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Bike News

Development Committee Returns!

This Week

Monday

Development committee is back! Join us tonight at 6 pm at Barriques on West Wash (127 W Washington Ave). After a hiatus, this committee returns. We will be reviewing previously set goals, as well as discussing what we hope to accomplish in 2019. Volunteers are encouraged to attend to help get this committee going again.

Bike Fitchburg’s Monthly meeting will take place at Fitchburg Public Library starting at 6:30 pm.

MeatHEAD Ride, this ride starts every Monday at 7:00 PM November through March regardless of the weather. The ride starts at Ford’s Gym, 2114 Winnebago St in Madison. Read more about the group on their Facebook page.

Wednesday

The Transportation Commission will meet at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd Room 206, Madison Municipal Building. On the agenda is the new diagonal crossing at Blount and Willy as part of their signal priority list. This intersection has the potential to be a great alternative to the hairball intersection.

Remember, if you have an event for our Madison Bikes Community Calendar, send it to us so others can find it. And all the details about all the events are up on, or linked from that same calendar, so make sure to visit often.

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Bike News

Meet our new board members and officers!

We’re already well under way into another year for Madison Bikes, and 2019 comes with a number of new faces on our board or directors! In addition, we have a new president and vice-president. But let me start by introducing our new board members: Jake Foley, Elysha Jones, Steph Shelton, Peter Taglia, and Jim Wilson.

Jake Foley

Jake Foley moved to Madison with his family in 2015, and lives on the North side with his wife, daughter and soon to be new baby. Relocating to Madison to design bikes for Trek Bicycle, Jake has enjoyed planting roots in the community. Using his background in art and design Jake is thrilled to be involved with Madison Bikes, where he hopes to contribute in efforts to improve the infrastructure of our great city. Having traveled all over the world for Trek, Jake is inspired and excited to bring some influences to Madison to help make it the number one cycling city in the world. In his spare time he enjoys commuting by bike, trail running, playing basketball, racing cyclocross, mountain biking, paddle boarding, and water skiing.

Elysha Jones

Elysha Jones grew up in St. Louis, MO. The bicycle infrastructure there was lacking, especially if you wanted to bicycle with children, so her and her family looked for a more bike friendly city. Madison fit the bill beautifully and they have called it home now for the last 7 years. Elysha is a stay at home mom who does most of her errands by bike, that includes picking her two daughters, aged 5 and 9 up from school along with another neighbor girl who hitches a ride everyday in Elysha‘s bakfiet. She is a year round cyclist and strives to be as “car lite” as she can be.

Steph Shelton

Steph was born and raised in Racine, WI. After living in other states and serving in the Peace Corps, she returned to Wisconsin and has been living in Madison for five years. As a year-round bike commuter and a dedicated cyclocross biker, Steph believes that safe biking can and should be accessible for all Madison residents. As such, she hopes to make an impact on making year-round biking a choice for all. Steph currently holds an MS degree in Population Health and works as a Cancer Data Specialist at the UW Carbone Cancer Center.

Peter Taglia

Peter began to see the potential for bicycles as a healthy and sustainable form of transportation while attending college in Missoula Montana. After moving to Madison in the late 1990s to attend graduate school and start a family, Peter began to advocate for bicycles as a student representative to the UW-Madison Transportation Committee. He continued to volunteer for bicycle infrastructure and policies while towing his two children in a beloved bike trailer while his career as an environmental geologist exposed him to details of the energy and water impacts of various sectors of the economy.
Peter’s work experience includes environmental investigations, remediation, and permitting at an engineering firm (2001 – 2005), environmental policy, research and advocacy as the staff scientist for Clean Wisconsin (2005 – 2011) and continued environmental work as an independent consultant for clients in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He has served as a board member for the Wisconsin Public Utility Institute at UW-Madison and the Bayview Foundation, a low-income housing provider in his neighborhood, and on local, state and regional commissions and task forces. Peter lives in a 102 year old home in downtown Madison where he also hosts guests as a licensed short term rooming house.

Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson

Jim has lived and bicycled in the Madison area his whole life. Finding his bicycle to be a more reliable, more affordable, and healthier form of transportation, he ditched the car lifestyle in late 2013 and has been car-free since. Around the same time, he began actively learning about the issues surrounding bike advocacy in order to help make Madison a place where anybody can bike anywhere conveniently and comfortably year-round. Jim first learned of Madison Bikes at the 2017 Brazen Dropouts Bike Swap, and became active with the Advocacy Committee a few months later. Having graduated from the UW-Madison’s College of Engineering in December 2018, he hopes to put his knowledge to work in a bicycle-related field and help promote biking everywhere, but most importantly in his home city of Madison.

New President and Vice-President

Grant Foster has been the one who got Madison Bikes started. Back in 2015, he invited us to his house, and gathered around the dining room table we made plans for founding what would eventually become Madison Bikes. Since our incorporation as a non-profit, Grant has been our President. While Grant remains on the board and has no intention of moving away from bike advocacy, he stepped down as president of Madison Bikes to focus on his run for Common Council in District 15. Without any exaggeration I can say: Without Grant, Madison Bikes would not exist and be what it is now.

Grant’s successor as president is — well, me, Harald. I’m very excited to work with our board, with our awesome volunteers, and with the larger Madison Bikes community to pursue the Madison Bikes vision. I strongly believe in a bottom-up approach to bike advocacy, as we have pursued it up to now. I want to keep Madison Bikes an organization that is anchored in its community and that runs an effective, lean operation. We’re 100% run by volunteers, and so we always have to be mindful of how we can best put to use our board’s and our volunteers’ capacity to achieve our goals.

Taking over as vice-president is Heather Pape. Heather joined Madison Bikes in 2016 and has been our Communications Committee chair since then. I’m very happy to team up with Heather to keep Madison Bikes rolling along! Our to-do list is long, and we’re eager to get to work on it.

Finally, I want to say thanks to the board members who stepped down last year: Hank Weiss, India Viola, Michael Lemberger, Kevin Mulcahy, and Becky Jollay. Please stay involved with Madison Bikes, and thanks for your contributions over the years!

To a successful 2019!

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Bike News

Monday Update: Wilson St, Primaries, Middleton

Are you tired of the snow yet? I sure am, but nonetheless I made the best of it today: Snowshoes on the back of my fat bike, I rode the Southwest Path and Military Ridge to the Quarry Ridge trails. It was a bit of a slog on the way, but the snowshoeing was great. And on the way back I was very happy to see that the city had already brushed clear much of the SW Path! In the past, snow clearing on the weekend has always been an issue, but it seems like things are getting better. Thanks to the city staff who were out there on the trail today!

Before we get started with the events for the week, a quick reminder that we have a survey about Winter Bike Week out there. If you haven’t taken it already, we’d appreciate your response. Your feedback will help us plan for future events and make improvements. Survey link.

This week

Monday starts with a public input meeting on the Wilson St corridor study. This meeting was originally scheduled during the worst of the polar vortex and had to be rescheduled. Making Wilson Street a bike-friendly place, with protected infrastructure that works for people of all ages and abilities, has been a key advocacy priority for Madison Bikes. Please consider coming to the meeting to see what the city has on offer. Madison Municipal Building, Room 215, 7pm.

On Tuesday, it’s election day. Primaries are taking place for Madison mayor and for several common council and school board seats. If you want to know what the mayoral candidates have to say about biking and transportation, read their answers to our candidate questionnaire. Information on how and where to vote is on the City Clerk’s website: https://www.cityofmadison.com/clerk/elections-voting

On Wednesday evening, the Madison Bikes advocacy committee is scheduled to meet. We’re having to meet at a different location this month, and so if you’re interested in attending, please send an email to harald@madisonbikes.org.

On Thursday, Middleton’s Pedestrian, Bike, and Transit Committee is meeting. The most exciting on the agenda is an update on the Northeast Mendota Trail, slated to provide a safe alternative to Century Ave. An engineering firm has created preliminary plans, and Middleton City Planner Mark Opitz will provide updates on this. Middleton Council Chambers, 6:30pm.

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.

