Category: Weekly Update

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Bike News E-Mail Weekly Update

Film fest, Week Without Driving, lock ’em up

Out from behind the wheel

For those who are too young or too old to drive or disabled or unable to afford driving, even short trips around a car-focused community can be complicated, time-consuming and dangerous.

Week Without Driving, which begins today and runs through Oct. 6, is an annual opportunity to consider the challenges faced daily by people — more than 40% of Madison, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation — who cannot drive or choose not to drive.

Organizers America Walks and Disability Rights Washington say hundreds of public officials in 30 states participated in the week in 2023. Last week, Madison’s city council declared this to be Week Without Driving in Madison and encouraged all elected officials, staff
members, and Madison drivers to take part, noting that “having a variety of transportation options is crucial so that both people and businesses can have a transportation mode that works best for them when considering convenience, time, health, safety, cost, and
other factors.”

If you’re reading this, you’re probably also open to at least one alternative mode of transportation. But this is a good week to think hard about how you would get where you’re going without a car. How would that change your daily life? How should our community change to accommodate people for whom going car-free isn’t a thought exercise?

Roll that beautiful bike footage

Bicycle Film Festival poster with stylized bike shape on purple background

There’s still room for you at Bicycle Film Festival Madison, an evening of short films on bicycling themes and a fundraiser for yours (Madison Bikes) truly, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3, at the Barrymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave.

The films — about bicycles supporting communities, families, identities, fading histories and more — include documentaries, narrative stories and animation from award-winning filmmakers.

More info and festival tickets here.

Meet up for pre-show camaraderie at 4:30 p.m. at Working Draft Beer Company, 1129 E. Wilson St. The Walking Jerk food truck will be on site to complement the beer and alcohol-free beverage options.

Stop the steals!

Annotated photo of parts of a black bicycle securely locked with a chain and a U-lock through a bike rack, the front wheel and the frame and a pedal
Solid! Photo from UW–Madison guide to bike security.

There may be no guaranteed way to prevent bike theft, according to UW–Madison Transportation Services, but there are ways to improve the odds that your ride will be right where you left it when you come back.

Are your lock skills getting rusty? Check out the university’s illustrated guide to theft prevention, which puts the use of various combinations of locks and other hardware on a scale from less to more secure and suggests other ways to keep your bicycle and gear in your own hands.

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.

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Bike News Newsletter Weekly Update

Bikes, BRT & Regent Street

Bicycle Film Festival October 3

Do you have your tickets yet? Bicycle Film Festival is coming to Madison October 3, 6:30 pm at the Barrymore Theatre. 

Join us for a pre-show party at Working Draft Beer Company starting at 4:30. There will be NA beverage and vegan food options available. 

Bicycle Film Festival has been celebrating bicycles through art, film and music over the last 24 years. BFF spans the world in over 100 cities worldwide to an audience of over one million people. We’re excited to bring the festival to Madison for the first time!

BFF Madison presents a new short film program. These stories will appeal to a wide audience from film connoisseurs to avid cyclists and everyone in between. Curated documentaries, narratives, animations, award-winning directors, and emerging talents – all share equal billing. For lovers of gravel, road cycling, mountain biking, and bike packing, and the advocates who are pushing the bike movement forward in their communities.

This program will take you on a journey around the world featuring: 

  • Kailey Kornhauser and fellow “fat cyclist” Marley Blonsky are on a mission to change the idea that people with larger bodies can’t ride bikes
  • A family gives up everything to be together in their motorhome, traveling from bike park to bike park across Europe
  • The 1900 mile bicycle journey by Erick Cedeno (Bicycle Nomad) retracing the original route of the Buffalo Soldiers
  • A charismatic Ghanaian immigrant in Amsterdam teaches refugee adult women how to ride bikes
  • Cycle sport as relief from genocide (Oscar nominated director)
  • A Diné mountain biker hosts the first ever Enduro race in the Navajo Nation
  • And more…

Check out the trailer here!!: Bicycle Film Festival Madison – Trailer on Vimeo

Get your tickets here: https://barrymorelive.com/event/bicycle-film-festival-madison/

This Week

BRT Service Flyer
BRT Service Flyer 9/22 – Daniel Villegas

Rapid Route A Service Launch

Madison’s first ever Bus Rapid Transit route, the Rapid Route A, started its first full week of service on Sunday, 9/22. The route stretches roughly from East Towne Mall area to Junction Road at Watts Road on the Far West Side.

