Month: June 2017

It’s another busy week for biking in Madison..

Things start on Monday with Bike Fitchburg‘s monthly meeting at the library.

On Tuesday, the Pedestrian, Bicycle, Motor Vehicle Commission has a packed agenda including some project updates and a look at a database that includes the biking and walking network suggestions submitted by the public last spring.

On Wednesday evening, the Places for Bikes conference kicks off with an opening reception at the Monona Terrace. On Thursday, it’s a full day of conference followed by a slow roll from the Monona Terrace to the Institute for Discovery. And on Friday, the conference wraps up with a trip out to Trek.

On Saturday, Bike Fitchburg holds its next installment of the Leopold School Rides and on Sunday, it’s another family-friendly ride as Kidical Mass heads to the zoo.

Next week, I’ll be celebrating Independence Day with a break from the weekly updates. See you again in two weeks!

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

Last Week

Last week saw some bad news for frequent users of the Mifflin Street bike boulevard with the installation of new Stop signs on Mifflin at Livingston. This came as a surprise to those that use this primary bike route as there was no notice or opportunity for public comment prior to installation. Such a big move is even more surprising given the fact that the Tenney Lapham Neighborhood Association has been putting in significant energy to try and improve conditions for walking and biking in the neighborhood with specific focus on improving the quality of the Mifflin Street Bike Boulevard.

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Anyone who spends a lot of time on a bike understands that adding additional stops on a primary bike route is not an improvement. In fact, limiting stops is one of the primary characteristics of a real bicycle boulevard. The Mifflin Street Bike Boulevard already suffers from a high number of stops (including Dickinson, Baldwin, Ingersoll, Paterson, and Blair) and efforts should be taken to reduce this impact on bicycle traffic. Something like Copenhagen’s Green Wave, perhaps?

Unfortunately, this misstep reinforces the fact that bicycle travel is still not considered or prioritized on par with car travel by our city’s engineering staff. Maybe a Director of Transportation could help define a clearer focus?

This Week

On Wednesday, the Madison Bikes Advocacy Committee will be meeting at Bendyworks to check in on current and future transportation projects in the city.

And for anyone handy with a wrench, consider helping out at Worthington Park Bike Repair at 6:00.

On Thursday, there will be a Listening Session for Northern Dane County Bike Access held at the Waunakee Village Center. Consider attending or sending in your comments via email to support safe and comfortable bike travel around Lake Mendota.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

Last Week

It was great to celebrate all things bike last week! Big thanks to all the sponsors of last week’s events and to the Bike Fed for organizing Bike Week in Madison and all of Wisconsin.

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And meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Common Council approved plans to reconstruct Wilson Street as-is, with no accommodations for safe and comfortable bike travel. But thanks to an amendment proposed by Alder Demarb at the Board of Public Works, and to all the comments received by residents about the need for bike facilities, the resolution also included language to “develop a plan for a bike friendly corridor on Wilson St, by the time the Judge Doyle Square Project is complete.” Construction is currently slated to be completed in 2020, at which time the eastern half of this street project (between MLK and King) will be reconstructed.

The Pedestrian, Bicycle, Motor Vehicle Commission will take up the charge to develop this plan in the coming months and we’ll need your continued support to land on a recommended cross section that provides for safe and comfortable bike travel in both directions on Wilson Street. One possible design that has received positive feedback is a two-way protected bike lane on the south side of the street. Stay tuned and stay involved.

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This Week

On Wednesday, Sustain Dane’s WOW Bike Tour: Sustainability Stories heads out from Lowell Elementary school at 5:15.

And on Saturday, there are two events leaving Fitchburg: June’s Bike the Art ride heading to Paoli and the Family Fun Bike Ride riding from Leopold Elementary School to the Fitchburg Library.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

As part of the Wisconsin state budget negotiations, a tax on bikes has repeatedly come up. The Bike Fed is conducting a survey whether you think they should oppose that tax or consider it a symbolic compromise that may (or may not…) placate some legislators who have the stubborn-but-false belief that “cyclists don’t pay their way.” The survey is open to members and non-members.

With Wisconsin facing a transportation funding shortfall of between $500 million and $939 million over the next two years, and Governor Walker pledging to veto any increase in the state gas tax or vehicle registration fees, could legislators look to Wisconsin cyclists to pay more? We want to know how you would like to see bicycle infrastructure funded, and have embedded a very short survey at the bottom of this longish blog post. Feel free skip reading this and take the survey if you already know how you feel about bike taxes, registration fees, and the gas tax.

Consider weighing in on this important topic.

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Once more we need your help with the Wilson Street reconstruction project. We have written a lot about this important downtown project, and now the decision point has come. At their Tuesday (6/6) meeting, the Common Council will approve the project. The resolution that the council is going to decide on will not have any bike facilities in it. However, as the result of pressure by citizen advocates like you, the resolution will contain a clause that calls for bike facilities on the whole of Wilson Street, to be built once the Judge Doyle Square redevelopment is complete.

This is a clear step forward. But we need to make that the language to be adopted will actually be strong enough to ensure that we’re not just kicking the can down the road. As we have seen with other projects, despite previous resolutions, planning documents, and so on, once it comes to calling the shots, the interests of those biking and walking are often pushed aside.

Therefore I encourage you to write to your alder and ask them to firmly commit to safe and convenient biking on Wilson Street. Many of you have already written in before, and I can assure it has made a difference. Please take another five minutes to submit another comment (or, if you can: give testimony in person at the meeting tomorrow). The email address to reach all alders is allalders@cityofmadison.com and you can find your own alder’s contact info here.

Here is what I am going to write:

Dear Alder Bidar-Sielaff, dear members of the Common Council:

I would like to submit a public comment on your agenda item 46640, regarding the reconstruction of West Wilson Street. I am disappointed that the resolution in front of you does not include any facilities for people wanting a safe and convenient way to ride a bike on Wilson Street, an important downtown corridor. However, it was encouraging to see that the Board of Public Works at their last meeting recognized this problem and added a provision for it to be fixed eventually. I am encouraging you to include in your resolution a strong commitment to:

– bike facilities that allow travel in both eastbound and westbound directions

– on all of Wilson Street, from East Wilson at King/Butler to West Wilson at Hamilton Henry

– that allow safe and comfortable biking for people of all ages and abilities

– to be built by the time the Judge Doyle Square redevelopment is complete in 2020.

Thank for your consideration.

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This Week

There’s a lot going on this week as Madison celebrates Bike Week. Check out the Bike Fed’s website for details on all the commuter stations, rides, and other events on tap! Madison Bikes will have a table at Bacon on the Bike Path on Thursday morning.

But along with all the fun, there’s also some work to do on Tuesday as approval of the Wilson Street cross section design comes in front of the Madison Common Council (item #31). The recommendation that will be in front of the council is to reconstruct the street, as-is, with no accommodations for people on bikes. This recommendation was approved by the Board of Public Works in May, but it included a critical amendment offered by Alder Denise Demarb. The amendment was to commit to adding appropriate bike facilities to Wilson Street once the Judge Doyle Square development is complete (currently estimated for 2020). While it’s a disappointment to kick these much needed improvements down the road, our Engineering department has confirmed that the planned design will easily accommodate adding these facilities when the east half of this stretch of Wilson Street is reconstructed in 2020.

Watch for an action alert later today to write the common council and/or to give public comment at the meeting on Tuesday. We need to ensure that the city commits to adding these critical and long overdue improvements to this important downtown connector.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

Is it working yet?