Low-hanging, snow-laden evergreen trees arch over the Southwest Path/Velo Underround (credit: Harald Kliems)
What a week for getting around outside it’s been! With weather and road conditions like this, you’d think it was International Winter Bike to Work Day but it’s not — that’s still coming up in February. This is good practice though, if you want it. However you choose to get around this week, please do it safely and with respect and care for people around you.
It’s easy to forget how much progress we’ve made with regards to winter cycling in Madison. Policies that were relatively recently put in place (within the last five years or so) ensure that the paths are cleared even on weekends, which is particularly noticeable given the timing of this latest snowfall. It would have been made even worse by the MLK holiday on Monday, potentially delaying path cleanup to Tuesday morning.
Small utility tractors work to clear a multi-use path (credit: Craig Weinhold)
This Week
On Wednesday, January 17 at 5 PM, the Transportation Commission will meet virtually. You can read the (relatively light) agenda here, which has a bit of bus-nerd stuff in it and some other tidbits.
On Thursday, January 18 at 7 PM, join an in-person discussion about the potential changes to Mineral Point Rd between Glenway and Midvale Blvd. The discussion will be hosted at the Midtown District Police Station, making it a border battle between districts 5 and 11. The proposed changes include safer pedestrian crossings, buffered bike lanes, reduced car travel lanes and removal of on-street parking (something already disallowed during rush hour in either direction). There was a virtual discussion about this last month and this is yet another opportunity to learn about the project.
On Friday, January 19 from 3-7 PM, drop by the first GearShift Gathering at the Bikes for Kids workshop on the south side. From the event description:
Stop by to meet your local bike organizations at this fun event! Local representatives will be available to talk with you about their work, talk about upcoming projects, and about their volunteer opportunities. Or just come and socialize with the bike community! We’ll also have door prizes?
On Saturday, January 20 from 9 AM to 1 PM, experience the legendary 2024 edition of the Brazen Dropouts Bike Swap. It’s always a fun time and a great way to connect with other cyclists in a warm setting during the coldest months of the year.
Abandoned Bikes PSA
There’s been a bit of discussion on our Facebook Community about what happens when the city collects abandoned bikes. First of all, you can report abandoned bikes to the city using this form and also to our aforementioned Facebook community and/or the Bike Index. According to Renee Callaway, City of Madison Pedestrian Bicycle Administrator:
Whenever [Madison Police Department] receives requests for bike donations they donate bikes and if they still have some after that that are in good/great shape they auction them off. The bikes that are heavily damaged or that are missing a lot of parts they do send off to city metals recycling.
Parting Gift
A short video biking along the Southwest Path after a snowfall (credit: Harald Kliems)
Now that we’ve had our first real snowfall — with more to come — I hope that everyone has figured out or remembered how to bike in the winter.
The city Bike Madison page (as opposed to this Madison Bikes page…. confusing…) had a nice set of suggestions about biking in winter. It’s really great to have supportive partners at the city, even if we sometimes want them to do more or go faster. We also had a nice call out from the City Traffic and Parking Facebook account that linked back to Harald’s end-of-year roundup. And they even suggested that people subscribe or follow us to keep up to date.
By the way, subscribing to the city Bike Madison page helps you stay up to date about construction, detours, and other official information. That’s why we try to put a link at the bottom of our update each week.
Unfortunately, we also saw two examples of “bike lash” in the paper this past week. First was an article in the Cap Times about the loss of urban trees, but also took aim at both the new wider sidewalk along Mineral Point Rd and the proposed multiuse path through the Sauk Creek Greenway. Then later in the week, a letter to the editor claimed that bicyclists don’t pay for the new infrastructure we are seeing. (This is untrue in multiple ways, but it’s a common misconception.)
This week
Things are still pretty quiet this week, with no big public meetings and not a lot of rides scheduled. Madison Bikes has been planning some exciting topics for our community meetings in the coming months, but those will be featured in future updates. There are a few items of interest coming up this week.
Wednesday
At 5:30 pm, Board of Public Works will be discussing two projects of interest to bicyclists, although there doesn’t seem to be much controversy around the projects, so no need to testify. (Unless you want to.) Agenda and Zoom link here.
The reconstruction of E Wilson St and E Doty St will add a two-way cycle track to E Wilson and new buffered bike lanes to E Doty St. This will complete the two-way bike facility on Wilson that Madison Bikes pushed for as one of its first projects.