For those of you inclined to bring a bike on the bus, bike racks are now located inside the bus accessible using the rear doors of each sixty foot bus.

Learn (with me in the video) how to travel with a bike on Metro Transit’s new 60 foot, articulated buses being used on Routes A, B, and F here.

Public Evaluation of Regent Street

Regent St at rush hour
Regent Street – Madison Bikes

Regent Street will be up for reconstruction soon. Documenting its current condition and its shortcomings for people walking and biking is an important first step. Madison Bikes seeks your feedback to share with the City of Madison for when that reconstruction eventually takes place.

We will conduct a casual audit of Regent Street meeting in front of Budget Bicycles (1124 Regent St. location) at 5:30 p.m., followed by a social hour at Camp Cantina at 6:30 p.m.

We will have printed bike audit tool-kits available for everyone and we will provide guidance on how to use it. At the social hour, we can discuss how to best use the observations to advocate for improvements.

Madtown Monday Ride

GPS Mapped u003ca href=u0022https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48451885u0022u003eRideu003c/au003e – u0022Unfairportu0022

Join Cap City Cyclists Madison for their “Mad Town Monday” ride on Monday, 9/23. As always, the group meets at Orton Park, at 6 p.m. – party pacing at about a 12 mph pace for the 15 mile route. A bike light, helmet and a flat kit are highly recommended.

West Waubesa Trail open

Dane County Parks opened another beautiful trail. The West Waubesa Trail connects Lake Farm County Park to Goodman County Park and provides a safer alternative to biking on Lake Farm Road. Our board member Harald made a short video about the trail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmC3ofG6Xjc

Shorewood Detour Sep 30

Beginning next Monday Sep 30, the path behind the Shorewood Hills pool will close. (sewer construction has had several false starts since August, but they’re confident that Sept 30 is the date). This is a major disruption to the University Avenue path, breaking connectivity between Locust Drive and University Station.

The detour for the next few months will be on Harvard Drive through Shorewood Hills. Once winter sets in, they hope to have a shorter detour using the path on the north side of the pool. The work should be complete in the spring.

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.

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Bike News E-Mail Weekly Update

Lake Loops, Events & Stats

Two cyclists, perhaps riding a Wingra “Lake Loop” on Vilas Park Dr (Cyclists of Madison)

This Week

Waucheeta Connector Open

What is it about riding along and around lakes? There’s something undeniably satisfying about it, and because the Madison area is defined by its lakes, some of our most-traveled routes involve these sorts of circumnavigations.

Dane County Parks has entered the chat

A handy little connector path from the Lower Yahara River Trail (near Lussier Center) to Waucheeta Trail is now open and it provides convenient access to Capital Springs State Recreation Area, the Waubesa Beach Neighborhood, Goodland County Park and Christy’s Landing and helps cyclists avoid busy Lake Farm Rd. In the longer term, it works towards our goal of a safe and comfortable cycling “Lake Loop” around Lake Waubesa.

New Waucheeta Connector route Map (Google)

Events

On Thursday at 6 PM, attend (or Zoom into, registration req’d) this free talk at Meadowridge Library titled “Care & Repair: Biking Across the U.S. with Sam & Chick Westby“.

Sam and his dad Chick will share about their 3,600 mile journey from Oregon to New Jersey on bicycles. Over 42 days, they pushed through harrowing weather, crossed mountains, and stopped at lots and lots of gas stations. Bike touring comes with many unexpected twists and turns, requiring them to repair their bikes along the way, and care for each other as challenges arose. Join us for an evening of storytelling and education that you won’t forget!

On Friday evening, take advantage of this unseasonable warm and dry weather (yes, I just jinxed it) and join the ¡Pick Me Up at the Border! ride in support of our sister-organization Bike Fitchburg. The ride gathers in Fitchburg at 6:30 PM and is followed by a mass start at 7 PM. Choose your own distance and bring your lights because even though it feels like July, the sun is still going down like it’s mid-September! $15 donation.