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Bike News

Monday Update Template – Update this headline with some key words

Subheadings for Last Week/This Week/etc should be Level 3

Italicize the day of the week and bold the important words so that people can skim the post: On Monday, the Separated Bike Lane Commission discusses banning cars from University Ave on odd-numbered days of the month.

Don’t forget to change the author of the post (just start typing the name in the field).

Be careful when copy-and-pasting things: Sometimes it’ll copy wacky formatting. Formatting can be deleted by clicking the button in the toolbar.

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

Monday Update: Winter Bike Week is over; winter is not

Phew, what a week! Winter Bike Week this year had a total of 29 different events — and what felt like 29 different kinds of challenging winter weather. Thanks to everyone who participated anyway, and of course a big thanks to all Madison Bikes board members and volunteers, and to our partners in making this happen. We’d appreciate it if you could take 5 minutes and complete our Winter Bike Week survey.

This week

With Winter Bike Week over, the Madison Bikes events committee is meeting on Monday to plan our the rest of the year. If you’re interested in being involved, join us at Rockhound Brewing Company on Park Street at 6pm.

The primary elections for mayor and common council in Madison are on February 19, and early voting has started already. Young, Gifted and Black are hosting the People’s Mayoral Forum: Getting Past the Politics” at the Central Library at 6:30pm on Monday. As a reminder, you can also learn more about the candidates’ positions on transportation and biking through the Madison Bikes candidate questionnaire.

And of course winter and Monday means that the MEATHead ride is happening. Meet at 7pm at Ford’s Gym for a social loop around Lake Monona.

Bassett Street proposal for protected bike lanes

On Wednesday, the city’s Transportation Commission will meet. The most exciting item on the agenda: The approval of plans for Bassett Street between Dayton St and West Washington Ave. Bassett Street is one of the few locations where we have built a physically protected bike lane in the past few years. However, it only extends for a very short stretch for now. As far as we know, the proposal in front of the commission now extends the protected lane for another two blocks. The meeting is at the Madison Municipal Building and starts at 5pm.

On Saturday, you’ll have the opportunity to test ride some Surly mountain bikes at “The Farm,” a trail system west of town. And in the evening you have the chance to attend another mayoral candidate forum, at the First Unitarian Society starting at 6pm

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 our work, consider donating to Madison Bikes.

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Bike News

What do Madison’s mayoral candidates think about biking?

Early voting for the primary elections for Madison mayor has already started. To help voters inform their decisions, we have sent all candidates four questions related to biking and transportation:

  1. Concerns about car parking have been a major obstacle when it comes to a shift in our transportation system. Removing on-street parking is often necessary to build dedicated bus lanes, protected bike lanes, or safer pedestrian crossings. As mayor, what would your policy be toward trading on-street parking for safer and better active transportation options?
  2. As many other cities, Madison has many inequities when it comes to transportation. Poorer neighborhoods and neighborhoods with a higher proportion of people of color often lack access to good transit, safe walking and biking, or to green space. On the other hand, these are often the neighborhoods were people are least able to afford a car. How are you going to address these inequities in transportation access?
  3. Forty years ago, over sixty percent of school children in the US walked or rode a bicycle to school. Today, that figure is less than ten percent. This decline in bicycling and walking and physical activity in general) has been mirrored by dramatic increases in negative health impacts for kids. What would you do to reverse this trend?
  4. The percentage of people biking in Madison has been stagnating at around five percent for the past ten years. Where would you like that number to be in 2025 and how are you going to get us there? How many miles of protected bike lanes will the city have built by the end of your first term?

Read the candidates’ answers on our website: https://www.madisonbikes.org/candidate_questionnaires

Madison Bikes is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and does not endorse or oppose any candidate for political office.

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Bike News

Candidate Questionnaires Responses

The primary for Madison mayor happened on February 19. To inform and educate the electorate, Madison Bikes has asked all candidates in the election four questions related to biking and transportation in Madison. Madison Bikes is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and does not endorse or oppose any candidate for political office. All responses are reproduced unedited and in full. Nick Hart and Toriana Pettaway did not respond to our requests.

More information on how to vote can be found on the City Clerk’s website: https://www.cityofmadison.com/clerk/elections-voting

Additional information on the candidates’ positions on transportation can be found in the transcript of an in-person candidate forum that Madison Bikes co-hosted.

