Brewed Fresh Daily

Local laws serve as the blueprints for their communities.

Zoning codes and other local ordinances control nearly every aspect of how we function in our environments – how we shop, live and move. Those local laws are being increasingly rethought as cities around the industrial Midwest look to reinvent themselves.

Earlier this year, Changing Gears brought you a story from Streetsboro, Ohio, where town officials scrutinized the way zoning laws affected economic development and created a car-centric culture that favored big-box stores.

Now comes another story, perhaps of once city’s overreach in an earnest effort to become more friendly for pedestrians. Council members in Ann Arbor, Michigan passed an ordinance last year that mandated motorists stop if they think pedestrians are approaching the street, even if they haven’t yet entered the road.

The change doesn’t jibe with state law, and has resulted in confusion, a fierce backlash and, in at least eight cases, rear-end crashes at crosswalks.

Writing for The Atlantic Cities, Changing Gears senior editor Micki Maynard examines the ongoing debate in her hometown and possible revisions to the ordinance. She writes, “The ordinance might seem like a trivial matter in a place where 72 percent of adults have bachelor’s degrees. But the debate may exemplify John Fowle’s view that duty largely consists of pretending the trivial is critical.”

Here’s the story.