Mode Share Analysis

In his blog post, Harald goes deep into an analysis of the Madison area commute mode share numbers from 2023. Spoiler-alert — not much has changed from the 2022 numbers, but read on for his thoughtful analysis of the trends and what to make of them.

Next Week

On Wednesday, September 25 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM, plan to attend our community event where we will conduct a casual tour/audit of Regent Bike/Walk capabilities followed by a social hour at watering hole TBD. This is our first step preparing for a process where Regent St will be rebuilt by the City. We have an opportunity to provide input and otherwise get our ducks in a row. Expect to hear more about this event soon!

Last Week

West and Northeast Area Plans adopted

Last Tuesday, the Common Council approved both the West and Northeast Area Plans, the latter, with an amendment to remove the Nakoosa Trail road extension near Sycamore Park. These plans project out the next 10-30 years of transportation, zoning, land use, parks, etc. The bike network maps are linked below. Remember that nothing in the plan has budget, timeline, or even a guarantee. In fact, we’re still waiting on items from the 1991 and 1997 plans!

West Area Plan Shared-Use Path & Bicycle Network (City of Madison)
Northeast Area Plan Shared-Use Path & Bicycle Network (City of Madison)

The City has ten (!) more area plans to do, roughly at the rate of two per year and next up are the Southwest and Southeast Area Plans. Be sure to sign up for project updates, especially if you live or visit those areas.

Olin-Turville Detour

Last week, Harald mentioned the that Olin-Turville section of the Lake Monona “Lake Loop” would be under construction until the end of October. He has since posted a video showing what it’s like to ride the detour, if you’re curious. The detour will be in place until work completes in late October.

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.

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Bike News E-Mail Weekly Update

Olin-Turville detour, Area Plans, UBRC classes, West Wash experiment

Making the SW Path crossing safer

Last week we reported on the city’s plan to improve safety at the crossing of the Southwest Path and West Washington Ave. After a string of crashes where drivers failed to stop for people in the crosswalk, the city temporarily narrowed the roadway to a single lane in each direction with construction barrels. Chris McCahill posted a before/after video to our Facebook group. If you have feedback on the experiment, send an email to traffic@cityofmadison.com.

Area plans at Common Council

The Common Council will meet on Tuesday. Two big items on the agenda will be the adoption of the West Area and the Northeast Area Plans. We have reported on these plans as they wound their ways through public and city meetings over the past months, but now it’s upon the council to make a final decision. You can register to speak or in support/opposition here. The NE Area Plan is item 16; the West Area Plan is item 17.

University Bicycle Resource Center class schedule

The fall term is in full swing, and the University Bicycle Resource Center published its schedule of classes for the semester. As always, all classes are free and open to the UW community. No registration, first come, first serve. The first workshop will be on September 17.

Olin Turville Detour

Today is the start of a detour around Olin-Turville Court and Lakeside Street. The road is in bad condition and so the city is repaving it. Because this is a crucial bike connection with no alternative, there will be a high-quality detour: One lane of John Nolen Drive, between Olin Ave and Lakeside St, will be converted to a two-way bike lane protected by concrete barriers. John Nolen Drive narrows to two lanes north of Lakeside anyway. And so the city is also using this as an opportunity to test if this block could be narrowed to two general travel lanes permanently. After all, John Nolen Drive is part of the city’s high injury network, with a high proportion of serious and fatal crashes.

The construction is divided in half, with the southern part of the road to be completed first. Access to the Wingra Creek Path and the boat launch will be maintained throughout the project, although some bikers will need to circle back to reach their destinations. Follow the signage.

Young girls “give it a whirl”

A quick reminder for young girls who are or want to be mountain bikers: Tonight (Monday) they can “give it a whirl” at Quarry Park. Little Bellas, “an organization that teaches young girls to ride mountain bikes,” will host a two-hour workshop that “will introduce girls ages 7-13 to mountain biking in a fun, safe, and supportive environment.” Registration is free and the event starts at 3:30pm.

Join the Smart Trips Challenge

We mentioned it last week, but it’s not too late to the Smart Trips challenge. So far, 104 people are signed, and I think there are much more of you out there who bike, walk, or bus and would like to win cool prizes!

