Last week
Can you believe the weather we are having in late October? Hope you’d been able to get out and enjoy this warm, dry stretch of beautiful fall. A ride through the Arboretum or far out into the country are both great ways to enjoy the colors. And a bit more to come this week.
Atwood Path artwork
As part of the city Percent for Art program, some path artwork and reminders of etiquette appear on the Atwood Paths near Olbrich Park this past week. A discussion ensued on our Facebook community, with some enjoying the additions, and others saying you can’t read them while riding at speed or they didn’t like being scolded with messages.
John Nolen Drive project
The informational meeting on John Nolen Drive had both good and bad news. The bad news is that at this time, the underpass of JND between North Shore Dr and Broom St has been removed from the plan. The cost to build it was estimated to be almost as much as the entire rest of the road project. The city did show two possible versions of the underpass, but they are not planning on moving forward with either one at this time. The underpass would not have been constructed with the first phase of the JND project regardless of cost because of funding from the state and federal government – which makes up most of the funding for the first phase – wouldn’t have covered it.
Another bad news item from the meeting, although more expected, was that the Capital City Path from Lakeside to North Shore – essentially the causeway – will have to be closed for about a year during construction. There is just no way to keep it open while the bridges are being rebuilt. The roadway portion will be down to one lane in each direction, and bicycle and pedestrian traffic will be detoured around Monona Bay.
The good news of the project is that the new path on the northwest side of North Shore and JND through Brittingham Park will be built before the construction starts, creating a connection between the SW Path and Broom that avoids JND completely. The JND intersections at North Shore Dr and Broom will also be vastly improved, making crossing these streets and JND itself much easier and safer (once all the construction dust clears.)
You can view a recording of the meeting and/or see the slides on the project website.
Autumn Ridge bridge raising
We don’t have any photos, but on Tuesday there was a bridge placed over Highway 30 that will be part of the Autumn Ridge Path on the east side. We won’t be able to use the path and overpass until next year, but this is going to be a great connection for the area.
One of our community members mentioned on Facebook that he took video. Maybe he’ll share that.
The week ahead
Wednesday, 5:00, online Transportation Commission will meet, but there isn’t much exciting on the agenda. You can also watch the meeting or register to comment at that link as well.
The TC will receive an update on BCycle/Bicycle Transit Systems transition, but as of this writing, there are no documents on the item, so it’s hard to say how extensive or interesting it will be. There will also be an update of the Transportation and operating and capital budgets for next year. Again, no documents at this time, but there may be information on what may change if the referendum doesn’t pass.
Please vote!
Early voting is available until Sunday, Nov 3. Early voting is available across the city at libraries three locations on the UW campus, and a variety of other locations, so everyone should be able to find a place close to where they live, work, or shop. If you are not registered at your current address, you can register at the same time as you vote through Friday, Nov 1 or on Election Day.
Although Madison Bikes has not taken an official position on anything on the ballot, Harald and Craig wrote an excellent blog post on how a referendum failure might affect bicycling – including maintenance, safety programs, and future infrastructure.
Obviously, voting is incredibly important, and your voice on all things local, state, and federal. We all know how important Wisconsin will be in the presidential race – the last two presidential elections came down to 3 votes per ward across the state. Please make sure you are one of those votes.
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.