Last Week
If you missed the Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission meeting on Tuesday, you can watch it online here. It was a long one (over 3 hours) with conversation centered mostly on 1) the Quarterly Traffic Report from City of Madison Police Dept 2) a Racial Equity and Social Justice Presentation and 3) updates to the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (with a particular focus on trying to make that program more accessible and more equitable for all neighborhoods).
I’ve become very disappointed with the information that is presented each quarter from our Police Department and am concerned with the lack of focus around actually increasing safety for our road users. Lt. Knight shared with the commission that, yet again, the bike safety grant funds that the department received were used to target cyclists failing to come to a foot-down stop at major path/street crossings. Without getting into discussions around the Rolling Stop (also known as the Idaho Stop), it’s clear that this is not the highest leverage enforcement activity to increase safety for people on bikes. People on foot and on bike are the most vulnerable and at-risk users of our public streets today and we need to start to work towards meaningful interventions that will reduce traffic violence.
This Week
On Monday, join We Are All Mechanics for their Mondays Around Monona, “leisurely Monday night bike rides for beginners and experts alike.” slow roll. On Wednesday there are two bike transportation related meetings: Sun Prairie Transportation Summit and Williamson/Jenifer Parking & Bus Route Discussions. On Thursday, Monroe Street Reconstruction engagement continues with the Green Infrastructure World Cafe. Mark your calendars now for September 29th; this will be the key community meeting for Monroe Street reconstruction where discussion will begin in earnest around what cross-section concepts should be further developed.
And, of course, preparations continue for our Madison Bikes Kickoff Party at the High Noon Saloon on 9/19. Donate online now and we’ll see you on the 19th!