RoundTrip Madison is hosting the Smart Trips Challenge throughout September to encourage walking, bicycling, public transit, and carpooling for everyday trips including work, school, and errands. The first 25 participants to log an eligible trip will receive a $10 gift card to Ian’s Pizza. The challenge will also offer weekly and grand prize drawings, along with a special Metro Transit swag drawing for participants choosing transit throughout the month.

Congrats, Baltazar!

Finally, we’d like to congratulate our former board member Baltazar De Anda Santana for completing the Ironman yesterday, in a little over 15 hours. Madison 365 featured an article about what motivates Baltazar to participate:

“The biggest reason I do this is for representation in the sport,” De Anda Santana tells Madison365. “One thing I always wonder is, ‘How come there aren’t more of us here?’ I didn’t see many people out there who looked like me who were running, biking and swimming.

For the last 5 years or so, he has been competing in Ironman competitions because he wants to be healthy and he wants to test himself but there is another important reason why he is dedicating a good portion of his life to biking, running, and cycling.

Triathlon competitors are overall very white, mostly male, and generally pretty well-off financially. When he first started a few years back, he only knew of two Latinos who had completed the Ironman in Madison. De Anda Santana says that he will be participating in this weekend’s Ironman for his Latinx, gay, and undocumented families here in Madison and beyond. He says that his goal is to finish the Ironman in between 16.5 and 17 hours.

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.

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Action Alert E-Mail Weekly Update

Crashes, Middleton, and a Challenge

Crashes at the Southwest Path crossing of West Washington Ave

Crash diagram at Southwest Path and West Washington
Diagram of crash at Southwest Path & W Washington Ave –
An Uncontrolled Pedestrian Crossing

In response to three serious car/bike crashes in as many weeks at the Southwest Commuter Path crossing of West Washington Avenue, City of Madison Traffic Engineering informed us:

Traffic Engineering immediately assembled a team and conducted a comprehensive safety audit, to analyze the crash patterns, collaborate with our colleagues in MPD in identifying factors involved, and identify infrastructure improvements that we can make to enhance safety.

While staff are still determining a few more improvements to make, one improvement that we want to test immediately instead of waiting is to close traffic lanes on W Washington Ave to one lane each direction at the path crossing.

We are trying to implement the test as soon as possible, likely after the morning rush hour on Tuesday, September 3

This is excellent news. We hope the test goes well and that the street is permanently changed to one travel lane in each direction at the crossing to enhance pedestrian/cyclist safety.

Middleton Active Transportation Survey

Middleton City Sign 540 "Middleton the Good Neighbor City - a sign provided by the Middleton Chamber of Commerce"
Middleton City Sign 540 – Channel 3000

Want to help shape a more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly community?

The City of Middleton is gathering feedback for its first-ever Active Transportation Plan (ATP), which “aims to make the city more accessible and welcoming for pedestrians, cyclists, and users of small ‘micro-mobility’ devices, such as scooters.”

The survey and more information can be found here.

Smart Trips Challenge

RoundTrip Madison is hosting the Smart Trips Challenge throughout September to encourage walking, bicycling, public transit, and carpooling for everyday trips including work, school, and errands. The first 25 participants to log an eligible trip will receive a $10 gift card to Ian’s Pizza. The challenge will also offer weekly and grand prize drawings, along with a special Metro Transit swag drawing for participants choosing transit throughout the month.

Visit this page for a press release.

