Did you have an opportunity to get out and enjoy the warm (and windy…) weekend on your bike? Well, lots of people did: The bike counters on the the Cap City Trail and SW Path had by far their highest counts of 2020 yesterday:
If you’re a 3-season rider, now may be a great time to dust off that bike of yours and get into the habit of riding again.
This Week
On Wednesday, the Transportation Commission is meeting. One exciting agenda item:
The City is planning to have rainbow pride flags, celebrating the LGTBQ+ community, painted on the pavement at two locations. One location will be up at the top of State Street; the other crosswalks will be on the Cap City Trail at Monona Terrace. Funding will come from donations and grants. The hope is that the crosswalks will be installed in June, ready for Pride Month and Madison Bike Week.
Other items on the agenda:
- The City is applying for funding from WisDOT for four ped/bike projects. It’s uncertain how many (if any) will be funded, but all would be a nice addition to our low-stress network.
- Autumn Ridge Path – shared use path between Stein Ave. and STH 30 (east of Stoughton Rd. and west of Swanton Rd.)
- Tancho Dr. Path – shared use path between Tancho Dr. and STH 151, where there is an existing path and underpass of the highway
- West Towne Path – extension of shared use path between Commerce Dr. and S. Junction Rd.
- W. Main St. bike boulevard improvements and E. Main St. and S. Blount St. bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
- The Commission is also asked to approve routes for the delivery robots that UW Dining is using. The vehicles are generally banned from bike paths, and on sidewalks they’re only allowed on the permitted routes (as well as on the UW campus). Map below.
- A public hearing about Metro’s proposed changes to their bus routes and stops will start at 6pm. You can find the proposed changes, meant to reduce delays, missed transfer and to speed up service here.
If you want to provide input on any of these items, please submit your comments to Patrick McGuigan.
Want to learn how to build bike wheels? It’s a cool skill to have, and not as difficult as you may imagine. The Cargo Bike Shop is hosting a workshop on the topic on Thursday. More information on the Facebook event page.
Looking for a new bike? Bike-O-Rama, “Southern Wisconsin’s Largest Bicycle Sale,” is happening from Friday to Sunday, and there will be lots and lots of bike on display and available for test rides. Free admission at the Alliant Center.
On Sunday, the Madison Bikes Mural Ride is happening! Explore Madison’s many murals on the east side by bike, on a 12-mile or a 5-mile route. Meet at Ian’s Pizza at Garver Feed Mill at 12:30pm.
Coinciding with the mural ride is the return of BCycle on March 15! It’ll be good to have the bike share system back online for the season — and maybe this year we’ll see some more new stations added.
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.