Molly Kleinman arrived in Ann Arbor in 2005 and never expected to stay past graduate school. But after she bolted up a few ladders of engagement, she landed on the Transportation Commission and was elected president of the Ann Arbor District Library Board of Trustees.
Another factor that pulled her into the Treetown Vortex was the bike lanes that heralded Ann Arbor’s emerging bike culture. When her late husband Pieter Kleymeer (another trained librarian!) decided that the town needed a bike co-op, they used a $5,000 Kickstarter to assemble the team of itinerant bike mechanics into what became Common Cycle.
In her library leadership role, she’s been making the rounds in support of Propositions A and B, which will decide whether the AADL will get the chance to build a new downtown branch with an expanded footprint over the Library Lane Parking Structure. She’s also co-hosted two podcast episodes about it: one with AADL Director Eli Neiburger, and a follow-up ”squee”-fest.
Absentee ballots for the election, which ends August 5, have been sent out, and early in-person voting will run from July 30 to August 3. For more information, you can check out more details here and look here for ways to get involved.
We also talk about bike and barge tours in the Netherlands, the breakfast cereal that best compares to human cat food, and why Packard Road needs a “full Dutchification.”
Other links:
Eli = Eli Neiburger, Director of the Ann Arbor District Library
HEH = Human Electric Hybrids (aka Urban Rider Cargo Bikes, which helps run the Borrow A Cargo Bike A2 program)
Bakfiets cargo bikes
The World Bike Polo championships
Episodes mentioned:
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