Madison Bikes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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: 

• August 5 – Landmarks Commission (5:00pm)
• August 14 – Urban Design Commission (4:30pm)
• August 14 – Board of Park Commissioners (6:30pm)
• August 26 – Plan Commission (5:30pm)
• September 10 – Common Council (6:30pm)

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.

This week’s image is just a reminder that we see so much more when we are biking. I spotted this sandhill crane next to the Campus Dr Path. We watched each other from a distance of a couple dozen feet for about 15 minutes, until we both got bored. When we bike, we are more likely to see amazing sights such as this, and we can easily stop to enjoy them.

It’s been a quiet week, and the week ahead is pretty sleepy as well, if you don’t count construction that will either close or slow parts of two important trails. Ah, road construction even hits the paths we use.

The week ahead

Monday

Pedal and Paddle Community meeting

Do you like to bike? Do you like to paddle? Then July’s community event is for you. 6:00-7:00 pm at the Central Library on W Mifflin, Room 104. Beverages and snacks provided.

Local author and silent sports disciple Timothy Bauer will offer a fun and informative presentation on combining pedaling and paddling, along with helpful basics, tricks, and considerations to get things started. All are welcome, no experience necessary.

Wisconsin has oodles of dedicated trails throughout the state — most of which cross over or even run alongside beautiful rivers. In Madison, we have beautiful lakes visible on almost every bike ride. 

Bike Fitchburg monthly meeting

Also on Monday, Bike Fitchburg will hold their monthly meeting 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Fitchburg Senior Center, 5510 Lacy Rd

Thursday

The Joint Campus Area Committee – a city committee comprised of UW entities and representatives from surrounding neighborhoods – will meet virtually at 4:45 pm. The committee receives various updates on campus projects, holes in the ground, and the buildings you see going up. The primary item of transportation interest will be an update on the survey and planning for updates to the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path – the subject of a recent public meeting and some discussion on the Madison Bikes Facebook discussion group – and improvements to the path where it passes the Limnology building. 

Construction and detours

Post Farm Path in Shorewood Hills to close

Also a reminder that the portion of the Post Farm Path from Marshall Ct to Perdue in Shorewood Hills – that’s the piece that runs between the pool and the RR tracks – will be closed starting Monday. You can still get through by using the old path north of the pool, but please be careful and yield to the many pedestrians, including lots of kids, that are in the area.

Sometime in August, the entire route from Shorewood Blvd to Marshall Ct will be completely closed, and the only option will be local streets through Shorewood Hills or crossing to the south side of University Ave. More on that as the time approaches. All this inconvenience is due to the need to replace a large sewer pipe that is directly under the path.

Cap City Trail

Sections of the Capital City Trail will be undergoing maintenance July 22 – Aug 2, 2024 from 6:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. The trail will remain open but expect to slow or stop when you see maintenance signs, vehicles on trails, or staff working. Staff will help direct trail users around areas where culverts are being installed. The sections of trail that will be impacted are: Syene Road to Verona Rd. and Syene Road to Glacier Valley

Request for participation in UW study

Students from the UW-Madison Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture are conducting research on bicycle habits and safety perceptions in the Madison area. Your participation will be greatly appreciated, and will be used with local partners to help improve bicycling in Madison. 

You can complete the survey here: https://arcg.is/1yr9yy0

You are encouraged to share this survey with those around you, both riders AND non-riders, as this survey has questions for all people, regardless of how much riding they do. 

Community rides

Friday is the weekly e-bikes lunch ride from Machinery Row, although all types of bikes are welcome. It is described as, “a casual-pace ride starting at noon from Machinery Row Bicycles to a local eatery for lunch.” 

Sunday is the weekly Century Training Ride with two pace groups leaving from Machinery Row at 8:00 am. Routes vary.

For more information on both of these rides, connect with @machineryrowbikes on IG or FB for the route each week or contact lauren@machineryrowbicycles.com to join the email list.

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.

Other than the blazing hot weather we’ve been experiencing, making biking a soggy and exhausting affair, things have been pretty quiet this last week. 

I had a friend visiting, and he wanted to go to the Fete de Marquette while I had an appointment. “Will there be bike parking?” he asked, since he’s bike touring. Well, there’s good news and bad news on that front. I assured him there was lots of bike parking, but finding an empty spot was like a game of “Where’s Waldo.” He took my suggestion and parked a few blocks away to find a relatively safe and clear spot for his Surly. 

Even after spending a few days cruising around Madison and seeing everyone on bikes, and knowing our reputation for being bike-friendly, I think he was taken aback by the shear volume of bikes parked at Fete.

The week ahead

In big and small ways, we are starting to see resistance to planning, funding and building bike and pedestrians infrastructure. In addition, with the looming budget deficit and possible referendum, a few folks have decided that even matching funds for federal grants are ill-advised, if the grant would improve walking and biking.

Take a look at the items coming up this week, and make sure to let your elected officials know if you think these are good investments in our community.

Tuesday

At the Council

Two city plans starting final review process

At the Council, both the Northeast Plan and the West Area Plan formal adoption process are beginning. These plans are the first of 12 that will be adopted over the next few years, and each area plan has transportation components as well as land use and zoning elements. 

The controversial proposal to build both a north-south and east-west paths through the Sauk Creek Greenway was one of the transportation recommendations in the West Area Plan. After neighborhood objections, the north-south path was removed by city staff from the West Area Plan. 

