It’s Halloween today and under normal circumstances this would call for a happy, lighthearted weekly update post. But on Thursday morning something terrible happened: A driver struck and killed Tom Heninger as he was biking across John Nolen Drive at North Shore Drive. This crossing is both one of the busiest in the city and also a hot spot for crashes involving people on bikes. Madison.com has an obituary for Tom.
This was the third deadly bike crash this year. According to Community Maps, which keeps records of fatal crashes going back to 2001, there have never been as many deadly bike crashes in a year. Our thoughts are with Tom’s family and friends.
Winter Walk Bike event tonight
There is no good way to transition from writing about a deadly bike crash to what is supposed to be a fun event about winter biking and walking. Madison Bikes board members are joining the City’s Bike/Ped Outreach coordinator Colleen Hayes at the Madison Bicycle Center tonight starting at 5pm.
What exactly happens at the Madison Bicycle Center? How can I make winter walking and biking work for me? What resources are out there to make it easier to commute to work using alternatives to a single occupancy vehicle? Find out the answers to these questions and more* on Halloween night. Join us Monday 10/31 at 5:00 pm for an open house at the Madison Bicycle Center, run by Freewheel Community Bike Shop, and stick around for the Access Hour live from the MBC at 7:00 (or listen on WORT 89.9FM) to hear from local active transportation experts. *Will there be costumes? I hope so! Will there be a caramel apple making buffet? Likely! Will there be door prizes? Definitely!
The Madison Bicycle Center is located at 202 Pinckney St. Join us in person or listen in on 89.9 FM or the live stream.
Bike Count Webinar recording available
If you missed last week’s webinar on analyzing bike count data from Madison, Fitchburg, and Lincoln (NE), you can now watch a recording, check out the slides, or read a recap blog post on the League of American Bicyclists website. We’ll probably post our own summary post in the next few weeks to highlight lessons learned. Thanks again to the Bike League, Eco-Counter, Bike Fitchburg, and the City of Madison for all working together on this.
New family bike riding group
Daniel and his family just recently moved to Madison, and he decided to put on a new family bike ride. Apparently the first ride was a big success and more rides are to come. The best way to find out about rides is to follow @familiesonbikes on Instagram or join the corresponding group on Facebook.