The final piece of the Lake Mendota Dr project will be also before the board, but the plans were already approved last year. This stretch from Spring Harbor Dr to Epworth Ct will add sidewalks, some bumpouts, space for a rain garden, and a traffic circle.
The monthly Queer Bike Ride meets the second Wednesday of the month at 6:00 pm. You can follow on Instagram for more details. All bodies are welcome.
Thursday
Freecycle will hold another Zoom meeting about what may be in their future. It looks like they’ll be doing this monthly after they started the conversation before the holidays. If you would like to join the conversation at 6:00 pm, you can get more information and sign up here.
2023 is almost over. It was a busy year for myself and for Madison Bikes. What did we do? What did we achieve? What went on in the city that is related to biking? The following is my personal, and certainly incomplete, account of that. Be warned: It’s long (and Mailchimp may cut some of it off!)
Madison Bike Week: Bigger than ever
Jerry Schippa, a traffic engineer with the city, nerding out about traffic signals
Writing about the 2023 edition of Madison Bike Week is a little overwhelming: It was the biggest Madison Bike Week ever and no single paragraph can do it any justice. There were bike stations, nerdy signal infrastructure rides, non-nerdy social rides, an amazing party in Brittingham Park, a cargo bikes and an e-bikes test event, bikepacking, and so on and so on. It’s always a big lift to keep all this organized, and then it’s amazing to see how it all comes together.
Cargo bike test event
Infrastructure highlights
Two-way off-street bike facility along Atwood Ave
A number of exciting infrastructure projects were completed or partially completed in 2023. Atwood Avenue was completely rebuilt, with fewer and narrower car lanes, new multiuse paths, continuous sidewalks, and a lot more. A little farther east, on the Lake Loop, the Dempsey and Davies project started and was partially finished: Instead of a bumpy road without any sidewalk, there is now a multi-use path on Davies St. The rest of the project will be completed in 2024.
New multi-use path on Davies St
Downtown saw the completion of the West Wilson and Broom St project. The Wilson Street corridor had been an advocacy focus for us since at least 2018, and it was wonderful to see the project come to fruition, with a two-way cycletrack on West Wilson almost all the way to Monona Terrace. The full benefit for the low-stress bike network downtown will be realized when the East Wilson portion of the corridor, from Monona Terrace to Franklin, is rebuilt next year.
Delivery of the Ubay overpass
On the west side, the University Bay Drive overpass was finished. On Hammersley Road we saw the completion of phase 1 of another multi-use path, from Brookwood Rd to Gilbert Rd. Phase 2 from Gilbert to the Beltline Frontage road, where the path will connect to the Southwest Path, is coming in 2024. And finally, another segment of the West Beltline Path, from Junction Road to Commerce Drive opened this year.
West Beltline multi-use path
Aside from these large projects, there were also a lot of smaller, less visible but no less important improvements – more rapid flashing beacons, green crossing markings, improved signal phasing, and so on. An infrastructure improvement of a different kind was the expansion of BCycle into Fitchburg. The all-electric bike share system grew by several stations and bikes, and this resulted in record ridership this year. Next year, more stations in Madison should be coming online.
Bringing federal funding to Madison
Site of a (very delayed) press conference to announce $15 million of federal funding to rebuild John Nolen Drive
If you’re following the local news, you’ll have noticed that the City of Madison was very successful in bringing in federal infrastructure dollars this year. This includes funding for the Autumn Ridge Path and overpass; for the John Nolen Causeway reconstruction; and most recently $6.2 million to implement the city’s Vision Zero action plan. These are all projects that couldn’t happen without federal dollars. Our role in all this? Probably small, but we provided support letters with the grant applications, emphasizing how the projects contribute to traffic safety, connectivity, and equity.
Candidate questionnaires
Madison Bikes is a non-partisan, educational non-profit. We don’t endorse candidates in elections. Rather, we educate about the positions of candidates so that voters can make an educated decision on who to vote for. Therefore for the Common Council and mayoral election in the spring, we sent out candidate questionnaires again. Because transportation, land use, and housing are inextricably linked, we partnered with housing advocates Madison is for People and Madison Area Bus Advocates. All three mayoral candidates and 19 Common Council candidates responded to our questions.
Madison Bikes social rides
Madison is for People X Madison Bikes social ride
It’s a little weird for a bike organization to not organize any bike rides, isn’t it? Well, when we started Madison Bikes we felt that a) there already were plenty of wonderful group rides ain Madison and b) organizing rides wasn’t our core skill set. But this year, after several years of COVID-related lack of in-person interaction, we decided to give it a try. In September and October we slow-rolled around Lake Monona with a group of 30-50 people. The conversations and connections made during and after the ride were wonderful, and we may pick these rides up again once the weather gets warmer.
