A lot of B’s are in this week’s newsletter title, and not all of them stand for “bike.” There are several public meetings and fun events, and we have a recap of some things that happened last week. Let’s get started.
Midvale Boulevard public meeting
On Thursday at 6:30 PM, the city is holding a public meeting about the resurfacing of Midvale Boulevard from Mineral Point Road to University Ave. Improvements for bike facilities are likely going to be on the menu. Some people have also strongly expressed their support for street parking, which may make some bike improvements difficult or impossible. We’ll see what city staff are going to propose. The meeting is taking place in person at Sequoya Library or online. More information and a sign-up link here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/engineering/projects/midvale-boulevard-resurfacing
Bike Fed is hiring
The Wisconsin Bike Fed is hiring for two jobs: An Adult Education Program Manager and a Dane County Education Program Manager. Application deadline for both is February 3. Spread the word if you know a great candidate or apply yourself!
West Washington Ave and Southwest Path
As we reported last week, the Transportation Commission discussed the situation at the crossing of the Southwest Path with West Washington Ave last Wednesday. Currently there is a button-activated rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) at the crossing, but the Office of the Commissioner of the Railroads (OCR) has ordered the city to remove the RRFB. City staff presented multiple options for what could replace the RRFB — a full signal, a pedestrian hybrid beacon (formerly known as HAWK signal), or a painted crosswalk without signals — and whether West Wash should go back to 2 lanes in each direction. After a string of crashes this summer, with drivers hitting cyclists in the crossing, the city implemented an experimental lane reduction. The commission provided feedback that staff will now use to develop a proposed solution, to be brought back to another Transportation Commission meeting. Time is tight, as the OCR ordered the city to have a plan submitted by the end of March. The Wisconsin State Journal also covered the discussion, or you can watch the actual meeting on City Channel.
Book club, session 2
The “Killed by a Traffic Engineer” book club, co-organized by the Bike Fed, Machinery Row Cycles, and Madison Bikes, and moderated by District 11 alder Bill Tishler launched yesterday. The second session will take place on February 2 from 4-6 PM. Whereas the first session was in person only, this week you can either join at Machinery Row or by Zoom. More details here. If you can’t make it to the book club, you can watch a webinar with the author here.
Botanizing by Bicycle
On Thursday, head to the Harmony Bar & Grill at 6 PM for a presentation by Wild Ones Madison:
Bike Fitchburg monthly meeting
Bike Fitchburg will have their monthly meeting at the Fitchburg Senior Center in the Syene Room on Monday night at 7 PM. “All who live, work, and/or bike in Fitchburg are welcome to join their voices with ours to make our city an easier, safer, more fun, and more equitable place to bike!”
Save the Date: Winter Bike Day is coming!
International Winter Bike Day is on February 14 and we have planned a few fun things. We’ll share more details soon, or you can check out the Facebook event.
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.
Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!