Paul Soglin and Satya Rhodes-Conway received the most votes in the primary and will be on the ballot for the general election on April 2. Responses from the other candidates are at the bottom of this page.

Question 1

Concerns about car parking have been a major obstacle when it comes to a shift in our transportation system. Removing on-street parking is often necessary to build dedicated bus lanes, protected bike lanes, or safer pedestrian crossings. As mayor, what would your policy be toward trading on-street parking for safer and better active transportation options?

Satya Rhodes-Conway

Our transportation system should focus on people – on getting you where you need to be, safely and efficiently – not on vehicles. In part, that means finding a better balance between modes, and prioritizing the use of public right of way for modes that serve a higher density of people, like transit. That will inevitably mean using curb space for things other than parking.

I will also prioritize using tools like dynamic pricing and other regulation of parking to better manage demand and encourage the use of non-SOV modes, wherever it makes sense. I would like to move towards a full transportation demand management approach like San Francisco is using (and LA is developing), including making it easier to find available parking, and using level of service measurements that reflect pedestrian, bicycle, and transit use instead of just cars. We also need to evaluate off-street parking requirements that impact the amount of driving. And we should look at our curb management policies, including neighborhood parking permits, with a goal of balancing parking demand, infill development, and encouraging multi-modal transportation.

The long-term success of our transportation system depends on shifting away from single-occupancy vehicles, and moving toward zero-carbon transportation modes.

Paul Soglin

For the purposes of mobility, the Madison roadway is shared by traditional motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, and in the future, possibly motorized ped scooters and rail. There will be increased demand particularly for protected bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes. This demand will result in examination of both on street parking lanes and motor vehicle lanes.

In every instance,  the determination will be made by a number of variables which will include the various modal demands for the space and the availability of off street parking. We will also examine the uses of right-of-way in adjacent parallel streets.

Question 2

As many other cities, Madison has many inequities when it comes to transportation. Poorer neighborhoods and neighborhoods with a higher proportion of people of color often lack access to good transit, safe walking and biking, or to green space. On the other hand, these are often the neighborhoods were people are least able to afford a car. How are you going to address these inequities in transportation access?

Satya Rhodes-Conway

Racial equity should be at the heart of every decision we make as a city.

One of my top priorities will be finally implementing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the Madison region. In addition to BRT, we must increase the number of neighborhoods serviced by Metro and the hours they’re serviced. We must also focus on providing transit to key employment sites, and for folks that don’t work 9-5, and keeping transit affordable. All of our transit investments should help build complete – and green – streets that are safe for people, no matter how they travel.

Paul Soglin

The city is presently undergoing a review of transportation equity, particularly as it relates to the highest priority that affects the most people: public transit. Under my administration, we have already gone through a review of two transit demands which led to the implementation of brand new service to Owl Creek and increased service for Route 80.

As we plan for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) a new analysis is underway in regards to the planning of routes.  Traditionally routes were planned based on demand from one location to another. The result was this: the greater demand for service at a specific a location, the more frequent the service and there was an effort to reduce the timing of the trip.  The new analysis will look at equitable service to all points in the Madison Metro service area.

Question 3

Forty years ago, over sixty percent of school children in the US walked or rode a bicycle to school. Today, that figure is less than ten percent. This decline in bicycling and walking and physical activity in general) has been mirrored by dramatic increases in negative health impacts for kids. What would you do to reverse this trend?

Satya Rhodes-Conway

The city needs to work with MMSD to increase participation in walking or biking to school.  We need to build the infrastructure to create safe routes to schools, and encourage programs like walking school busses, and education for families about the health and safety benefits of walking, biking, and taking transit. I would like to look at providing free bus passes to high school students, like other cities do, both to make it easier for them to get around, and to create a generation of bus riders. All this will help improve the health of kids, and will also ease congestion around drop off/pick up zones providing greater safety for kids.

Paul Soglin

We are collaborating with the federal government and Madison public schools on our Safe Routes to School initiative that installs and maintains safe biking and walking paths near elementary and middle schools.  We know additional exercise can improve a student’s academic performance.