Small grants
Women-trans-femme-nonbinary bike social during Madison Bike Week (photo: Sarah Perdue)
We’re a small organization and there are a lot of people and organizations out there with great ideas but a lack of funds to turn those ideas into reality. That’s especially true for folks and communities that traditionally have been excluded from or underrepresented in biking spaces. As a small step to fix this, we set up our small grants program a few years ago: A simple application, quick turnaround, locally focused. We’ve had the program in place since 2021, but in 2023 it started taking off. We supported several events during Madison Bike Week: A bike station by the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County; a shop tour and volunteer event at Bikes for Kids Dane County (formerly known as Free Bikes 4 Kidz Madison); a women-trans-femme-nonbinary ride and social during Madison Bike Week, organized as a collaborative effort between Madison Women’s Cycling Club, Radical Adventure Riders, and Bombay Bicycle Club.
Improving bike infrastructure data at an OpenStreetMap mapathon (Photo: Stephen Kennedy)
Outside of Madison Bike Week we provided support for a “mapathon”:Local cartographer Stephen Kennedy of LATLONG.SHOP hosted a Madison Bike Mapathon in November focused on adding bike-related data to OpenStreetMap. Nearly 20 community members—most of whom had never contributed to OSM—showed up to learn the editing process. The group added data related to road speed changes, road crossing elements like islands and RRFBs, Bcycle stations, and bike parking infrastructure.
And our biggest small grant that is still ongoing is a video production project by La Comunidad News ONLINE and Madison Vibra: “A Pedaleando Juntos: Inclusive Biking for All in Madison.” The results should be coming in early next year.
In 2024, we will continue and expand the grant program. If you have an idea or know anyone who does, please go to the small grants page on our website.
New people supporting weekly update
In an organization without paid staff, a lot of the work gets done by our amazing board of directors. But of course we can’t do it all, and we have wonderful help from volunteers. Our weekly newsletter is something I’m very proud of, and writing them is a lot of work (I’d estimate that on average it takes me at least an hour to write one newsletter). This year we reached out to our community to recruit new writers. Chris and Daniel responded to that call and are now part of our rotation of newsletter writers. A big thanks to them, and the other members of the team: Ben (another super volunteer), Christo, Kyle (emeritus), Robbie, and Connor.
The Streets Project
Panelists at The Street Project: Collin Mead (Wisconsin Bike Fed), Baltazar de Anda Santana (Latino Academy for Workforce Development), Morgan Ramaker (Downtown Madison Inc), Alicia Bosscher (safe streets activist and organizer of Ride for your Life Madison). Not shown: Chris McCahill (Congress for the New Urbanism)
In October we hosted a film screening and a panel discussion. The Street Project tells stories about “humanity’s relationship to the streets and the global citizen-led fight to make communities safer. Digging deep into the root causes of traffic violence, the filmmakers engage a diverse array of experts. These expert interviews are interwoven with the stories of real people working to make their communities safer.” To make the connection to what’s happening in our city more explicit, we invited a panel of local experts and activists to discuss the movie and respond to audience questions. The event drew about 120 people and the panel discussion was lively. Stay tuned for some exciting film screening news in 2024!
Winter events
Winter Bike Anywhere Day
We actually had two successful Car-free Holiday Fantasy in Lights events this year. One at the very beginning of the year, and another one in November. Hundreds of attendees got the opportunity to experience the lights on foot or bike, without having to worry about cars. Our other traditional winter event is celebrating International Winter Bike Anywhere Day in early February. We teamed up with the City and served warm beverages and snacks in front of Monona Terrace on a very crisp-but-beautiful weekday morning.
Ride for your Life
Video from Ride For Your Life Madison (https://youtu.be/flAgCa3jhqg)
October saw what was likely the largest bike and walk safety rally that Madison had ever seen: The Ride for your Life, instigated and organized by Alicia Bosscher, who lost her sister to traffic violence, and a team of the Wisconsin Bike Fed, Trek, Madison Bikes and numerous volunteers. Hundreds of people rode their bikes through the city to demand more safety for vulnerable road users. This was a powerful demonstration for how much support for safer biking and walking there is. Which leads me to the next topic.
