Author: Grant Foster

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Richard Castelnuovo of Wheels for Winners introducing the project

Last Week

We had a great ride last week with Bombay Bicycle Club that brought in a lot of donations for Wheels for Winners, a non-profit that refurbishes donated bikes and gives them out to local youth who have done community service. Check them out online and consider getting involved or donating!

Also last week, the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association Steering Team finalized recommendations for improvements on and along the Mifflin Street Bike Boulevard. These recommendations will be going to the TLNA board and then on to the city for review and implementation.

This Week

As the end of summer takes hold, Mondays mean Mondays Around Monona. And then at 7:00, the Madison Bikes Events Committee will meet at Cafe Domestique to finalize plans for our Annual Party on (Tuesday, September 12th). Anyone interested in volunteering is encouraged to attend.

On Tuesday, Madison’s Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission holds its monthly meeting. On the agenda are some major road projects including: Blair/Nolen, the Public Market and E. Johnson/First Streets, and Buckeye Road. You can attend in person at the City County Building or watch online on Madison’s City Channel. Also on Tuesday, is an important public hearing on some major projects in Fitchburg that need support. Check out Bike Fitchburg‘s action alert for all the details.

On Wednesday, Middleton takes it’s turn and will hold it’s monthly bike infrastructure meeting at city hall. Edit: The Middleton bike meeting has been moved to next week.

Thursday through Sunday would be a great time to grab your friends and family and pedal down to the Orton Park Fest for music and food in support of the Marquette Neighborhood Association.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

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Image credit: Kidical Mass Madison

Last Week

Last Friday’s screening and discussion of “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City” that Madison Bikes co-organized was a great success. The UW Cinematheque was fully packed and some people even had to be turned away. Thanks everyone for coming!

This Week

A pretty quiet week is coming up, with two family events on the weekend.

On Saturday, it’s the last Fitchburg family bike ride of the summer. Meet at the Leopold Community School at 9:30am.

And on Sunday, join the Kidical Mass ride to the splash pad at Goodman Center. Starting point is The Cargo Bike Shop on Willy Street.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

This Week

There are a number of items of interest on this Tuesday’s Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission agenda.

First up on the agenda is the 2016 Crash Report. The good news is a significant reduction in reported crashes involving people on bikes (98, down from 118 in 2015 and 135 in 2012). The bad news is a continued increase in the overall number of crashes in Madison (5,731) resulting in an estimated $113 million in economic loss and the nine traffic related fatalities last year–five of which were pedestrians.

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At 5:30, there will be a Public Hearing on potential pedestrian and bicycle projects. You can share your ideas in person or send them to traffic@cityofmadison.com.

Adopting the Downtown Madison Bicycle & Moped Parking Study is also on the agenda. This is a study that was commissioned several years ago and is coming in front of PBMVC after going through the Plan Commission and Transit/Parking Commission. There are several recommendations from the study that Planning Division staff have taken issue with. You can review that difference of opinion in this Staff Report.

The final item on the agenda is Amending Section 12.167(2)(c) of the Madison General Ordinances to allow bicycles to be ridden within a portion of the West Mifflin Street section of the State Street Pedestrian Mall. This is an important precursor to moving forward with some infrastructure changes that will better facilitate bicycle travel from State/Mifflin/Carroll to Mifflin/Fairchild. This is another item that would benefit from emails/testimony in support.

You can attend this meeting in person and provide comment on any agenda item you wish or you can also watch the meeting online on the City Channel.

On Wednesday, the Middleton Pedestrian, Bike, Transit Committee will meet again after taking a break in June.

On Friday, consider attending Cinematheque’s screening of Citizen Jane: Battle for the City. “a timely tale of what can happen when engaged citizens fight the power for the sake of a better world. Arguably no one did more to shape our understanding of the modern American city than Jane Jacobs, the visionary activist and writer who fought to preserve urban communities in the face of destructive development projects. Director Matt Tyranuer (Valentino: The Last Emperor) vividly brings to life Jacobs’ 1960s showdown with ruthless construction kingpin Robert Moses over his plan to raze lower Manhattan to make way for a highway, a dramatic struggle over the very soul of the neighborhood.” Madison Bikes is co-hosting the screening and a discussion with the executive producer of the movie, Juliet Page.

And on Saturday: Join the Clean Lakes Alliance on their Loop the Lake, their “annual bike ride around Lake Monona that highlights our community’s lakes and lakeshore bike paths.”