Community Updates

Cyclists on the Southwest Commuter Path
Cyclists on the Southwest Commuter Path – WI Bike Federation
  • On Labor Day, look for the Shifting Gears dance festival from noon to 6pm along bike paths at Brittingham Park, McPike Park, and Wirth Court (by Goodman Community Center).
  • B-Cycle Madison has a new station at the East Johnson Triangle in Eken Park!
  • Owen Drive (Near West) and Richardson Drive (Fitchburg) are both newly resurfaced. Segoe Drive is back open to traffic and its new protected bike lanes are usable, though there’s still construction activity.
  • The University Ave path through Shorewood remains open. A sewerage project will eventually close it, but the project’s start date has slipped several times.
  • On Tuesday, Sep. 3, the Transportation Commission will discuss the “Complete Green Streets” guide.
  • Meadowridge Library hosts Biking Across the U.S. with Sam & Chick Westby Sep. 19 from 6-7 pm.
  • To prepare for Metro Transit’s Rapid Route A launch on Sep. 22, they are hosting open houses on Fri Sep 6 12-3pm and Tue Sep 10 4-7pm at the Baldwin St Station. Also be on the lookout for the new “bendy buses” on campus routes, and Routes B and F. All door boarding at BRT stations is possible on these buses. Despite their size, their turn radius is similar to a regular bus.
  • Sign up for Metro Transit’s new paperless Fast Fare system. Features include: online accounts with re-loadable smart cards, fare cap pricing, and ticket vending machines at most BRT stations. More details, including on half-priced fares for seniors and others, found here.

Lastly, Happy Labor Day everybody. Shout out to all workers who make walking, biking, and taking transit safe and enjoyable for all in Madison.

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.

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E-Mail Weekly Update

Late August Update

Northeast and West Plans in Final Stages

Progress on the Wilson St cycletrack near the convention center 8/21/2024. Photo: Chris Collins

It’s not too late for your input on Northeast/West plans

The Northeast and West Area Plans will be considered for approval in the next two weeks. These plans will be reviewed by the Plan Commission (August 26). The Plan Commission recommendations will then be considered by the Common Council when they approve the final version on September 10.

Recent changes to the Northeast Area Plan include:

  • Recommendations to add additional bike connections including an off-street path on the east side of Highway 51 between East Washington Avenue and the planned Hiestand Path south of Highway 30
  • A grade separated crossing for pedestrians and cyclists on the south side of the Highway 30/Stoughton Road interchange.

Recent changes to the West Area Plan include keeping the east-west connection through the Sauk Greenway. However, there are changes to the specific language that include the requirement that all options for location of the crossing are evaluated for making the east-west connection across the greenway rather than specifying the site of the crossing. The north/south path through Sauk Creek is still not in the plan but protected bike lanes on Westfield and High Point roads should make travel safer.

See the Madison Bikes August 5th Update for more details on the current status of the plans. Also see Ben Varick’s excellent discussion of these plans as they relate to students and their families from a recent Bike Fed communication.

Despite some shortcomings, there is a lot of good in these plans. Overall, they will make bicycling and walking safer, and hopefully reduce carbon footprints by encouraging active transportation. Decision makers need to hear the good along with the bad from bicyclists. The plans are going before the Planning Commission on August 26th. Click here to submit comments to this committee. The Common Council meets on September 10th. Support the West and Northeast Area Plans by writing to your Alder or the all of the members of the Common Council.

A word from the mayor

Implementing Vision Zero is a major initiative for Madison and will make transportation safer and improve quality of life here.  However, it is not without financial costs. Check out this interview with the mayor about the rationale for Vision Zero and the role of federal funding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEzCFG2983g

September means caution

Be safe out there. There are more bike crashes in Madison in September than in any other month.

That’s all for this week. Enjoy the early fall weather.

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.

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Bike News Newsletter Weekly Update

Housing Week; Board Elections; Advocacy Woes

Bicyclists cruise down John Nolen Drive at Ride The Drive

Welcome to this week’s newsletter. Here’s what you should know about in the Madison biking-for-transportation world this week.

Housing Week is Here

It’s Madison Housing Week! As the population in Madison continues to rise, Madison Housing Coalition is thinking about what can be done to increase access to housing for those who want to work and live here. Going on now, from August 17th-22nd, is a series of events to learn, discuss, and advocate for solutions to the housing shortage. Some events you may want to check out are:

  1. Housing on Tap on Monday, August 19th from 5:30pm – 7:00pm at Vintage Brewing Company
  2. Housing Environmentalism on Wednesday, August 21st from 6:00pm – 7:30pm at the Central Library, room 301
  3. Dane County Exec Debate & Social on Thursday August 22nd from 6:00pm – 9:45pm at The Tinsmith

To see the full list of events, their details, and to RSVP, check out the site at madisonhousingweek.com.