We are also committed to, and creating, walkable neighborhoods which encourage more activity. We regularly install and repair sidewalks in neighborhoods to promote active lifestyles as well as pedestrian and bicycle safety.  We install sidewalks with new developments.

Our Parks Department has a program called Connecting Kids to Nature. City Staff work through the summer with interns in challenged neighborhoods and directly with children helping them explore, learn and appreciate the out-of-doors.

In addition, Madison City Parks have many types of playgrounds, bike and walking paths.  We have bike racks for safe storage of bikes at many of our City parks. And, we continue to invest millions in bike paths providing connections throughout the entire city in a safe manner.

We are also expanding our shared bikes program throughout the City to encourage and enable bike ridership for residents and visitors of all ages.

Question 4

The percentage of people biking in Madison has been stagnating at around five percent for the past ten years. Where would you like that number to be in 2025 and how are you going to get us there? How many miles of protected bike lanes will the city have built by the end of your first term?

Satya Rhodes-Conway

Madison has a solid base on which to build an even stronger cycling presence. Increasing the mode share of bicycling will be critical in meeting our climate goals. As Mayor, I will:

  • work to fill the gaps in the bike path system

  • increase investment in infrastructure that supports cyclists of all ages and abilities, including protected lanes

  • make sure that cycling infrastructure is integrated with our bus rapid transit system

  • work on managing traffic speeds, through design and enforcement, to make streets safer for all modes of travel

Paul Soglin

Madison is a Platinum Bike Community. This is a highly coveted national recognition that examines all aspects of our biking facilities and opportunities.  The majority of the developments and projects in the city that resulted in this award were created under my leadership.

The city currently has roughly 100 miles of protected bike trails to take residents and visitors to all areas of the city and beyond.  We continue to engage with BCycle, a bike share program, which is expanding every year.  My goal is to provide those bikes in more challenged neighborhoods as well.

We are continuing to provide additional biking opportunities in every budget.  For example, in 2019 we are adding an additional two miles of protected bike expressway near County M on Madison’s west side.  This project includes underpasses and other safety options which will make this a wonderful opportunity, not only for commuters to the new UW research park but also to Epic and other far west side jobs.  This is also a great path for families and individuals biking for recreation.  In fact, these connections can take a biker all the way to Dodgeville.

Under my leadership the city has hired a Director of Transportation who is overseeing biking projects and opportunities.  He is working with city staff and residents to consider the most sustainable manner to proceed with any transportation project, mass transit, biking, peds and motorists.  We will continue to engage with the community and users on every project.

Question 1

Mo Cheeks

As our city continues to grow and diversify, maintaining the character of neighborhoods is an important goal to have. As our population grows, especially on the isthmus, the need to support transit modes other than cars will become critical. As mayor, I will continue to support increasing access to safe pedestrian, bicycling, and bus options across our city. And in some cases, this may cause discussion about whether to protect the character of a neighborhood’s existing street. My commitment is to evaluate these on a case-by-case basis and weigh the priorities of the neighbors and the priorities of commuters fairly.

Raj Shukla

Communities that have made progress toward better active transportation options prioritize moving people over moving vehicles. That is the policy here in Madison but recent actions by the mayor contradict that position. I would have supported the Common Council decision (Option 2) on the Winnebago reconstruction, which would have prioritized safe walking, biking and tree canopy over street-based car storage.

It’s also important, less as a matter of policy and more as a matter of public education, to demonstrate the economic benefits of active transportation. The public health and environmental benefits of active transportation have real dollars and cents implications for the city. Cyclists and pedestrians benefit local businesses too! Some studies show that bike/walk-in customers spend more, in aggregate, than customers who drive. Before any reconstruction effort, I would support a retail study identifying customer transportation “mode” to get a sense of how people are getting to stores, and how we might best support a transition to active transportation methods without undue burden to businesses.

Active transportation is something we should encourage among the youngest city residents. We should explore designating schools and parks as “move safe” zones that protect young people as they bike or walk to school. This may include adjusting school drop-off points and creating vehicle-free buffers around schools and parks where people can bike and walk in safety. Pedestrian islands, wide sidewalks, plazas and bike lanes are all part of an environment that make walking and cycling better, safer options.