Vision Zero
Madison’s Vision Zero policy and action plan have been in place for a few years now. As a reminder, Vision Zero posits that the only acceptable number of traffic fatalities and serious injuries is zero, and Madison’s action plan has a goal to reach 0 by 2035. The good news: After the devastating loss of the lives of three cyclists last year, nobody in Madison was killed while biking in 2023. Four people on bikes were seriously injured, which is the same number as in 2023. The larger picture, however, looks less rosy: After we had seemingly made progress last year, the overall number of fatalities and serious injuries is up again, and the number of fatalities is the highest since at least 2017.
Biking stats: Not great
Aside from safety, one of my goals for bike advocacy is getting more people to bike more. And so every year I look at several indicators on how that’s going in Madison. What’s the proportion of people biking to work? What do the bike counter numbers tell us? How is BCycle ridership doing? And how does Madison compare to other cities? The very short version for 2022 (2023 numbers won’t be available for another while): It’s not great, but other cities are doing even worse. You can dive into the details in this blog post.
Board comings and goings
Our board of directors is the core of our organization and we are very much a “working board.” Everything we do relies on the volunteer labor of our board members. A few board members had to step down because they moved away or had too many other responsibilities. Thanks to Caitlin, Connor, Kyle, and Sam for all your work! We miss you. We also have an exciting roster of incoming board members who will start their terms in January. Stay tuned for a blog post to introduce them. And finally, a big shout-out to the board members and officers who have been and will continue to be part of our organization: Aaron, Beth, Christo, Craig, Eleanor, Liz, Mark, Pete, and Robbie!
Looking forward to 2024
I’ll end here and want to thank you, dear reader, for your support. Maybe you volunteered for Madison Bikes, attended a public meeting, forwarded our newsletter, emailed your alder, supported us financially, told your neighbor how awesome biking is, shared your knowledge in our Facebook group, or just kept biking. I look forward to 2024. Tailwinds!
Welcome to the Madison Bikes newsletter! It’s the time of year when we get the least amount of sunlight, so if you can, be sure to take some time for yourself during the day. A short walk or bike ride in the middle of the workday can be an effective energy booster. As I like to say, you’re only one bike ride away from a good mood! Anyway, here’s what you need to know about biking in Madison this week.
Community Meeting Recap
Last week, some Madison Bikes Community members met to brainstorm and plan community meetings for 2024. Our goal is to have a meeting each month in the form of a get together, ride, learning opportunity, etc. and last Thursday we asked you for input and help. We got a lot of great ideas for meetings with themes like Spring bike cleaning and maintenance, restaurant hopping bike rides, dogs on bikes, and more!
Community meetings typically occur on the last Monday of the month, but you can see the complete schedule on our calendar. Sometimes we may combine the community meeting with other events, like during Bike Week in June. Keep an eye on this newsletter for details on all upcoming events. We look forward to seeing you there.
New Wilson and Broom St. Cycletracks
Some hot new bicycle infrastructure just dropped along Wilson and Broom streets! Two cycletracks were built as part of the city’s reconstruction and replacement of utilities along those corridors. This is a big win and important step towards connecting the Cap City Trail near Machinery Row to the Capitol area. We want to extend a huge thank you and congratulations for those of you who advocated for this improvement back in 2019.
Check out this video from Jerry Schippa for a tour of the new facilities!
Broom and Wilson Street Cycletrack 2023 | Jerry Schippa on YouTube
That’s not all. Last week, the Transportation Commission presented preliminary plans for even more improvements in this area. The plans included extending the cycletrack Eastward to King St, along with other changes. The construction is expected to begin in May 2024 and take 6 months. You can find more plan details in the full presentation.
This is proof that showing up to meetings or even sending emails can make a big difference in the way our city’s transportation is designed. Once again, thank you to those who pushed for this and hooray for reclaiming more space for people.
Alder Slack Resigns
On Friday, Alder Kristen Slack announced her resignation from the Madison Common Council due to family health issues. The resignation will take effect January 10th and the Council is looking for applicants to backfill that role. If you’re wondering if you are eligible, the city has a page to check which district you live in. If you are a bicycling ally, live in District 19, and want to become an Alder, now is the time to apply! Applications are due by January 9th. You can find more details on how to apply in the link at the beginning of this paragraph. The newly appointed Alder will serve the remainder of the current term which goes until April, 2025.
Mineral Point “Road Diet” Meeting
Last week, we talked about how Mineral Point Rd is due for resurfacing in 2024 and the city is considering a “road diet,” meaning they want to reduce travel lanes, eliminate parking, and add bike lanes. The project spans from Midvale to the Speedway/Glenway intersection. If you want to learn more, we encourage you to read this post from the city website. The page contains a link to attend the virtual meeting at 5pm on Tuesday, December 19th. If you can’t attend but want to show support, you can email Alder Tishler at district11@cityofmadison.com.