Madison Bikes Board Elections

Madison Bikes board elections are coming up this Fall, and we want to know if you are interested. Have you volunteered with Madison Bikes in the past and want to take your involvement to the next level? Are you interested in helping promote bike advocacy and put on awesome community events? Would you be interested in writing this newsletter? While you don’t need to be on the board to do any of those things, we always welcome and encourage anyone to let us know if they’d like to join. What is it like to be on the board? Well, that’s up to you. Some members focus mostly on planning events, some specialize in the website and social media, and some focus on educating the community on important bike advocacy issues. We all meet to discuss these topics with the goal of making Madison a better place to comfortably ride a bike. If that sounds like your jam, board elections are coming up soon and we would love if you reached out to us at info@madisonbikes.org.

Cannonball Extension Disappointment

In July, Wisconsin’s Commissioner of Railroads rejected a proposed extension to connect the Cannonball Path and Wingra Creek bike paths. On Friday, August 16th, Madison officials decided not to appeal the decision. The proposed route would have crossed Fish Hatchery Road and the Wisconsin and Southern railroad tracks, but was deemed unsafe by Commissioner Don Vruwink, who cited risks such as train derailment and potential bike accidents. The issue with the decision is that it overlooks the dangers of biking on the heavily trafficked Fish Hatchery Road. Despite the frustration of yet another bike infrastructure conflict with the railroad, the city is planning to explore alternatives, such as expanding sidewalks, to address the lack of safe connection from the Cannonball to Wingra Creek.

The approximate location of the path extension that was rejected by the Railroad Commission

West Washington Crash

A cyclist was struck by a driver on West Washington on Saturday, August 17th at the Southwest path crossing. Not much is known about the crash at this time other than the motorist stayed at the scene and the bicyclist was taken to the hospital and is alive.

This intersection is notoriously dangerous and has seen several crashes involving drivers and cyclists this year alone. Despite having a Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon (RRFB) there are multiple potential reasons for the level of danger at this intersection. Path users have to cross 4 motor traffic lanes to get across W. Washington, with a refuge island in the middle. In addition to the issue of crossing multiple lanes at once, often times the driver in the first lane will stop to yield for a pedestrian or cyclist and the driver in the next lane will not. Speeding and driver inattentiveness can also play roles in making this area more dangerous.

What could be done to reduce the risk? Some have suggested a pedestrian bridge. While that would help avoid conflict, it is still a car-centric design. It would be very costly and likely require cyclists to make a significant climb to clear the minimum height of a bridge. Pedestrians would also have to travel a much longer distance to get across, and would likely opt to cross the road directly instead. Another option would be to implement a road diet by narrowing it to one lane in each direction or create other traffic calming measures such as making the path a raised crossing. Personally I would love to see one or both of those changes implemented, as they would be much more cost-effective and have been proven to slow down drivers and make crossing the road safer, often without reducing traffic volumes. What kinds of changes would you like to see?

That it for this newsletter. Stay safe and thanks for being a part of the Madison Bikes community.

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.

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E-Mail Weekly Update

Drive ridden. Housing Week around the corner.

Back in a big way

Ride the Drive returned Sunday to some of Madison’s busiest streets, clearing the lanes to give more than 10,000 cyclists and pedestrians an opportunity to experience open streets and move at a more human pace through spaces typically dominated by car traffic.

Madison Bikes at Ride the Drive. Photo courtesy Robbie Webber.

The 4-mile route mostly along Monona Bay and Lake Monona was anchored in six park “hubs” that played host to bike-related and Madison Parks activities like ice cream, games, movies, paddling, coffee, playgrounds, clean energy and environmental outreach, garden walks, bike checks and safety info, music, tacos, books, cool water and more — almost anything you’d want to bike to or watch a kid do. And it happened in partnership with a raft of local businesses and organizations like Public Health Madison & Dane County, Madison School & Community Recreation, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, transit and utility agencies, arts groups, fraternal organizations, and nonprofits dedicated to biking, active outdoor recreation, reading, cancer research, social justice and more.

That is to say … it was kind of a big deal for an event balanced on skinny tires and walking shoes. Large thanks go out to hundreds of volunteers who kept a safe route, as well as to Madison Parks for organizing a fun day with such broad appeal.

Did you have a good time? Did you miss RTD this year, but hope it has a future despite uncertain city finances? Wouldn’t hurt to let Madison Parks know how you feel.