Question 2

Mo Cheeks

Having spent the past six years representing the most socioeconomically diverse district on the City Council, I’ve personally addressed this issue to much success. In my first month on the Council, I successfully fought to save Metro route 18 from being removed as a casualty of the Verona Road reconstruction project. In this case, neighbors in Allied were informed that they would lose this route that served their neighborhood, and that they could get by with less frequent bus service.

Likewise, I spent four years working to establish Allied Park. I’m proud to have brought beautiful green space to a historically marginalized neighborhood while offering innovative amenities like free WiFi in the park.

I’m proud to have fought for my neighbors and to have successfully championed access to transportation and green space for a neighborhood that historically faces deep inequalities. I have a track record of demonstrating results while working to reduce
disparities. As Mayor, I will continue this across the city.

Raj Shukla

We must move towards fare-free transit and expand our service.

The bus is not just an “option” for many people. It is a necessity. Many people can’t afford a car. Others aren’t able to drive because of age, disability or medical concerns. We need to look at our transit system as an extension of our roads, not as an alternatives to cars. [emphasis in original]

People who use transit save an annual average of $10,000 over those who drive. This impacts everyone– the single parent, families, people of color, people like my daughter who may not be able to drive, the 20% of Wisconsin’s seniors who do not drive, and our young college graduates who say they would be more likely to stay here if they could get around without driving.

Better transit brings more businesses and people to our city, and we can increase our transit in a green way that is healthy for our citizens and our environment. I support developing a Bus Rapid Transit system and Transit Oriented Development as a long term strategy. In the short term, we should explore system changes to better accommodate the needs of those who rely on transit most.

I also favor expanding protected bike lanes by 5 miles in the city — prioritizing connections between those parts of the city with the least access right now to existing infrastructure.

Question 3

Mo Cheeks

As a parent of two young children, the health and safety of our youngest residents are of utmost importance to me. My daughter Hannah who is 3, cherishes riding her little green balance bike. I support Madison School District’s plans to invest in establishing more “community schools,” which I expect will facilitate more kids walking to school.

As Mayor, I will prioritize the public health of the youth of our city. Cost should not be a barrier to anyone, particularly a school-age child, having access to healthy activities like walking, biking, or enjoying our lakes. As Mayor, I will work to ensure there are more healthy and free activities for young people in our city.

Raj Shukla

As the father of 3 daughters, I want them to be active and healthy. I also want them to be safe. As a year-round bike commuter, I know first-hand that Madison must make significant improvements before I would want my girls riding their bikes to school.

I do think that we can make steps in the right direction. Moving to fare-free transit with increased service will remove more cars from our streets. We can increase the number of bike boulevards, protected bike lanes and bike paths surrounding areas where kids frequent– schools and parks. I also think we would have to take a hard look at drop off zones at schools and separate them from bike egress. We should explore designating schools and parks as “move safe” zones that protect young people as they bike or walk to school. This may include adjusting drop-off points at schools and creating vehicle-free buffers around schools and parks where kids (and adults!) can bike and walk in safety.

We need to decrease traffic and reduce speeds as well. The faster drivers are going, the more likely they are to kill or gravely injure kids (and adults!) they might hit. Traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps, raised pedestrian crossings, and sidewalk extensions to slow cars in Madison and make walking/cycling safer options for everyone.

Question 4

Mo Cheeks

For those of us who have had the privilege of experiencing our city by bike, it is a beautiful experience. My wife and I love to ride together, with our 3-year-old daughter Hannah in her little yellow bicycle trailer behind one of us. We do that on the southwest bike path, and on other bike paths that feel safe to us.

As the data shows, the most significant room for growth in biking is increasing the ease of which people who are “Interested but Concerned” can feel safe while biking. To increase bicycling in our city, I’ll work to ensure that families like mine feel increasingly safe biking across the city.

