes wide at this location, with two through lanes southbound, one through lane northbound, and two turn lanes from northbound Green. North of the intersection (not shown), Green narrows to three vehicle lanes and two bike lanes. Burbank has a boulevard configuration on the west side of the intersection.
Google Maps satellite image of Green and Burbank
The intersection of Green and Burbank (photo by Todd Marsee)
CIAA visited the site on May 24, 2025 and collected images of the intersection and the surrounding area. The satellite view and the pictures from the site both show that the two crosswalks across Green Rd. have very different treatments. The crosswalk on the north side has high visibility markings in the roadway, RRFBs, in-lane signs and flex-posts. According to Ann Arbor’s Crosswalk Design Guidelines, these features on the north side of the intersection include many design elements for “Standard +” treatment of an intersection like Green and Burbank. The crosswalk on the south side of the intersection has only curb cuts.
The city’s map of transportation infrastructure shows crosswalks throughout the city, including the crosswalk on the north side of the Burbank intersection. The crosswalk on the south side of the Burbank intersection is completely missing from the map.
The UD-10 clearly describes that the crash happened on the south side of the intersection, and that the pedestrian was in a crosswalk. This assessment by the AAPD officer who authored the UD-10 appears to agree with the definition of a crosswalk per the Michigan Vehicle Code, which essentially defines a crosswalk as the portion of the road between two connecting sidewalks. Saying it another way: according to the State of Michigan and AAPD, there are two crosswalks across Green at this intersection; one has been enhanced with the treatments described in the city’s Crosswalk Design Guidelines; one has no additional features–not even paint.
Recommendations
Evaluation of This Crash By Transportation Experts
The Transportation Engineering staff of the City of Ann Arbor need to evaluate this crash and recommend changes to prevent future incidents like this one. Any serious or fatal crash in the city should get this kind of scrutiny, with a focus on both quick, interim fixes and long term solutions. Their evaluation should include traffic counts of pedestrians and vehicles.
Slow It Down
As has been recommended in this blog for many other crash locations, the speed of traffic on Green should be lowered by changing the design. The city’s Transportation Plan describes this as likely the most effective approach to improving traffic safety in Ann Arbor.
Reconfigure Green Rd.
Narrowing Green will help to slow traffic, and it will mean that pedestrians crossing it will be in the path of oncoming traffic across a shorter distance and for a shorter time. In 2023, Ann Arbor’s City Council passed a resolution directing staff to evaluate all multi-lane roads in the city for reconfiguration or a “road diet”. According to the May, 2025 Transportation Projects Update document shared with the Transportation Commission, “Toole Design’s proposal was selected for this work. The proposal was approved by City Council on April 7, 2025 and the contract is signed. Staff are coordinating with Toole on schedule adjustments and project kickoff.”
Reconfiguring Green Rd. is not a new idea. It was considered and rejected by City Council (consisting of 10 members who are no longer in office) two times in 2019–once during the August 5 meeting and again, with a modified design, in the September 3 meeting. (See video of the extensive council discussion of the first and second proposals.) Neither of these Green Rd. reconfiguration proposals were approved and completed before the crash that injured this pedestrian, but the 2023 road reconfiguration resolution and the Toole Design study now give the city a third opportunity to proceed with right-sizing this major street; hopefully they will follow through with this change before anyone else is hurt.
Upgrade the South Crosswalk and Add it to the Transportation Map
Considering that residential areas as well as retail and school destinations are widely distributed throughout this area, there is no obvious reason why the north crosswalk at Burbank would be a better choice for the Standard+ treatment. Likewise, there is no clear rationale why the south crosswalk has no treatment at all. Pedestrian trips that start and end south of Burbank result in walkers either using a crosswalk with fewer safety features or walking for an extended detour that involves crossing Burbank twice.
Left: Satellite view of Stadium/Iroquois intersection (credit: Google Maps). Right: Ann Arbor Transportation Map, showing the Crosswalk layer.
The south crosswalk should be brought up to the same standard as the north crosswalk. Currently, the city documentation doesn’t even acknowledge the existence of the south crosswalk. Other “Phantom Crosswalks” like this exist in the city, including one at Iroquois and Stadium, shown here. Burbank, Iroquois and all of the other Phantom Crosswalks need to be reflected properly in the city inventory of crosswalk infrastructure.
The first stated goal of the Crosswalk Design Guidelines project was “Respond to the public concerns identified through the Pedestrian Safety Access Task Force project regarding inconsistencies in crosswalk design.” This is a laudable goal, but a more tangible objective of “rectifying inconsistencies in crosswalk design” would better improve safety for pedestrians. The stark contrast and inconsistency between these two crosswalks, less than 100 feet apart, indicate that some substantial work remains to that end. And exactly how much work there is to do remains unknown until there is an accurate inventory of all of the crosswalks throughout the city, including the Phantoms.
Do you have a Phantom Crosswalk in your neighborhood? Share it in the comments. For this purpose, we will define a Phantom Crosswalk as:
- On a major street in Ann Arbor
- At an uncontrolled location
- Not included in the Transportation Map
- Does not conform to the Crosswalk Design Guidelines