That’s all for this newsletter. Have a wonderful week ahead!
This week, consider giving the gift of your input on city transportation projects and planning. But first, the rampaging:
Wisconsin Bike Fed’s Santa Cycle Rampage rolled through the Isthmus on Saturday, bringing cheer to all the good children and cargo-bike-adapted dogs. The event put a bow on many a newscast, because the only thing more fun than riding in an itchy, fur-trimmed hat is watching scores of Santas pedal by.
Mineral Point widened sidewalk: It’s happening!
The Common Council last week made a final decision on the fate of the widened sidewalk along the north side of Mineral Point Road (for details, see last week’s action alert). After much public comment and debate, the Council did the right thing: Alder Figueroa Cole made a motion to adopt the Transportation Commission’s proposal (i.e. 8-10 ft of sidewalk along the whole stretch, except along Nautilus Point Park, where a separate path will be built). This resolution passed 13-4-1 (yes/no/abstain). Thanks to everyone who emailed the council or spoke at the meeting. Consider sending your alder a note of appreciation if they voted in favor.
The 10-year guide to land use, transportation, parks and open space for the chunk of the Madison bounded by Midvale Boulevard and the Beltline comes before three city commissions this week. The plan includes the Sauk Creek Corridor’s contentious bike path, a road diet with lane reductions for portions of Gammon and Old Sauk roads — with space to be repurposed for a side path and added buffering for bike lanes — and new connections between dead-end streets and establishing rights of way for potential future public roads. Nick Davies posted a brief summary on the Madison Bikes Facebook group.
The three commissions (with links to agendas and virtual meetings) on the calendar are:
The Transportation Commission will also consider plans for the reconstruction of East Wilson Street, scheduled for 2024, which could include a two-way, sidewalk-level bicycle path on the south side of the street. Details (in a pdf) here.
The Madison Bikes board meets today from 6 to 8 p.m., in the virtual way (Zoom link here).
More importantly, you are invited to join an in-person community meeting for 2024 event planning, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Room 104 of the Madison Public Library’s Central Branch, 201 W. Mifflin St. It’s an opportunity to brainstorm and begin planning events for next year’s calendar:
We want to hear from you! Do you have a specific bike-related skill you can share with the Madison Bikes community? Are you interested in volunteering to teach a class or lead a ride? Sign up to share your expertise (or the thing you wish you knew) on a topic related to biking that will benefit our community! Also, there will be pizza.
An icy bike trail (generated on DALL·E by Daniel Villegas, 12.3.2023)
Attention, bike riders of Madison! Here are your updates:
Prepare for more cold weather this week out on the trails. Help do your part by reporting ice or snow-covered trails to keep all of our neighbors safe using “Report a Problem.”
Report a Problem
“Report a Problem” is a non-emergency tool the City of Madison uses to collect reports of ongoing issues or concerns with city services.
Regular riders lately will have already taken note of the recent snowfall and exercised caution while navigating the bike trails. Our safety is of utmost importance, so it is crucial that we report any ice-covered trails to the city promptly. By doing so, we can ensure that the necessary measures are taken to prioritize the plowing and clearing of these trails as soon as possible.
Remember, icy bike trails can pose a significant risk to riders, potentially leading to accidents and injuries. To report an ice-covered trail, please visit the City of Madison’s Report a Problem page. By reporting the issue, you will be helping to maintain the safety and accessibility of our local biking network.
Stay vigilant, ride carefully, and remember to report any ice-covered bike trails to the city authorities. Together, we can contribute to creating a safer biking environment for everyone in Madison.
Mineral Point Road Path -Action Alert!
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Road-widening by JM Construction
Mineral Point path is in danger! Looking for something to do in Madison this week? On Tuesday there is an important opportunity for you to provide public input. The Common Council will make a final decision on the path/sidewalk along Mineral Point Road. This path, on the north side of the street, is part of the East-West BRT project and meant to replace the bus/bike lanes on the corridor.
As a reminder, this already was a compromise solution because the city insisted on keeping two car lanes in each direction. After the Transportation Commission recommended a continuous 8-10 foot path along the whole corridor (with the exception of a stretch along a park where a path will be constructed at a later point), the Board of Public Works watered down the recommendation and instead recommended having several sections where there won’t be a path at all- but only a 5-foot sidewalk. This recommendation is now what is on the table for the council.