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

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Last Month

I’ve been enjoying my blogging break over the last three weeks, so there’s a bit to catch up on…

June’s Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Motor Vehicle Commission meeting had a few topics of interest, including a Project Database update resulting from the suggestions received last year for pedestrian/bicycle improvement projects (0:21:22 in the linked video); notification that Park Street will be part of a Smart Cities “Connected Park Corridor Initiative”that is hoping to pave the way for autonomous vehicle travel (1:42:36); and discussion of the upcoming North Blair Street reconstruction including the importance of working to improve the intersection with Mifflin Street–location of the current HAWK signal (2:59:36).

On 6/28-30, several Madison Bikes board members and a number of other local advocates were happy to join with city, business, and advocacy leaders from across the country at the Places for Bikes Conference. Several of the key talks are available to watch on their website.

On July 14, the Transportation Ordinance Rewrite Committee met to finalize a draft of the new transportation ordinance that will be reviewed at Common Council in August or September. This is the legislation that would significantly reorganize our transportation committee structure and calls for the hiring of a Transportation Director for the city.

Also on Friday, the city put out the 2017 call for bike/ped improvement suggestions that should make their way into the database that was introduced at last month’s PBMVC meeting.

And last Sunday, there were many smiles and smoothies to be had at the popular Ride the Drive. Courtesy of the great folks at Saris, we had a bike-powered blender. At the end of the day, we had blended and served almost 500 smoothies! Thanks everyone for stopping by. You can find plenty of pictures and video footage at the end of the post after the fold.

This Week

This week will be relatively quiet.

On Tuesday, join Bombay Bicycle Club and Spokehaven for their Taco Tuesday Ride.

And on Wednesday, the Madison Bikes Advocacy Committee meets at Bendyworks.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

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It’s another busy week for biking in Madison..

Things start on Monday with Bike Fitchburg‘s monthly meeting at the library.

On Tuesday, the Pedestrian, Bicycle, Motor Vehicle Commission has a packed agenda including some project updates and a look at a database that includes the biking and walking network suggestions submitted by the public last spring.

On Wednesday evening, the Places for Bikes conference kicks off with an opening reception at the Monona Terrace. On Thursday, it’s a full day of conference followed by a slow roll from the Monona Terrace to the Institute for Discovery. And on Friday, the conference wraps up with a trip out to Trek.

On Saturday, Bike Fitchburg holds its next installment of the Leopold School Rides and on Sunday, it’s another family-friendly ride as Kidical Mass heads to the zoo.

Next week, I’ll be celebrating Independence Day with a break from the weekly updates. See you again in two weeks!

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

Last Week

Last week saw some bad news for frequent users of the Mifflin Street bike boulevard with the installation of new Stop signs on Mifflin at Livingston. This came as a surprise to those that use this primary bike route as there was no notice or opportunity for public comment prior to installation. Such a big move is even more surprising given the fact that the Tenney Lapham Neighborhood Association has been putting in significant energy to try and improve conditions for walking and biking in the neighborhood with specific focus on improving the quality of the Mifflin Street Bike Boulevard.

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Anyone who spends a lot of time on a bike understands that adding additional stops on a primary bike route is not an improvement. In fact, limiting stops is one of the primary characteristics of a real bicycle boulevard. The Mifflin Street Bike Boulevard already suffers from a high number of stops (including Dickinson, Baldwin, Ingersoll, Paterson, and Blair) and efforts should be taken to reduce this impact on bicycle traffic. Something like Copenhagen’s Green Wave, perhaps?

Unfortunately, this misstep reinforces the fact that bicycle travel is still not considered or prioritized on par with car travel by our city’s engineering staff. Maybe a Director of Transportation could help define a clearer focus?

This Week

On Wednesday, the Madison Bikes Advocacy Committee will be meeting at Bendyworks to check in on current and future transportation projects in the city.

And for anyone handy with a wrench, consider helping out at Worthington Park Bike Repair at 6:00.

On Thursday, there will be a Listening Session for Northern Dane County Bike Access held at the Waunakee Village Center. Consider attending or sending in your comments via email to support safe and comfortable bike travel around Lake Mendota.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

Last Week

It was great to celebrate all things bike last week! Big thanks to all the sponsors of last week’s events and to the Bike Fed for organizing Bike Week in Madison and all of Wisconsin.