People parking bicycles on grass around bushes and trees.
Parking in the park between Riding on the Drive. Photo courtesy Robbie Webber.

Housing (next) Week

Aug. 17 to 22 is Housing Week in Madison, putting a focus on the way population growth and development priorities are constricting access to homes for so many people in Madison and Dane County.

Housing Week logo

Presented by the Madison Housing Coalition — which includes Madison Bikes and many other groups working toward safe and livable cities — Housing Week offers and event or two each day covering aspects of problems in the Madison area and potential solutions.

Some highlights:

• Aug. 17, 3 p.m.: Missing Middle Walking Tour. Starting from Lapham Elementary, 1045 E. Dayton St., a 60-minute walk exploring “missing middle” (housing that falls between single-family and higher-density apartment buildings) in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood.

Aug. 21, noon: Complete Neighborhoods, with the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission. Commission members address the importance of planning for a mix of housing in new and existing neighborhoods. On Zoom.

• Aug. 22, 6 p.m.: Dane County executive debate on housing issues, with general election candidates and Jason Joyce of Isthmus, at The Tinsmith, 828 E. Main St.

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.

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Weekly Update

Area plans, Mifflin diverters, Cannonball Path extension; Give it a Whirl

Northeast and West Area Plans at TC

Two area plans were on the agenda for the Transportation Commission last week: The Northeast Area Plan and the West Area Plan.

For the Northeast Area Plan, the recommendations for the bike network largely remained unchanged from what was presented earlier in the year. City staff asked the commission to consider adding some additional bike connections in the context of WisDOT’s Stoughton Road study:

Most notably, as a result of City of Madison comments, WisDOT is considering an off-street path on the east side of Highway 51 between East Washington Avenue and the planned Hiestand Path south of Highway 30. Of particular concern is the grade separated crossing for pedestrians and cyclists on the south side of the Highway 30 interchange. Safe pedestrian and bicycle crossings are a basic part of interchange design.

The commission recommended adoption of the plan with these changes included. Here’s a map of the full bike network plan:

The plan will now go through various other city commissions and come before the Common Council for final adoption on September 10.

The West Area Plan was recommended for approval as well. In terms of biking, two changes from the previous draft were included in the recommendation: The east-west connection through the Sauk Greenway remained part of the recommendation, but with changes to the specific language:

Based on public feedback for the east-west path, this is
how the recommendation changed between the last two public feedback phases: Changed from “During the Sauk Creek Greenway Corridor Plan, use detailed engineering data to design West Area Plan July 31 st TC Meeting an All Ages and Abilities shared use path from Brule Circle to Walnut Grove Park through the greenway using environmentally sensitive best practices and minimizing impacts to trees” to “During the Sauk Creek Greenway Corridor Plan, use detailed engineering data to consider the impacts and benefits of adding an All Ages and Abilities shared-use path to make an east-west
connection across the greenway to Walnut Grove Park” and “Any All Ages and Abilities path should be designed using environmentally sensitive best practices and minimizing impacts to trees and other vegetation, wildlife habitat, and adjacent properties.”

In practical terms, staff explained that they would conduct a corridor study about the east/west connection that would evaluate various options for creating a connection in this area. The north/south path through Sauk Creek was not re-added to the plan.

The other change was about a crossing of the Beltline: The previous version of the plan had proposed a bike/ped connection across the Beltline between Tokay Blvd and Forward Dr (solid blue line). Based on more analysis, that connection was not shifted to the east (blue dashed line) because it was more feasible.

This motion passed, with two no votes, from Alder Harrington McKinney and resident appointee Denise Jess. Next in the process are other city commissions, and on September 10, the Common Council will vote on the plan.

Railroad Commissioner kills Cannonball Path extension

The project was funded and ready to be built this year. But because it involved new railroad crossings, the Cannonball Path extension between Fish Hatchery Road and the Wingra Creek Path needed the approval of the Office of the Commissioner of the Railroads. After many months, the office released their final verdict: The city is not allowed to go forward with the project. You can read the whole analysis here: https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERFview/viewdoc.aspx?docid=509679 The city is now evaluating its options, but this is a major setback for the project.