As the staff memo says: “In the past 5 years, there have been numerous bicycle crashes. Summer of 2022 was the most recent bicycle fatality resulting from this deficient facility. Most recently there was a bus/bicycle collision in October of 2023 – highlighting the challenges associated with a lane shared by buses, bikes, and right turning vehicles.”
The city has a Vision Zero policy, which says that the only acceptable number of traffic fatalities and serious injuries is zero. And yet, here is a proposal that does not create a safe bike facility, sponsored by the mayor.
If you can’t make the meeting, you can alternatively provide written comments to the council by sending an email to all alders at allalders@cityofmadison.com and/or the mayor at mayor@cityofmadison.com.
North-South BRT meeting summary
If you missed our community meeting on the North-South bus rapid transit last week: Fret not! We have a post with the meeting recording, slides, and a full transcript up now: https://www.madisonbikes.org/2023/12/north-south-brt-and-bikes-a-summary-of-our-community-meeting/
Metro hits a ridership milestone with 1M+ riders in October
2020-2023 Monthly Ridership Graph by Metro Transit
In other city news, Metro has achieved a significant milestone in its ridership numbers, marking the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that over 1 million rides were provided in a single month. During the month of October 2023, Metro recorded a total of 1,075,549 rides. This surge in ridership represents the highest monthly record since February of 2020, and reflects an impressive growth of nearly 20% compared to the same month last year.
One contributing factor to this remarkable achievement is the recent overhaul of Metro’s route system. The newly redesigned routes now provide longer journeys that span from one end of the city to the other. As a result, passengers are making fewer transfers, enhancing the overall travel experience. In the previous system, passengers often had to change buses at transfer points, which counted as two separate rides. With the current system, these same trips are now consolidated into a single ride, making it more convenient for commuters.
The significant rise in ridership numbers demonstrates the resilience of Metro and the trust that the community has placed in its transportation services. Despite the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic, Metro remains committed to providing safe and efficient travel options for the residents of the city. By continuously improving its routes and adapting to the changing needs of commuters, Metro is dedicated to creating a reliable and sustainable public transportation system for all.
Let’s celebrate this accomplishment and continue to support Metro as it strives to meet the evolving transportation demands of our community.
The Madison Santa Cycle Rampage is back for its third annual biking tradition! You are invited to come celebrate the festive season and support Dane County youth advocacy and education programs. This year’s ride will feature several feeder routes that converge on Breese Stevens Field and then head out on a 4-5 mile slow roll with kids at the lead.
It is highly encourage everyone to dress in festive attire or your favorite holiday-themed costume — you’ll be jingling all the way! More details on the registration site.
FEEDER ROUTES BEGIN by 9:15am (varies by site) RIDERS MEET AT BREESE STEVENS AT 10 am RIDE LEAVES @11am. RETURNS by NOON.
*mumbling to myself* Argh, I don’t know. Studs? Too soon? Yes, too soon. Don’t overreact. *deep breath* Just try to get past the next few days and we should be good again for a bit.
This week
On Monday at 6 PM, join an online session hosted by Madison Bikes (registration) where we’ll be on the receiving end of a presentation from city transit officials about how bikes and the BRT systems will complement each other. This one will focus on the North/South (“B”) route that’s in active planning mode. From Robbie’s event description:
Madison’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) route, going from Junction Road on the West side to East Towne Mall on the East side, is still under construction. But the city and Metro are already preparing for a second route, connecting the north and south side. If all goes well, the route could be in operation as early as 2028.
The project will involve a reconstruction of Park St, and potential changes to the setup of streets such as Fish Hatchery Rd, Packers Ave, and Sherman Ave. A lot of these changes will have an impact on people biking, and getting the route and the design right is important for improving our city’s all-ages-and-all-abilities bike network. Join our meeting for a presentation from Metro and an opportunity to ask questions and provide comment!
On Monday at 7 PM, Bike Fitchburg is hosting their monthly meeting at the Saris facility off of Verona Rd. In addition to the normal meeting agenda items, attendees will get a tour of the facility from Jeff Iverson, Saris Director of Engineering. Sounds fun! From Bike Fitchburg: “All who live, work, and/or bike in Fitchburg are welcome to join their voices with ours to make our city an easier, safer, more fun, and more equitable place to bike!”
