Vote for TDM, Passenger Rail, Santa Rampage Returns

This Week

Tuesday: City Council will vote on the Transportation Demand Management program that has been in the works on for a number of years. Its passage would be a big push for better biking, walking, and transit services for developments in the city. Your emails or testimony in support are strongly encouraged to help it pass!

Simply put, this program supports infrastructure for modes of transportation that reduce congestion (biking, walking, transit, etc.) when new developments are being approved, or when the use of an existing development changes.

Things the program could require include secure bicycle parking and showers/changing rooms, allowing those who don’t use a car parking space in a development to have the value of that space in other ways (reduced rent, extra storage, etc.), free or reduced transit passes, free BCycle memberships, and car sharing programs.

Plan Commission already requires TDM for some developments, but there are no guidelines or consistency to what is required. The plan up for approval on Tuesday would help implement TDM near networks of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit travel, rather than encouraging single occupancy vehicle use in these locations.

You can access all the documents that the Council will consider here. And you can view Robbie Webber’s more extensive comments to the Council here. Emails can be sent to the entire Council by using the following email: Allalders@cityofmadison.com

Wednesday: Madison’s Passenger Rail Station Study kickoff meeting is happening in person at 4:30 pm in room 215 of the Madison Municipal Building, 215 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, and virtually at 6:30pm. This study came from a recent influx of available rail funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, combined with recent US DOT guidance that passenger rail service to Madison should be “included on any mainline route alignment.” and is “critical to operational viability of the Core Express corridor between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul.”

Saturday: Celebrate the seasons in your favorite festive costume with the Santa Cycle Rampage. Groups will ride in from all over town, and converge on Library Mall at 11am for a 5 mile slow roll, ending back at Library Mall by noon. Registrations will help fund the Bike Fed’s Safe Routes to Schools programming in Dane County. New and lightly used winter clothing for MMSD schools can be donated at the event. For more info, click here.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.