A bicyclist rides down the Yahara River Path in Winter
Welcome to the Madison Bikes newsletter. It’s a light week in bike advocacy news with the holiday, but there is some highway news we think you should know about.
Stoughton Road Redesign
The second public involvement meeting for the Stoughton Road redesign project was last week, and WisDOT is looking for more feedback on the design alternatives. The project scope includes US51 (Stoughton Road) from just South of Highway 30 to just South of the Beltline. That corridor of Stoughton Road is notoriously dangerous, with record numbers of crashes including 8 bicycle/pedestrian injury crashes and 2 fatal vehicle on pedestrian crashes. 83% of all crashes in this corridor are at intersections, with both Buckeye and Broadway being ranked in the 10 worst intersections for crashes in Madison. In addition to the poor safety record, WisDOT has observed concerning and inefficient traffic conditions at most existing intersections and anticipates 1/2 mile backups by 2050 if no changes are introduced.
For the redesign, the materials included 6 options (including the “no change” option). Alternatives included expanding intersections or removing frontage roads and providing direct access to businesses. Some of them propose reducing speed limits to 35mph and adding safe bike and pedestrian infrastructure. You can see all the design options in detail on the project site, or check out the one-page summary here.
Personally, I would love to see a number of changes to Stoughton Road to improve safety and access for users outside motor vehicles, including reduced speed limits, increasing the number of safe crossings, and reducing the total width of the roadway to allow for more green space. Studies have shown that increasing the number of lanes and adding extra capacity for motor vehicles does not have a positive impact on the amount of traffic, but instead encourages more people to drive resulting in the same or worse traffic congestion as before the expansion. The only reliable way to reduce traffic congestion is to provide viable alternatives to driving. What can you do to help with that mission and make biking better in Madison? It only takes a few minutes to fill out the survey and let WisDOT know you care about bike, pedestrian, and transit access.
Come Chat Winter Biking With Us
Looking ahead to next week: on Tuesday, December 3rd Madison Bikes is hosting a Winter Bike Social at Working Draft, from 5:30-7:30. We’ll be enjoying warm drinks and chatting about all things biking, including how to have a successful ride in cold and wet weather. Stop by any time and bring your bike and your favorite piece of Winter bike gear!
That’s all we have for you this week. Thanks for being part of the Madison Bikes community.
Whoever said, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes,” was not a year-round bicyclist. In the winter, small and medium and big weather issues can pile up atop the usual logistical challenges of two-wheeled travel to make the whole thing feel … bad. The good news is, people who bike through the winter do not exactly mind talking about biking through the winter. And if you’re curious about pedaling in a fourth season, committed to making it work this year, or looking to join the choir to belt out a few carbide-studded bars of winter favorites, mark your calendar for one of these events featuring experienced guides, hot tips and some warming beverages:
Winter Biking Workshop Thursday, Nov. 21, 6 to 7 p.m., at Cool Bikes North, 1861 Northport Drive Assisting people who may be new to winter riding with guest presenters talking about the clothes, gear and bikes that can get you “through the winter in relative comfort and safety,” followed by Q&A. Free, but registration is requested.
Madison Bikes Winter Bike Social Tuesday, Dec. 3, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Working Draft Beer Company, 1129 E. Wilson St. An evening of fun and camaraderie for winter riding newbies, seasoned all-season pros and everything in-between. The Winter Bike Social is an opportunity to exchange knowledge about winter biking techniques, gear and fun. Check out what others are using to stay warm and safe on their rides, and maybe even get some new ideas for your own setup. Bring your bike and favorite piece(s) of winter gear.
Spread some good tidings
If you’re into doing good from the saddle, the holidays are a great time to volunteer and enjoy a ride. Consider adding Cranksgiving Madison — the Nov. 24 rally-style benefit for the Goodman Community Center’s Fritz Food Pantry — and/or Madison’s Santa Cycle Rampage — a costumed slow-roll ride raising funds for Dane County youth education programs on Dec. 14 — to your seasonal celebrations.
Meetings
This week in deliberating, the Madison Transportation Commission will meet virtually on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 5 p.m. Their agenda includes a handful of bicycle-relevant items, including:
Tomorrow, Nov. 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Akira Toki Middle School, 5606 Russett Road, representatives of city departments like Planning, Engineering, Transportation and Parks will gather to discuss what’s taking shape in the early stages of the city’s plan for its Southwest Area, which extends south of the belt line between Fitchburg on the east and South High Point Road on the west. Residents, community organizations, businesses and other stakeholders are invited to share feedback.
This is a guest post by Dan Pensinger. Dan attended last week’s public input meeting on potential changes to the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path on the UW campus. Our regular newsletter is taking a break this week.
