Month: June 2023

New Spots for Summer Shredding

Post author By Christo Alexander
Post date June 26, 2023

A section of the new “Shred to School” trail beside the Cannonball Path | Photo by Christo Alexander

Happy Summer and welcome to another weekly update! Here’s a few important bike-related things to know this week:

No Madison Bikes Community Meeting

The Madison Bikes community meeting is canceled for this month. I suggest using the time to go for a ride and enjoy the warm breeze. It’s important to take time to care for yourself and biking in nature can be a great form of meditation.

Bike Fitchburg Monthly Meeting

The monthly meeting for Bike Fitchburg will be Monday, June 26th at 7pm. Those who live, work, and/or bike in Fitchburg are welcome to join at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County Allied Family Center to talk advocacy. Come by and help make Fitchburg an even better place to bike for all.

New “Shred to School” Singletrack Open

Who doesn’t love a little off-road fun? The new Bicycle Adventure Trail running parallel to the Cannonball Path is now open. The trail runs from Post Rd. to just south of the Cannonball Bike & Ped Overpass.

@madisonparkswi on Instagram

Rocks on the trail form a jump, one of the exciting features on the new trail | Photo by Christo Alexander

The trail is accessible for all ages and skill levels. Like many trails, jumps are optional, making it great for beginners and allowing you to use only the features you are comfortable with. I stumbled upon this trail on a road ride last week and it was totally doable on 32mm tires, although a mountain bike would be more suitable!

The creation of this trail was inspired by local students and was made possible by funding from the Dane County PARC and Ride grant and a generous donation from the Saris Foundation. This new trail combined with the existing pump track make Aldo Leopold Park an exciting destination for bikers.

Atwood Ave Reconstruction + New Path

New developments are taking place on Atwood for lake loop users. The path on the lake side of Atwood Ave was surfaced last week. Most of the path is 15′ wide with plenty of room for pedestrians and bikes, but it’s not yet complete. The bike bridge over the Starkweather Creek is not up yet, so be cautious and always yield to pedestrians when biking on this (and every) path.

Newly paved path along Atwood Ave where the bike bridge will be constructed | Photo by Christo Alexander

Because of this, the lake loop detour, which redirects cyclists to the Cap City Trail, is still in effect. Though if you are using this lake loop detour, I don’t recommend using the painted bicycle gutters on Cottage Grove Road that the map suggests. If you can, use Dempsey and other Lake Edge neighborhood roads instead.

Starting Monday, June 26th, the Walter Street intersection is open to all users. Previously closed for construction, the city website now instructs that “vehicles, bikes and pedestrians should plan to use Walter Street as the main point of access to and from Atwood Avenue.”

New Atwood Ave Path at the Walter Street Intersection | Photo by Christo Alexander

W Main St / Proudfit St Improvements

Construction began last week on the intersection of W Main St and Proudfit. The project will include a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) and median island and pavement marking improvements. While RRFBs increase driver yield compliance at pedestrian crossings, they have also been criticized for still being a car-centric approach. RRFBs alone are only a visual and not physical traffic calming measures.

Example of a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) on Packers Ave and Scott Ln | Google Street View

What do you think about about RRFBs? I feel somewhat safer having them available as a slower-moving pedestrian, but I usually feel some internal conflict with them as a cyclist. “Do I press the button and make all these cars stop or just wait until it’s clear? If I press it, I’ll feel like I’m just getting in their way”. At least they aren’t nearly as insulting as those orange crosswalk flags you’re supposed to wave around so you don’t get run over.

Construction on the intersection is planned to be completed by the fall. The project originally planned to include other improvements to W Main including a raised crossing at the Southwest Path, bump-outs at Main-Bedford, and resurfacing. Unfortunately, due to delays with the State and Railroad coordination, they are not happening yet, but the city hopes to implement them in the next couple years.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading! And thanks for helping to make Madison a more safe, fun, and inclusive place to ride a bike.

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.