On Wednesday at 5 PM the Transportation Commission meets virtually. You can watch online here and check out the full agenda. One item to note is that the city is applying for federal TAP funding (2024-2028) for the following bike path projects:
Moorland Rd Shared Use Path – Capital City Trail to Wayland Dr: Improvements include new shared-use path and improved bus stop safety and accessibility.
W Beltline Frontage Rd Shared Use Path – East of Seminole Hwy to Landmark Pl: Improvements include continuation of shared-use path to fill gap in pedestrian network and continue all ages and ability bike connection to neighborhood. Improved safety and accessibility of bus stops.
Woodland Dr Path – Sheridan Dr to Marcy Rd: New shared-use path along Woodland Dr to connect to Sheridan Dr path, Warner Park path at Forster Dr and Marcy Dr.
E Rusk Path Extension – N Rusk Ave to Rimrock Rd: New shared-use path that will connect to new paths planned for construction along N Rusk/W Badger and Rimrock Rd.
Last Week
On Tuesday the Board of Public Works met to produce their recommendation on the layout of the proposed multi-use path along the North side of Mineral Point Rd. One issue under discussion is where and how often the path would be narrowed to 5′ vs the 8′ baseline. Previously, recommendations had been produced from both city staff and the Transportation Commission with the city staff preferring more reductions to 5′ widths along the corridor and the TC preferring fewer reductions that require a few more tree removals (see slide).
Slide from Tom Lynch, Director of Transportation for the City of Madison
In this case, the Board of Public Works voted to recommend a middle ground between the staff and TC recommendations (leaning more towards the city staff recommendation). They suggest requiring 8′ at Clock Tower, but settle for 5′ at Kwik-Trip, Nautilus Park, and Isle of View Apts. Alders Slack, Conklin and Tishler all expressed opposition to the TC plan (and presumably support for the city staff plan).
The work now heads to the Common Council who will take the three different recommendations into account when deciding on the final layout.
It was quite a week for events involving Madison Bikes. I hope everyone had a chance to attend one or more of them.
Week in review
First up was our Car-Free Holiday Fantasy in Lights on Tuesday (check out the link for a great video from the evening.) The weather couldn’t have been better, and we ended up with about 900 people walking, biking, running, and strolling through. It seems that people spread the word via bike groups and clubs, neighbors, print and TV media, word of mouth, as well as our Facebook group and event. There were tons of families with little kids, a few dogs, friends chatting, bike and running groups going through together, and lots of smiles and laughter.
After our two-hour car-free time slot, we headed over to the Sheraton on John Nolen Dr for socializing, special drinks, and even VIP indoor bike parking. Thanks to everyone who helped out, and to Wonderstate Coffee for hot beverages in Olin Park and the Sheraton for rolling out the red carpet and providing hot chocolate.
Wednesday evening was Be Bright with the UW Police Dept. and the City of Madison on W. Dayton St near Union South. At this event, the UWPD stops bicyclists without lights, but instead of a $150 ticket, they are escorted over to tables where volunteers provide them with a free set of lights and attach the lights to their bikes. Thanks to our volunteers for stepping up at the last minute the day after our big Olin Park event.
Tour of Atwood facilities. I also had an opportunity on Wednesday to join a tour with city staff to the new Atwood path. We learned about some of the innovative path, intersection, and signal treatments that the city has installed. I wish I had recorded the explanations each time we stopped, because there was just too much to remember. But Atwood should be much easier to cross — at least north of Walter Street — as there is only one lane southbound, the intersections are much narrower than before, encouraging slower speeds. Several intersections have green paint to draw drivers’ attention to where pedestrians and bicyclists are likely to be crossing.
Thanks for for inviting me to ride along. It’s great that about a dozen city staff all traveled by bike to learn about how Madison is making this corridor safer and more intuitive for bicyclists.
Unfortunately, if we have one more fatality in 2023, this will be the deadliest year in the last 15. Traffic fatalities have been up across the country since the COVID shut down. Fewer people may be driving to work, but with emptier streets, speeds are up, which has led to more dangerous roads. Over 46,000 people died as a result of traffic violence last year! In most years, between 30,000 and 40,000 people die on our streets due to motor vehicle crashes. As I’ve said before, any other consumer product with that kind of safety record would be pulled from the market in a week.
City budget. Among all the events last week, the city also passed a budget in one evening, which is highly unusual. Alder Isadore Knox introduced a last minute amendment to cut funding for the important Autumn Ridge Path project that will allow pedestrians and bicyclists to travel from Milwaukee St to Commercial Ave and provide a bridge over Hwy 30 east of Stoughton Rd. Presently, making that journey requires negotiating two roundabouts on Thompson Dr at Hwy 30 that tend to be very high-speed and unfriendly to all not driving. Fortunately, the motion failed. Thanks to those who wrote to support this project that has already received federal funding.