Diverters on Mifflin: Test is coming

There have been many complaints about the E Mifflin Bike Boulevard: The road is wide; traffic volumes are high, and people in car often speed. One way to fix this: Diverters. These are pieces of infrastructure that let through people on bikes but limit access for motor vehicles in one or more directions. E Mifflin already has one diverter, at Blair St. This fall, the city will test another diverter, at Mifflin and Paterson, next to Reynolds Park. Westbound Mifflin at Paterson will get a “Do not enter. Except bikes” sign. The city will collect traffic volume, speed, and resident feedback data before, during, and after the test to inform a final design. The exact timing of the test is not determined yet.

One of the possible diverter designs. Source: City of Madison

Give it a Whirl Day in September

Do you now any girls interested in mountain biking? They may be interested in the Give it a Whirl Day on September 9.

This program is an all-girls, Give it a Whirl Day held at Quarry Ridge Recreation Area. With over 3 miles of spectacular trails, the park is a mountain bikers paradise! And better yet, it’s a Little Bellas paradise too!

Our Give it a Whirl day aims to get girls of all abilities either introduced to the sport or help them develop an already present interest. Based around having fun, we play lots of games (on and off the bike), explore and ride trails, and incorporate basic bike skills.

We also use the mountain bike experience to help the girls gain confidence, build camaraderie with other girls on bikes, seek out new adventures, and get outdoors! These are learning skills your daughter can take with her throughout life.

It is a great opportunity for girls looking to try out mountain biking as well as for those who are looking to explore some new trails in their area!

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.

Categories
Weekly Update

West/Northeast Area Plans + Ride the Drive

It’s largely reruns during this summer filled with big construction projects and some big long-term planning ongoing.

Ride the Drive 2024 is only two weeks away and they’re looking for volunteers. It should be a fun time and we’re glad to see it come back after a hiatus.

A man in a red shirt rides a double-decker bike, assisted by two people. Cyclists in the background look on with curiosity.
My brother-in-law Vince at Ride the Drive 2019

Still working their way through the legislative system are the West and Northeast Area Plans. With respect to the West Area Plan, the City sent an email this morning that sums up the review process better than I could:

West Area Plan Review Process

West Area Plan review continues this week with the Transportation Commission at 5pm on Wednesday, July 31.  Other scheduled board/committee/commission review meetings are: 

Residents may provide written comments at any time. All meetings are virtual, except for the Council meeting, which is hybrid. Instructions to listen to the meetings and provide comments are available via the links above. Residents wishing to speak at a meeting may register once the agenda is published – typically the Friday before the meeting.  

For the Northeast Plan, a similar trajectory awaits. I don’t get the feeling that the City plays favorites, so they likely sent an email just like the above for this plan, but I’m not subscribed to updates on that region. According to the website, it’s up for review and discussion at all the same meetings and commissions.

The end is in sight but your comments are still vital! In particular, this week’s TC meeting has been targeted by opponents of the bike paths in the Sauk Creek Greenway. These paths were originally part of the West Area Plan and intended to provide important north-south and east-west connections, especially to the Alicia Ashman Library, Memorial HS, the Lussier Center, and the neighborhoods in general. 

The N-S path was removed from the draft plan by Alder Conklin (District 9) after she was harangued by constituents about perceived loss of trees in the greenway.  The E-W path remains in the plan, but groups are organizing against that as well.

Anyone should feel free to send comments about either of these plans, especially with regards to needed connections or elements they want to see or feel good are included. The easiest way to do so for this week’s TC meeting (agenda) is probably by sending email to transportationcommission@cityofmadison.com. You don’t need to write a novel — just a brief message saying what you support or oppose is sufficient. I don’t think you get extra credit for length or snark but I could be wrong.

You might not think your opinion matters or you might think that you’re already well-represented, but the truth is that your comments can provide important balance and political cover. As we know from politics at all levels in this country, a vocal and well-organized minority can really shape the trajectory of things. Sometimes you’re in the minority, sometimes you’re opposed to the minority. Sometimes it’s two minorities that are lined up against each other when they largely share the same goals. If you’re feeling exhausted now, you’re not alone!

And on that bright note, enjoy the last week of July!

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.