Bike Week Approaching
Less than two weeks until Madison Bike Week!. Lots of events have already been posted on the event schedule including a vintage bike ride, infrastructure tours, lots of commuter stops, and of course the mayor’s press conference and the awesome Friday party. Start planning today!
Bike Week Merch Now Available
Check out the new Bike Week short-sleeve T-shirt and sleeveless top. Madison Bikes short-sleeved and now long-sleeved T-shirts are also available. Click on the following link to order: https://madison-top-company.printavo.com/merch/madison-bikes.
Transportation Committee Actions
The locally approved alternative (LPA) for N-S BRT was approved by the Transportation Commission at the May 15 meeting. This plan includes over 50% dedicated bus lanes. Overall, there will be less bus conflicts with bicycles, but bicycle infrastructure for much of the route will be substandard because of challenges inherent in engineering the narrow corridor and the status of S. Park Street as part of the National Highway System. Next, the LPA will go to the Common Council for final approval.
For the north section, the addition of BRT will not change bike infrastructure significantly. Bicycle accommodations along Northport Dr. will still not meet All Ages and Abilities guidelines and there are not bicycle facilities on Packers Drive. Madison is developing a grant application to develop plans for better connections between the Northside and other parts of the City. Significant work remains.
West Washington Ave. to Fish Hatchery Rd: This section of S. Park St is not being reconstructed, making it impossible to conform to All Ages and Abilities standards. In an attempt to improve the situation, bicycle facilities on alternate routes will be strengthened. However, these routes provide a less direct north-south route and these routes would not be helpful for those who need to access businesses on S. Park St.
Parking for motor vehicles will be retained on S.Park in 3 areas between W. Washington to Cedar. The longest area, between Vilas and Erin, will be 3 blocks and is not likely to significantly impact bus traffic.
Bike parking will be added on side streets off S. Park just south of W.Washington because of the lack of bicycle parking in the area.
S. Park from Fish Hatchery Rd. to Badger Rd. reconstruction: There will be a center running bus line with an 8-10 foot shared use path on the west side of S. Park St, with a standard 5-foot sidewalk on the east side. The path will replace the current shared bike/bus lane. The terrace will be wide enough to accommodate shade trees. Because the path only services one side of the street, crossings, including new traffic signals, reduced speeds, and continental cross walks will be added.
For all of the details you can listen to a recording of the meeting and/or check out this document from the city.
Upcoming Planning Meetings
Just a notification that these are coming up. More details next week.
West Area Plan – May 30: Virtual meeting on transportation
Northeast Plan drafts –Virtual meetings on May 28 @ 6:00 pm ( register) and May 29 @ 12:00 pm ( register) or attend the In-person open house events on May 29 @ Reindahl Park, 5:00-8:00 pm and May 30 @ Sycamore Park, 5:00-8:00 pm
E. Mifflin St. Bike Boulevard Virtual Public Input Meeting – Mon, June 3 at 6:30pm Register for the Zoom meeting
West Towne Path Zor Shrine Phase Public Meeting – public information meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., May 28, 2024, via Zoom. https://www.cityofmadison.com/engineering/projects/west-towne-path-phase-2a
Bike Rally for Infrastructure
This event at 6pm on Thursday May 23, hosted by assembly candidate Thad Schumacher, will start with a 3- mile slow roll from the Vilas Park tennis courts to Neff Cycles traveling through the Arboretum. All ages welcome! Check out the route here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit…
The ride ends at Neff Cycles at 6:30 pm, where there will be a rally advocating for continued development of Madison’s bike/ped infrastructure.
Badger Rusk Shared-Use Path
A proposed design for a street reconstruction project which would improve bike/ped access across the beltline was presented at an informational meeting on May 14. The project would replace the existing sidewalk along the north side of W. Badger Rd and west side of Rusk Ave. with a 10-ft grade separated, lighted, shared-use path by narrowing the street. Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons would be installed to improve the crossing at the pedestrian overpass. The project should be reviewed at the Transportation Commission in July and it is hoped that construction can be completed in October of 2025. https://www.cityofmadison.com/engineering/projects/badger-rusk-shared-use-path
Capital Brewery Bike Club – E-Bike Riders Group, Inaugural Ride
Thirty bikes showed up for a very successful first event. Weekly rides will continue on May 22nd (Wednesday) at 5:30 PM and continue on that schedule throughout the summer. Rides start and end at Capital Brewery in Middleton. Non-members welcome. Check out all the details at www.capitalbikeclub.org
That’s this week in a nutshell. Watch the calendar for upcoming events, including Madison Bike Week 2024 events in June.
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.