Metro Transit bus, by Lauren Graves – UW Transportation Services
Metro Transit hits 1M+ rides in February
Metro Transit once again hit a post-pandemic milestone of providing over one million rides in February 2024. The agency reports having provided 1,019,324 rides in February ’24, a 12.5% year-over-year increase over February ’23. This is the second non-consecutive month Metro has had more than 1 million rides in a month since before the pandemic, with October 2023 being the last seeing roughly 1,075,500 riders.
Metro continues to make progress in recovering post-pandemic ridership
Coming this week
Healthy Communities Summit
4/29 at 8a – 5p
The Healthy Communities Summit returns to Madison this year on Monday, April 29. The summit is scheduled to occur at UW-Madison’s Memorial Union in the Great Hall on Monday, April 29th, 2024, running from 8a to 5p. Featured programming topics for this year include Education Empowerment, Changemaker Inspiration, and Trail Development Toolbox. Attendees can anticipate various breakout sessions led by both local and national experts, covering these themes and additional subjects.
North/South BRT Public Meeting
4/29 at 5:30p
Metro Rapid Route B will be the second bus rapid transit route in the Madison area, following a North to South route from the North side of Madison to Fitchburg. At the next round of meetings on Monday, April 29 at the MainStay Suites in Fitchburg from 5:30-7:30p, the public can provide feedback and see changes that have been made based on input we received, including updated station locations and routing. Attend the meeting in person or watch it here.
Women’s Mountain Bike Day Group Ride
5/4 at 9:30a
Celebrate Women’s Mountain Bike Day on Saturday, May 4th with a Women’s Group Ride! Meet at the Pavilion by the Quarry Ridge parking lot at 9:30am for a 1-hour beginner-friendly ride. Bring your mountain bike, helmet, water, and a flat kit. There will be an instructor present to help you learn and improve your mountain biking skills. Stick around afterwards for coffee and donuts.
A woman on a mountain bike on a dirt path, Machinery Row Bicycles
The Madison Bike Week 2024 webpage is up! Events are starting to come in, and soon the calendar will start filling in as groups, businesses, neighborhood associations, non-profits, and individuals start submitting their plans. Do you want to host an event? The form to let us know what you’d like to do is on that page as well. There are some pre-approved locations from the city in public parks and rights of way (streets), but you can also add events on private property or get city permission for additional locations. Let us know if you have questions.
Updates from the past week
The nasty, cold weather cleared away for a great Bike Wash and Safety Check on Sunday, thanks to board member Pete Taglia. We saw familiar faces – and many new ones too – and got a chance to wash off the road grime or salt, check to be sure our bikes are ready for warm weather riding, and talk about Madison Bikes and our plans for the coming months. We had a some people drop in because they saw chalked announcements on the Brittingham Path and signs near the closed street. Thanks to Freecycle for helping us out. WMTV channel 15 had a nice piece on the evening news.
Coming up this week
North-South BRT public meetings starting Monday. Just a reminder from last week’s newsletter that the city is hosting a barrage of public meetings about the proposed North-South BRT Line. On Monday April 22, you can go virtual, on Tuesday it’s at the Urban League on S Park (South Side), on Thursday it’s at the Warner Park Community Center (North Side) and on Monday April 29 it’ll be in Fitchburg.
On South Park St, there will probably be some changes that affect bicycle infrastructure – some good, some not so great. There will be fewer changes on the north side, but there might be opportunities to improve connection.
Wednesday
The Transportation Commission agenda has several items that may be of interest. You can watch and/or comment on any agenda item at 5:00 pm online
The Safe Streets Madison project list contains relatively small projects that are meant to make streets, paths, crossings, and other infrastructure safer for all users: pavement markings, flashing beacons, small sidewalk and path connections, and signal changes. Safe Streets Madison replaced the previous neighborhood traffic calming program. For this year, Traffic Engineering is proposing 29 projects for a total cost estimate of $1,108,000.
The Traffic Signal Priority list reports on locations where changes were considered to lights and stop signs. If you have a [least] favorite location for crossing, you may be interested to see why things are or are not changing.
Thursday
The Joint Campus Area Committee – a committee that coordinates projects between the UW, the city, and adjacent neighborhoods – will be discussing a possible bypass of the Limnology Building.