The week ahead
The week ahead will be fairly quiet because of a short week for Thanksgiving.
Monday
The Board of Public Works will be discussing the Mineral Point Rd project. Although the Transportation Commission recommended that an 8-10 foot path be built the entire length of the project, the BPW could recommend something else before it goes to Council. It would be great if a few people drop them a note or testify via Zoom about why we need at least an adequate path along Mineral Point Rd. This is already a compromise over what was promised when BRT and changes to Mineral Point Rd was first discussed. The option that was proposed before the Transportation Commission meeting would have narrowed the sidewalk/path to only five feet in sections.
Reminders and announcements
Monday, Nov 27
Bikes and N/S BRT. This is just a save-the-date reminder that we will be hosting a focus group on the north-south BRT line and bicyclists’ needs for the corridor. More information and a registration link can be found here.
Cooperative Carshare Survey
A local group is trying to reduce car dependency in Madison by expanding access to carshare. Their goal is to help others make the leap to being car-free or car-light households, paving the way for the city to become an even more biking- and pedestrian-friendly place to live. They are interested in knowing how people might use car-sharing and what you do/don’t like about this option. You can take their survey and let them know a few things about your driving habits and needs for carshare.
The highlight of this week is definitely our Car-Free Holiday Fantasy in Lights event. On Tuesday, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy Holiday Fantasy in Lights for two hours without having to worry about cars. Our Facebook event has over 1,800 people “interested,” which may be a record for any Madison Bikes event! From 5-7 pm, come bike, walk, or roll with us in Olin Park and enjoy a free coffee or hot chocolate provided by our friends at Wonderstate Coffee! And after you’ve done a loop or two, ride over to the Sheraton Madison for a social gathering from 6-8pm in their recently renovated lounge/bar space called the HUB! There may be drink specials. Please consider throwing some cash into the Holiday Fantasy in Lights collection boxes if you enjoyed the event.
Transportation Commission approves Mineral Point Rd widened sidewalk
The proposal to add a partially widened sidewalk to Mineral Point Road as part of the bus rapid transit (BRT) project was on the Transportation Commission’s agenda last week.
You can read an in-depth analysis of the project in a previous post. Here’s a high-level overview: BRT buses will be running in the center lanes of Mineral Point Rd rather than in the outside lanes. This avoids buses getting stuck behind right-turning cars. The City decided that cars will continue to get the two remaining travel lanes in each direction. This would leave Mineral Point Rd without any bike facilities. However, the City identified the street as part of its all ages and all abilities bike network, and there have been several fatal and serious injury crashes involving people walking and biking along the road. The proposed compromise solution: expand one of the sidewalks into a shared use path. However, some alders and members of the public have opposed the project because it involves removing trees.
On Wednesday, the Transportation Commission unanimously voted to go forward with the widened sidewalk along the whole stretch of Mineral Point Rd, from Whitney Way to the Beltline. The one exception, to preserve trees, is a stretch along Nautilus Park. There the 5-foot sidewalk will remain for now but eventually be replaced by a path going through the park.
The next step for the project is the Board of Public Works meeting next week Wednesday, and then the Common Council will make the final decision.
Save the date: North-South BRT and bikes
Speaking of bus rapid transit: Save the date for our upcoming November 27 virtual meeting on the planned North-South BRT route and what it means for people on bikes. Find more information and a sign-up link here.
A map of Metro’s planned Bus Rapid Transit network. The North-South route (Route B) is shown in green. Image: City of Madison
Madison’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) route, going from Junction Road on the west side to East Towne Mall on the East Side, is still under construction. But the City and Metro are already preparing for a second route, connecting the north and south side. If all goes well, the route could be in operation as early as 2028.
Initial concept for a reconstructed Park Street, with a widened sidewalk on only one side of the street. Source: City of Madison
The project will involve a reconstruction of Park Street, and potential changes to the setup of streets such as Fitch Hatchery, Packers, and Sherman. A lot of these changes will have an impact on people biking, and getting the route and the design right is important for improving our city’s all-ages-and-all-abilities bike network. Join our meeting for a presentation from Metro and an opportunity to ask questions and provide comment!
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Can’t make the meeting? We’ll record it and make it available via our website and YouTube channel. You can also send us questions or comments in advance of the meeting: info@madisonbikes.org