These two plans will  move through various committees over the next several months, and each committee can make final recommendations for what should be included in the plans. Then they come back to the Council for final adoption. The two plans will be at the Transportation Commission on July 31. 

Northside bike/ped facility grant application

City is applying for a federal grant to develop a plan and design for an all-ages-and-abilities facility from the north side. One comment was received saying that the city shouldn’t apply because local matching funds would be required. 

Curb management grant application

The writer of the above-mentioned objection to the federal money also objects to another item on the agenda that would apply to the Wisconsin DOT Carbon Reduction Program to begin a study of curb management. In this case, the local match would be paid from the Parking Utility funds, which are completely separate from the city general fund, so the matching funds wouldn’t affect the deficit one way or another.

Curb management is studying and laying out policies for the entire curb area based on surrounding land use and the needs identified. The curb area is most often used for car parking, but could also be used for street cafes, bike sharing kiosks, bike lanes, loading/drop-off zones (for deliveries or taxi/Uber/Lyft), street amenities like benches and trees, bus-priority lanes, or even additional personal vehicle movement. 

Many cities have studied curb management and developed policies that use this precious space efficiently and equitably. A study of needs and best use of the this limited resource in various areas of the city is the first step in developing a curb management policy that serves all in the community.

UW Lakeshore Trail survey and meeting

If you ride the UW Lakeshore Trail from Willow Creek east to the Limnology Building, you know that parts of it are unpaved and unlit. The unpaved areas can be wet, muddy, and/or icy, depending on the season and recent weather. And with no lighting, it’s hard to see the ice, puddles, and ruts during the long winter nights. (This was my commute to my UW campus job, and I had to find a new winter route, because I didn’t trust the surface when I got off work after dark. Even in the daytime, the trail was often very rutted and slippery.)

Now, the UW is considering paving and lighting the path. They will hold a meeting on Tuesday, July 16, from 5-8 p.m. at the Memorial Union. They also have a survey available online and a map where you can comment about specific locations of concern. 

Wednesday

Transportation Commission

The Transportation Commission will meet on Wednesday, but the agenda is fairly short. The one item of interest to bicyclists might be a report on the first year of the city Transportation Demand Management program and suggested modifications. The city TDM program requires that any new, or substantially-changed land use, as well as any request to increase parking, take measures to offset demands for driving and parking. It will be interesting to hear how the program is going after a year.

TDM aims to both increase transportation options and decrease [motor] vehicle miles traveled. The requirements of the program are reviewed as part of the standard land use approvals. Applicants are assigned a certain number of points to offset parking and driving and can earn these points by reducing or limiting parking, providing incentives to use transportation options other than driving, and educational efforts on transportation options for residents and commercial tenants. Examples in the bicycle realm might be classes on finding a comfortable bike route or how to be comfortable riding in traffic, providing BCycle memberships, bike parking and amenities above and beyond minimum requirements, providing showers and lockers, etc.

Community events and rides this week

Monday: Madison Bikes board meets at the Central Library at 6:00 pm. All are welcome

Friday: Lunch brunch e-bike ride leaves from Machinery Row at noon for a casual social ride to a lunch spot. All types of bikes welcome.

Sunday: Century Training Club leaves from Machinery Row at 8:00 am with two pace groups.

For more details on community events, including contacts for questions, see the Madison Bikes Community Calendar.

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.

I have to say, it’s pretty refreshing to be in a period of “relatively normal” rain after many weeks of “terribly excessive.” Enjoy while you can! It’s a pretty slow time of year because everyone’s out loving their biking, so some of this stuff is on repeat.

This Week

Bike Rides

On Wednesday at 6 PM, consider joining the Madison Queer Bike Ride at Law Park.

On Friday at 12 PM, join the Lunch Bunch E-Bike Rides leaving from Machinery Row Bicycles and enjoy lunch along the way with fellow riders.

Check out @machineryrowbikes on IG or FB for the route each week or contact lauren@machineryrowbicycles.com to join the email list.

On Sunday at 8 AM, join one of the Century Training Club rides leaving from Machinery Row Bicycles (same contact info as above).

Path Updates

The short-length-but-vital path connecting Manitou Way and McCaffrey Dr (paralleling Seminole Hwy) is open and although it’s not 100% complete, all that remains is a few landscaping touch-ups and finishing up the new improved crosswalk across Seminole Hwy.

Enjoy a more relaxed Arboretum Loop and skip a sketchy, exposed left-turn across traffic. This was a long time coming!

According to Dane County Parks and our own field research, the medium-length-but-vital path connecting Fish Camp County Park to Lake Kegonsa State Park opened on July 3! Part of the longer Lower Yahara River Trail, this path dramatically improves bicycle connections between McFarland and Stoughton by cutting out some busier stretches of rural roads. This was a long time coming!

Looking Ahead

Save the date for our July Community Event “Paddle and Pedal.” On Monday, July 22, join us at the Central Library for this great talk:

Going for a bike ride doesn’t have to be a loop around the lakes or farmland out in the countryside. Wisconsin has oodles of dedicated trails throughout the state — most of which cross over or even run alongside beautiful rivers. You’ve probably seen some of them, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually be on them? Local author and silent sports disciple Timothy Bauer will offer a fun and informative presentation on combining pedaling and paddling, along with helpful basics, tricks, and considerations to get things started. All are welcome, no experience necessary. We’ll have some drink and snacks available.

No RSVP required, but if you’re on Facebook, you can do so there to help us plan the snack situation.

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.