If you are one of the 15,000 pedestrians or bicyclists that uses the UW Lakeshore Path every day, you know how frustrating it can be to negotiate the tight quarters at the eastern end of the path where we have to pass between the Limnology Building and Bascom Hill. It is narrow, people are entering and exiting the building, sightlines are very bad, and sometimes equipment and vehicles are stored close to the path, making it even narrower. No one is happy with the situation, but a new project will make it much more comfortable. You can see the slides to be presented at the meeting, but the short version is that the entire area south of the building will be widened by cutting into the hillside and building a retaining wall. This will create a better/safer entrance to the building, a dedicated delivery area, and a wider path for bicyclists. Pedestrians will still use a path on the north side of the building. This one is in person at 4:45 pm in room 132 in the WARF building on campus
Saturday
Blackhawk Trail Spring Work Day. If you use this mtb trail, or would like to meet others, come out and help get the trail into shape. Meet at the east chalet on 10118 Blackhawk Road, Middleton at 9:00 am for instructions and to enter your name in the raffle.
Celebrate Trails Day! with Bike Fitchburg 10 am-1 pm at the Velo UnderRound (where the Military Ridge, Cannonball, and Cap City Trails all meet.) Enjoy non-alcoholic drinks from national sponsor Athletic Brewing and snacks, pick up bike maps, and learn how we advocate for biking and walking that’s safer, easier, more fun, and more equitable in Fitchburg.
Sunday
Capital Bike Club 2024 Membership Party, 3-5 pm at Capital Brewery in Middleton. Come say hi to your cycling friends new & old. Snacks and beverages will be provided to paid members of the bike club. And if you aren’t a member, but would like to join, head over to their webpage.
‘Tis the season for prescribed burns — it’s an oldie-but a goodie (Harald Kliems and Cyclists of Madison)
If you’re interested in shaping the future of our Dane County Parks, please consider taking the time to complete the Dane County Parks and Open Space Plan Survey. The survey is open until May 1, 2024 so you’ve got a couple of weeks to collect your thoughts on the subject. The results of the survey will shape the next five year plan so it’s literally a once-in-a-lifetime (of a guinea pig) opportunity!
Also, here’s your once every few months (the lifespan of a flea) reminder to subscribe to Bike Madison email updates. You’ll get tons of useful info about construction, improvements and events; more than we can cover here. Also, try not to be put off by the janky website. Yeah, I know, glass houses and all but they know it and they’re working on it. Reliable sources are telling us that they’re up next for a big revamp, bringing them out of the early 2000’s. We can’t wait!
The Active Wisconsin spring network call is this WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17 at 10:30am. Everyone is welcome! Learn about a new resource from AARP, get a heads up on events in 2024, hear about advocacy efforts on active transportation, and learn about what’s going on in health and transportation around the state.
We have been having some great conversations about building up Freewheel’s movement, and invite you to join the effort to bring an accessible, DIY community bike shop back to Madison. See you there!
On Saturday at 3 PM, stop by Capital Brewery in Middleton for an open house “dedicated to the world of E-Bikes!” Capital Brewery is home to many weekly group rides and is a very popular start/finishing spot for all sorts of riding. For more information, check out the Facebook invite.
On Sunday between 1 PM and 4 PM, Madison Bikes is hosting our annual Spring Bike Wash event. Like all of our community events it’s free, and if you’ve never experienced it before, it’s a great way to get the winter grime off your bike and hang out with fellow cyclists. It’ll be on Clark Ct, adjacent to Brittingham Park.
Also on Sunday from 3 PM to 5 PM, the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association (TLNA) is sweetening their spring membership meeting with a free Bikes and Brews family-friendly event. Head over to the Tenney Park Wall Family Pavilion and you’ll surely find the party.
Next Week and More
The city is hosting a barrage of public meetings about the proposed North-South BRT Line. On Monday April 22, you can go virtual, on Tuesday it’s at the Urban League on S Park (South Side), on Thursday it’s at the Warner Park Community Center (North Side) and on Monday April 29 it’ll be in Fitchburg. If you’re interested in this topic and none of these events work for you, then keep an eye out for the virtual recording and if that doesn’t work for you, well, we tried.🤷
Looking waaaaay out, Madison Parks is bringing Ride the Drive back on Sunday, August 11, 2024. It’s an ambitious event that will return to the classic format of years past. They’ll need an army of volunteers to make it happen so mark it in your calendar and sign up if you can!