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And meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Common Council approved plans to reconstruct Wilson Street as-is, with no accommodations for safe and comfortable bike travel. But thanks to an amendment proposed by Alder Demarb at the Board of Public Works, and to all the comments received by residents about the need for bike facilities, the resolution also included language to “develop a plan for a bike friendly corridor on Wilson St, by the time the Judge Doyle Square Project is complete.” Construction is currently slated to be completed in 2020, at which time the eastern half of this street project (between MLK and King) will be reconstructed.

The Pedestrian, Bicycle, Motor Vehicle Commission will take up the charge to develop this plan in the coming months and we’ll need your continued support to land on a recommended cross section that provides for safe and comfortable bike travel in both directions on Wilson Street. One possible design that has received positive feedback is a two-way protected bike lane on the south side of the street. Stay tuned and stay involved.

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This Week

On Wednesday, Sustain Dane’s WOW Bike Tour: Sustainability Stories heads out from Lowell Elementary school at 5:15.

And on Saturday, there are two events leaving Fitchburg: June’s Bike the Art ride heading to Paoli and the Family Fun Bike Ride riding from Leopold Elementary School to the Fitchburg Library.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

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This Week

There’s a lot going on this week as Madison celebrates Bike Week. Check out the Bike Fed’s website for details on all the commuter stations, rides, and other events on tap! Madison Bikes will have a table at Bacon on the Bike Path on Thursday morning.

But along with all the fun, there’s also some work to do on Tuesday as approval of the Wilson Street cross section design comes in front of the Madison Common Council (item #31). The recommendation that will be in front of the council is to reconstruct the street, as-is, with no accommodations for people on bikes. This recommendation was approved by the Board of Public Works in May, but it included a critical amendment offered by Alder Denise Demarb. The amendment was to commit to adding appropriate bike facilities to Wilson Street once the Judge Doyle Square development is complete (currently estimated for 2020). While it’s a disappointment to kick these much needed improvements down the road, our Engineering department has confirmed that the planned design will easily accommodate adding these facilities when the east half of this stretch of Wilson Street is reconstructed in 2020.

Watch for an action alert later today to write the common council and/or to give public comment at the meeting on Tuesday. We need to ensure that the city commits to adding these critical and long overdue improvements to this important downtown connector.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

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This Week

It’s a short and quiet week following Memorial Day, but there are a number of events for kids this weekend. On Saturday, there’s an organized family bike ride from Leopold School to the Fitchburg library. On Sunday, you can choose between the MSCR Learn 2 Ride event at Warner Park or the June edition of Kiddical Mass, which will depart from the Cargo Bike Store and head down to Monona Terrace and the Capitol.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.

Last Week

There was plenty to keep us busy last week with the Wilson Street project on the agenda for approval at the Board of Public Works, commuter stations to help celebrate Bike to Work Week, and the Mapathon to help improve Open Street Map data for the upcoming Places for Bikes low-stress bike network map (stay tuned for more!).

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Robbie has a brief update of the Wilson Street Board of Public Works meeting up on our blog that helps make the connections between the embarrassing process that we’ve all been suffering through and the absence of a Director of Transportation in Madison. The short version is that the Board approved reconstruction of the street as-is (with no bike facilities), based on the recommendation of city staff and the alder for the district, Mike Verveer. But thanks to Alder Demarb, an amendment was added that commits the city to build out the needed bike facilities on this section of Wilson Street once Judge Doyle Square construction is completed (estimated 2020). The item will be in front of the Pedestrian, Bicycle, Motor Vehicle Commission on Tuesday and then in front of the Common Council in two weeks.

And thanks to some great sponsors, there were a number of commuter stations throughout the week. Big thanks to those that chipped in and stepped up like Cafe Domestique, HotelRED, Revolution Cycles, and the Monona Eastside Business Alliance.

This Week

This week, Wilson Street heads to the Pedestrian, Bicycle, Motor Vehicle Commission on Tuesday before landing in front of the Common Council for final approval in June. Watch for one more action item on this project in the next couple weeks.

Middleton will be holding a bike meeting on Thursday at the city hall to talk about Century Avenue among other things.

And Friday, don’t forget to Bike your Brat to Work courtesy of Saris.

For details on any of these events, head to the Madison Bikes calendar. If you have an event that you’d like added, send the details to info@madisonbikes.org.