Tags bike news, e-mail, Weekly Update

New Bridge + Quiet Holiday Week

Post author By Ben Sandee
Post date June 19, 2023

Bike Week

Jerry Schippa gives a bicycle infrastructure tour (credit: Craig Weinhold)

You’re probably sick of hearing about it and we’re definitely tired of talking about it (thus our radio-silence last week), but Bike Week is over and was a huge success! Thanks to our sponsors, event organizers, the city and most importantly everyone who attended events or otherwise participated in their own way.

Bacon Cheddar Waffles by Cargo Bikes (credit: Christo Alexander)

This Week

On Wednesday, the Transportation Commission meets virtually. You can read up on the light agenda here.

Last Week

Last week on Friday, University Bay Drive was closed to traffic overnight in order to install the new bike/ped bridge spans. Several community members were on site to capture some pictures and discussed it in the Facebook community. There’s a time-lapse video too that mostly demonstrates the resolve of the videographer and the inadequacies of modern phone batteries.

University Path Bridge being installed (credit: David Benforado)

A scouting ride today will surely show the spans in place, so go check it out yourself. Just a reminder that you won’t be able to make your way along the path and the circuitous detours remain in effect until the project completes this fall.

Newsletter Weekly Update

Are we having fun at Bike Week?

Post author By Robbie Webber
Post date June 5, 2023

Craig Jackson from Budget Bikes provides bike repairs at Crazy Legs Plaza

We’ve been having a blast at the Bike Week events so far, and there is so much more to come.

On Saturday, West side alders and constituents had a chance to look at both new infrastructure and locations where things were not so great for biking. There was also a gathering to test out cargo bikes. And of course, the Trek Pride Ride in partnership with the Flamingos game.

Cargo bike demonstration and testing

Sunday, a few of us went on a signal and detection tour to see all the nerdy things the city is doing to make it easier and safer to get across the street on bike routes. Thanks, Jerry Schippa!

Jerry Schippa demonstrates where a near-side bike signal would be installed

The week ahead

Before we get into all the upcoming events for Bike Week, there is one city meeting of interest to bicyclists. Wednesday, the Transportation Commission meets and has an agenda item labeled, “Approving roadway geometry for the reconstruction of John Nolen Drive from North Shore Drive to Lakeside Street.” It is unclear as of this writing whether this is the final approval of the North Shore Dr intersection. TC meets online. If you want to comment or watch the meeting, instructions are at the link above.

On to Bike Week!

And there are so many more events to check out. We know you’ll find something fun every day.

Madison Bikes board members love to meet people in person and chat about what’s on your mind, so please say hello at the events.

In case you haven’t peeked at the schedule – have we not reminded you enough? – you can take a look here.

Just a few of the events coming up:

Monday there are two morning commuter stations, two happy hour events, and a class to teach adults how to ride.

Tuesday features a ton of commuter stations in both the morning and the afternoon all across the city, a free sample of natural deodorant at the Cheddar Bacon Waffles event, and a chance to try out the bike racks on buses (and maybe pick up a pass for a couple of free bus rides.) There is also a social ride leaving from Olbrich Park.

Wednesday is the mayoral press conference on the Monona Terrace plaza at Wilson St, plus a chance to join a ride to the event. There is also a social ride geared toward seniors in Fitchburg and a class at Centro Hispano to help people feel more comfortable biking around town. And of course, lots of places to get yummy treats.

Thursday has too many to list. Classes, social rides in the morning and evening, commuter stations, a chance to try mountain biking, and places to get your bike repaired. Oh, and a new beer launch to celebrate Bike Week.

Friday, of course, will have a big party in Brittingham Park – all ages welcome. There are also more commuter stations and bike repair locations. And Marquette Middle School students will have a coffee stop and discussion of path etiquette – something that has been a hot topic on our Community Page recently.

Saturday we finish the week with a class on bike touring, bikepacking, and how to travel by bike. And one final social ride, this one leaving from the Pinney Library and especially geared to families.

Whew. That’s a lot. See you out there!