Aftermath of last week’s snow on the University Bay Dr overpass
Is this the week that spring is going to start in earnest? Is it time to take off the studded tires? I dare not make any predictions, especially for a week that starts with a solar eclipse. But it seems several bike clubs and riding groups are starting their season. Read more below.
A new kind of traffic signal
On the far west side of time, at Junction and Watts, Madison premiered its first 4″ bike signal. While we have full-size bike signals in several places around town, these signals are right-sized for being on the near side of the intersection. Check out traffic engineer Jerry Schippa’s video of the signal:
Of trees and bikes
Once again, a supposed conflict between bike infrastructure and trees has made the news. This time the contention is about removing trees for the Autumn Ridge bike path and overpass. This path, long in the making, will greatly improve connectivity between the neighborhoods around Sycamore Park and destinations south of the highway. Madison Bikes submitted a letter of support for the city’s application for funding for that project.
Is removing down some trees a reasonable trade-off for this new bike (and pedestrian!) connection? I personally sure think so. It’s important to keep in mind why we need this overpass in the first place: Highway 30, a limited access highway cuts the neighborhood in half, and the only existing connection across the highway is Thompson Road, with its dangerous multi-lane roundabouts and speeding drivers. I would love to see Highway 30 converted into an urban street, lined with beautiful trees. But that’s not the alternative available to us. Also keep all of this mind, as the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is planning on expanding the Interstate as well as Stoughton Road through our city.
Our board member Craig Weinhold was quoted in the segment:
But bicyclist Craig Weinhold said any disruption for bicycle travel is often treated in an out-of-proportion fashion.
“My concern is the demonizing of cyclists and the City over any bike path proposal,” Weinhold said. “Hiestand Park is just the latest example.”
Teaching Safe Bicycling
On Sunday, the Wisconsin Bike Fed will “train the trainer” on Teaching Safe Bicycling. This 6-hour-long clinic at the Goodman Center will teach adults on how to teach safe biking techniques to kids. Registration is required and free! More details here.
Group rides kicking off!
A whole number of group rides and clubs are kicking off their riding season this week.
On Monday evening, Cap City Cyclists has their first Mad Town Mondays ride scheduled. This is somewhat of a successor to the Monday 40 rides, and the ride will make a good ol’ Lake Loop, ending at the Harmony. More details on Instagram.
If you want a faster, women-led ride, Women on Wheels is a new group, “inclusive to all genders looking for non-competitive and safety-focused tempo rides.” Their season opener is on Tuesday, and you can find more information on their Facebook group.
Also on Tuesday, the BIPOC Cycling Club Madison will have their first ride of the season. Their mission is to “be a safe and welcoming space for BIPOC individuals to ride together, and to build an inclusive community around the joy of cycling.” More info on their Instagram account.
The Madison Queer Bike Ride is a year-round opportunity, and this Wednesday it’s time for another ride. I haven’t seen their route announced yet — check their Instagram page for details.
Bombay Bicycle Club will host their season opener on Sunday. The ride goes down south to Firefly Coffee House in Oregon, and apparently coffee is provided by the club. 10 am departure at the Cap City Trail parking lot near Lake Farm County Park. Facebook event.
Not quite kicking off the season yet is the new Capital Bike Club e-bike group. Save the date for their April 20 open house in Middleton
Madison Bike Week is coming
If you attended the Dream Bikes parking lot sale on Saturday, you may have seen one of our flyers for Madison Bike Week! We’re just about to roll out our promotion campaign, and let’s just say that we’ll have awesome promo materials this year. Now is also a good time to start thinking about what events you want to host during Madison Bike Week, June 1-8. Event registration (as always: free!) is open.
CORP fundraiser
Our mountain biking friends from CORP are hosting their “Love your trails” spring fundraiser at Machinery Row on Saturday. Tickets are $20/$25 (advance/door) and will include food and beverages. Facebook event.
