Hannah Stanton-Gockel knows firsthand the struggles bicyclists and pedestrians can face on Ann Arbor roads. Two years ago, the social media consultant and recent University of Michigan graduate launched a campaign to make local streets safer in the unlikeliest of ways – with bubbles.
In August 2024, Stanton-Gockel held the first of several “Bubbles for Bike Lanes” bike rides down a busy five-mile stretch of East Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor. Cyclists transformed the busy multi-lane roadway into a more festive environment by equipping their bikes with bubble-making machines.
“People are commuting to and from work, and they’re trapped in traffic. And suddenly there are bubbles everywhere,” Stanton-Gockel says. “It’s an effort to bring some joy and delight to a conversation that is often very serious.”…