The highlight of this week is definitely our Car-Free Holiday Fantasy in Lights event. On Tuesday, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy Holiday Fantasy in Lights for two hours without having to worry about cars. Our Facebook event has over 1,800 people “interested,” which may be a record for any Madison Bikes event! From 5-7 pm, come bike, walk, or roll with us in Olin Park and enjoy a free coffee or hot chocolate provided by our friends at Wonderstate Coffee! And after you’ve done a loop or two, ride over to the Sheraton Madison for a social gathering from 6-8pm in their recently renovated lounge/bar space called the HUB! There may be drink specials. Please consider throwing some cash into the Holiday Fantasy in Lights collection boxes if you enjoyed the event.
Transportation Commission approves Mineral Point Rd widened sidewalk
The proposal to add a partially widened sidewalk to Mineral Point Road as part of the bus rapid transit (BRT) project was on the Transportation Commission’s agenda last week.
You can read an in-depth analysis of the project in a previous post. Here’s a high-level overview: BRT buses will be running in the center lanes of Mineral Point Rd rather than in the outside lanes. This avoids buses getting stuck behind right-turning cars. The City decided that cars will continue to get the two remaining travel lanes in each direction. This would leave Mineral Point Rd without any bike facilities. However, the City identified the street as part of its all ages and all abilities bike network, and there have been several fatal and serious injury crashes involving people walking and biking along the road. The proposed compromise solution: expand one of the sidewalks into a shared use path. However, some alders and members of the public have opposed the project because it involves removing trees.
On Wednesday, the Transportation Commission unanimously voted to go forward with the widened sidewalk along the whole stretch of Mineral Point Rd, from Whitney Way to the Beltline. The one exception, to preserve trees, is a stretch along Nautilus Park. There the 5-foot sidewalk will remain for now but eventually be replaced by a path going through the park.
The next step for the project is the Board of Public Works meeting next week Wednesday, and then the Common Council will make the final decision.
Save the date: North-South BRT and bikes
Speaking of bus rapid transit: Save the date for our upcoming November 27 virtual meeting on the planned North-South BRT route and what it means for people on bikes. Find more information and a sign-up link here.