Edit (Nov 13): The post was edited to clarify the scope of the study. The study only looked at the path between Willow Creek and the Limnology building. We also added links to the video of the meeting and the full slide deck on the project page: https://cpd.fpm.wisc.edu/howard-temin-lakeshore-path-paving-and-lighting-study/
The Lakeshore Path is a major connecting route between the Memorial Union, lakeshore dorms, Picnic Point, Eagle Heights, and the UW Hospital. Last week, the UW held a meeting about a study looking at the section of the path between Willow Creek on the west and the Limnology Building on the east (see image below). The path sees a lot of traffic from walkers, runners, and cyclists. The area under study is currently surfaced with crushed limestone, which gets muddy and washes out with rain, and is icy and hazardous during the winter. The part of the path along Muir Woods is tree covered on both sides, making it pitch black at night. This makes many path users afraid to use it after dark, and increases the risk of collision between pedestrians and cyclists. These difficulties with using the path sometimes force cyclists onto narrow Observatory Drive where they have to contend with traffic passing on a very steep hill, or to busy University Ave, which is much more hazardous when traveling westbound.
The University commissioned landscaping group Damon Farber to study the issue and make recommendations. The results of their online surveys indicate that about a third of interested parties want no changes to the path’s current state. The other two thirds are not necessarily opposed to paving and lighting options, if these options are cognizant of environmental and wildlife concerns along the lake. Damon Farber split the path into a west section by the dorms and an east section by Muir Woods for separate consideration. After the presentation by Damon Farber staff there was a small group breakout session for attendees to provide feedback.
Paving the path
Damon Farber presented two paving options for the western section. Both options included asphalt for cyclists and a more shock absorbing shoulder material for runners. The main difference between these options was the shoulder material being made from a porous rubber or something less water permeable but still considered environmentally friendly. There were questions about how winter salting would be handled with different surfaces and proximity to the lake. Professional ecologists were present to give informed discussion, and some criticism on the current salting procedure used by the University. I would say that overall attendees to the meeting were supportive of paving options, with several cyclists present giving similar input. There were a couple of folks who objected to making any changes to the path.
The east section options presented included a permeable asphalt or a raised boardwalk. Other attendees and I raised A LOT of concerns about the boardwalk option. Wooden boardwalks can be extremely slippery for bikes when wet. It was also not clear how the boardwalk would interact with the university’s snow removal equipment, and if the boardwalk might encounter the bridge effect where airflow underneath leads to icing. There are potential ADA issues with some boardwalk surfaces, and the boardwalk may obstruct emergency vehicles. The raised nature of the boardwalk also increases the stakes for path conflicts between walkers, runners, and bikers. Furthermore, students returning home to the lakeshore dorms are sometimes inebriated and would be more likely to hurt themselves falling off the boardwalk. Hopefully Damon Farber takes this feedback into account in their recommendation to the University.
Lighting
On the subject of lighting, in general those who opposed it tended to be those who also opposed paving. The rest of the attendees supported lighting with some caveats. Damon Farber prepared their proposals according to recommended best practices for reducing light pollution and minimizing wildlife impact. This means avoiding lighting containing blue light on the eastern section through the woods, as many studies have indicated blue light is harmful for both wildlife and humans at night. Other color options suggested by Damon Farber were red and amber. Red is considered wildlife-friendly, but studies have shown that it is not favored highly by people compared to amber, which is also considered wildlife friendly, and Damon Farber included more example materials of amber lighting. Lighting on the western section of the path by the dorms could be either white or colored, but for colored lighting to have the desired impact, current exterior lights on the dorms would also need to be changed from bright white.
The other lighting discussion points were about the design/height of light fixtures and whether a curfew for the lights should be implemented. I strongly opposed a light curfew as light helps avoid collisions and the path usage would be increased at night if it was well lit. From personal experience, I know students study late at College Library, which is the 24-hour library on campus and located directly on the path. Students then take the path back to the dorms at all hours of the night, but often report feeling unsafe doing so without lighting.
Conclusion and what’s next
The Howard Temin Lakeshore Path is a scenic area and one of the most utilized multi-use paths in Madison. The path extends 2 miles through campus with a single street crossing, making it exceptionally safe from a traffic standpoint. Both paving and lighting will make the path more usable during all weather conditions, and at all times of the day. Hopefully, the University moves forward with these options in an environmentally conscientious way. Damon Farber plans to have a few more student-focused feedback opportunities next week, and to present their final recommendations to the University near the end of the year. If you want to watch a video recording of the meeting or see the full slide deck, you can do so on the project page. Any member of the public can email the Damon Farber team at jrefsland@damonfarber.com
On Wednesday at 5:30 PM, attend an in-person public meeting at the Holt Center discussing future lighting and paving options for the Temin Lakeshore Path. This is a surprisingly contentious issue for a path that’s so heavily used, but there are a lot of stakeholders.You can read an excellent writeup of the issue over at the Cap Times.
Different options that will be presented for the path surface and lighting. Image: Cap Times/JCAC
A brief note that the Winter Bike Fashion Show, originally scheduled for November 17th, has been cancelled for this year. Can we agree to just cancel winter altogether?
A minor path detour to note: the SW Commuter Path is closed for a few days between Midvale Blvd and Hiawatha for some concrete work. There’s a short (but relatively hilly) detour; the same detour was used a few years back for a much longer time when reconstructing the stormwater management along the path.
For timely notification about detours like this and many other updates that we don’t cover individually here, subscribe to the Bike Madison mailing list. Or just follow the detour signs when you see them, that’s cool too.