Of equal, or greater importance to me, is the need for us to connect communities with easy transit. As mayor, I will proactively fill gaps in the pedestrian and bicycle network. Making it easier and safer for our residents in low-income neighborhoods to connect to the rest of the city by on their bike, or via b-cycle is critical if we’re going to claim to prioritize equity in a platinum bike city.

Raj Shukla

I would like to increase the number of people biking by at least 50%. Improved bus services are part of the key to success. That way riders have a backup option if weather is unpredictable.

I would also like to have an additional 5 miles of protected bike lanes built by the end of my first term. This will have public health, environmental and economic benefits in Madison and we should explicitly make mode-shift toward active transportation options a priority in all redevelopment efforts.

But expanding bike lanes and transit options are effective at shifting transportation modes only when coupled with land use policies that make it easy to make a change. I support modernizing our zoning codes to encourage tight-knit neighborhoods that bring people closer to schools, jobs and amenities. Cities like Minneapolis and Grand Rapids have limited or eliminated exclusionary zoning codes — making it easier to build more housing options for more people in more parts of the community.

Reducing the distance between the places people live, work, play and study will encourage use of active transportation modes. So will increasing the amount of safe spaces for cyclists and pedestrians to move about.

With modern data-collection capacity, spotting danger becomes much easier. Improving Madison’s data will allow officials to put resources into the intersections and streets that pose the greatest risk to citizens, and offer the greatest opportunities for improvement.

Categories
Bike News

Monday Update: Winter Bike Week is here (and more)

We made it through the cold snap! The weather this week looks to return to more normal winter conditions, which is perfect because this week is Winter Bike Week! Madison Bikes is organizing Winter Bike Week as an event to encourage and celebrate riding throughout the winter. Events include group rides, bike stations for winter riders, bike maintenance/skills classes, a winter bike photo contest, bike happy hours and more! Since there are so many Winter Bike Week events going on this week, I will not be covering them all in this post but mention a few highlights. For up-to-date and complete information regarding winter bike week events, please refer to the Madison Bikes Winter Bike Week web page: https://www.madisonbikes.org/winterbikeweek

Mayoral Candidate Questionnaires

As Madison’s mayoral primary is coming up fast, we’ve sent out a questionnaire to each candidate asking about a variety of bike-related topics. You can expect the responses to be published Tuesday morning.

Last Week

Madison saw a new record low temperature for January 31st Thursday morning at -26°F, but even the cold weather did not keep people from biking. Unfortunately, due to lake conditions, the Frozen Assets Bike Race and Sled Pull were canceled, but Winter Bike Week is just beginning, so there are lots more events to attend.

The Wilson Street Public Input Meeting that was scheduled for this past Thursday was rescheduled due to the cold weather to Monday February 18. We feel improving this street is crucial to our mission to make Madison a city where anyone can bike conveniently and comfortably to anyplace year round. You can read the action alert that was sent out before the meeting to familiarize yourself with this important gap in Madison’s bike network.

This Week

It’s Winter Bike Week! As mentioned earlier, I will not be covering all of the events here. You can find out what’s happening over at the Winter Bike Week web page: https://www.madisonbikes.org/winterbikeweek

All week long there will be a photo contest where you can participate at the following Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/791108974555609/ The theme is: Show us how you Winter Bike!

Today, Monday, February 4, kick off Winter Bike Week with Madison Bikes at the Law Park Bike Station from 7-9 AM which will be near Machinery Row. There will be coffee by EVP and treats from the Willy Street Co-op.

Also today there will be a meeting of Madison’s Transportation Policy and Planning Board (TPPB) at 5:00 PM in room 201 of the City County Building. There are a few important bicycle-related agenda items worth mentioning. First, there will be a discussion about bicycle facility planning, which will help guide transportation engineering on best practice treatments when constructing bicycle facilities that will allow people to feel safer biking on our bike network. Improving our bike network to improve the feeling of safety is a crucial step to encouraging the “interested but concerned” segment of the population, over half, to start biking more. Another important agenda item is the Wilson Street Corridor Study and the Bassett Street Corridor Study. These corridor studies will guide the long-term development of these crucial corridors here in Madison, both of which need significant improvements to make more bike friendly. Finally, there will be a discussion of next steps to take regarding Madison’s winter bikeway maintenance policies. This ongoing discussion is focused on crafting and adopting best practices for winter bikeway maintenance, which includes path and bike lane clearing. Here is the full agenda for this meeting.

