It’s looking relatively warm this week, but keep the studs on and watch out for freeze/thaw ice patches. For more pictures of people enjoying biking in Madison, visit our Mastodon page.
Last Week
Tuesday: Madison had a very strong turnout for the Spring primary election, a reflection of the critical importance of this year’s WI supreme court race. That said, kudos to all of you making your voice heard in local aldermanic and mayoral elections as well. Strong local political leadership is a key part of successful of bike safety and accessibility projects in Madison.
Friday: In case you missed it, Madison Bikes provided comments on the city’s Reconnecting Communities federal grant application. The city hopes to build an overpass connecting N. and S. Perry St. on the South Side. Currently, the Beltline cuts these two streets in half. Hopefully, this project could increase bicyclist and pedestrian access across the Beltline.
This Week
Monday: Join us on Zoom from 6:00 – 7:30 PM to discuss the three final proposals for the Monona Lakefront Design Project. We plan to assess how each proposal contributes to an all ages and abilities bike network, especially in relation to safe connections from the Cap City across John Nolen to access the Capitol. We’d love to hear what you like about the proposals, what you don’t, and any other ideas you have about the John Nolen Drive project. If you aren’t familiar, feel free to explore the links and join us to learn more.
Wednesday: Madison MPO meets at 6:30 PM this week. TAP project scoring for applications from February is on the agenda. Scores will be used to prioritize distribution of $3.5 million in TAP funds. Link here to the draft project scores plus a link to join the meeting.
In case you missed it, the WI Bike Fed recently discussed Governor Evers’ pledge to leverage more federal and state funds to support TAP projects, along with other important bike policies, in his biennial budget. Governor Evers acknowledged the state has a $7 billion budget surplus, and with Wisconsin ranking 49/50 in per-capita pedestrian and bicyclist spending, spending some of that surplus is long overdue.
Thursday: The city is hosting a public information meeting on the Autumn Ridge Path project. Plans include an enhanced crossing of Milwaukee St. east of HW51 and a bike/ped overpass for HW30 just west of Thomson Dr. The HW30 overpass would be the only low-stress crossing east of HW51, would link nicely with the HW51 overpass, and would serve as an important connection between residential and commercial areas on either side of HW30. Info and meeting registration 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.