At 6:30 PM, there will be a forum for mayoral candidates on the west side of town at Oakwood Village Center at 6205 Mineral Point Road. This will be a more casual format of mayoral forum and will provide the public an opportunity to talk with the candidates after the forum. See the Facebook event for more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/289570018570045/

Tonight is also a MEAThead ride. This ride starts every Monday at 7:00 PM November through March regardless of the weather. The ride starts at Ford’s Gym, 2114 Winnebago St in Madison. Read more about the group on their Facebook page.

Tuesday, February 5, Winter Bike Week continues with Bike Fitchburg hosting a Commuter Station from 7-9 AM at the Velo UnderRound (i.e. the bicycle roundabout where the Capital City Trail, Badger State Trail, Cannonball Trail, and Military Ridge State Trial all meet). They will have hot drinks, bagels, free maps, and (empty) water bottles.

There will also be a Bike Station near Revolution Cycles from 7-9 AM serving coffee and treats. In the afternoon, Machinery Row Cycles will have an Indoor Bike Station from 4-6 PM. Stop by for coffee from Café Domestique and a free bike safety check.

On Tuesday evening, come to Just Bikes and Free Bikes 4 Kids’ indoor bike shenanigans, starting at 4:30 pm. Track stand contests, an obstacle course, and much more at the giant Free Bikes 4 Kids space on the west side.

Wednesday, February 6, there will be an Indoor Bike Station from 7-9 AM at both HotelRED and Canteen on the Square. Both locations will feature coffee and treats.

Starting at 6:30 PM there will be a Northside Mayoral Candidate Forum at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. Before the forum, starting at 6 there will be a meet and greet with the candidates. This is an opportunity for residents of the north side to get to know their mayoral candidates and to discuss north side specific issues. Read more about the event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/359133981546598/

Thursday, February 7, there will be an outdoor Bike Station from 7-9 AM hosted by Café Domestique and The Cargo Bike Shop where the Cap City Trail intersects with Dickinson St. There will be free coffee and breakfast sausage corn dogs by Underground Food Collective.

At 6:30 PM, there will be a Madison Common Council District 15 Candidate Forum at Lake Edge UCC on Buckeye Rd. The candidates are Grant Foster, Angela Jenkins, and Justin Williams. Read more about the event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1934248313360495/ (Disclosure: Grant Foster is a board member of Madison Bikes. We do not endorse or oppose any candidate for political office.)

Friday, February 8, there will be two Bike Stations from 7-9 AM: One b Taqueria & Tequila Bar on the square where there will be free coffee and churros, and one Outdoor Bike Station hosted by Design Concepts at E Wilson and Ingersoll on the Capital City Path with coffee and breakfast kebabs. At the Design Concepts Outdoor Bike Station you will also have the opportunity to clean and lube your chain, and get your portrait taken.

This is also International Winter Bike to Work Day, so all day we are encouraging folks to “Mob the Bike Counters” by trying to ride past either one of Madison’s two bike counters (on the Southwest Path by Regent and Monroe and on the Capital City Trail along John Nolen near North Shore Drive). Although the display at the Capital City Trail counter is not working, it is still picking up data that is provided publicly here: http://www.eco-public.com/ParcPublic/?id=4336

Finally, there will be an End-of-Week Happy Hour Celebration hosted by Madison Bikes at the Nutty Bar/Bandung (600 Williamson St) from 5-7 PM. Here we will have the results of the Winter Bike Week Photo Contest and door prizes to give away provided by Planet Bike.

Saturday, February 9, there will be a Up To Snow Good Dual Salom event held at Tyrol Basin. This is a spectator friendly bike race will include costumes, music, rowdy crowds, klunkers and epic wipe-outs because this race is on snow! You can sign up to compete or just come to watch, either way this one sounds like it will be a lot of fun. You can learn more about the event at their website: http://www.uptosnowgood.com/ or on the event’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/273221906596692/

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 our work, consider a donation to Madison Bikes.