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Bike News

Monday Update: Wilson St, Transpo Committee, Seminole work day

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Last Week

Phew, local elections are over, and we have a new mayor and many new members on the Common Council. Congratulations to our mayor-elect Satya Rhodes-Conway and all the new Alders who got elected — we’re excited about working with you toward a better transportation system in Madison! The new council will be sworn in on April 16.

This Week

On Monday night, the Madison Bikes events committee is meeting. They have big plans (stay tuned for an official announcement!) and are always looking for new faces to help make events successful. 6 pm at Rockhound Brewing on Park St.

Also on Monday is a final Fish Hatchery reconstruction public meeting. As far as we know, at this point all the decisions have been made (there will be a new bike/ped path on one side of the street!), and the meeting is purely informational. 5:30 pm at the Wyndham Garden hotel in Fitchburg.

No decisions have been made on West Wilson Street. On Tuesday there is another (a final?) public meeting where the City Department of Transportation (DoT) will present it’s draft corridor study report. You can read the 49-page document here. At previous public meetings there was very strong support for a protected two-way bike lane along Wilson. But the conclusion of the report kicks the can down the road because some people are concerned that on a street with thousands of off-street parking spots, a bike lane would require the removal of 16 on-street parking spots.

As of March 2019, there is not a full consensus on a Wilson Street corridor plan. Comments at PIM’s tend to favor Alternative 7 (Two‚Äêway separated cycle track). While some residents express reservations about accommodating cyclists on Wilson Street (sic). Due to construction associated with Judge Doyle Square, as well as curb modifications that would need to occur in the 100 and 200 blocks of Wilson Street, it is not possible to implement a full corridor plan in 2019. […] For these reasons, this section makes a recommendation that can be constructed in the near term, with the understanding that the full corridor planning process will continue.

Kudos to the DoT for putting the work into the corridor study and coming up with a feasible plan for safe bike facilities on Wilson. Now we need public support and political leadership to close the Wilson Street gap, and to close it soon! 7 pm, Room 215 (formerly Room 260), Madison Municipal Building.

On Wednesday, the Transportation Commission is meeting at 5 pm in Room 215 at the Madison Municipal Building. The most bike-relevant item on the agenda is the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) review. This is the document that lays out the major capital transportation spending priorities over the coming years. In general, if a project is not in the TIP, it is unlikely to be built. We haven’t analyzed the document in detail yet, but this is the slide on bike projects:

On Thursday, you can join the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) for an “informal panel discussion about our statewide efforts to create a transportation system that works for everyone.” On the panel are Emma Fisher, WISPIRG organizer, Cassie Steiner of the Sierra Club, and Chris McCahill of the State Smart Transportation Initiative. 5 pm at the Black Locust Cafe.

On Saturday, bike out to the Seminole Trails and help getting the trails into shape for the season. Our awesome MTB trail systems around town rely on volunteer trail work, and so this is a great opportunity to get involved. Starts at 9 am, no special skills/tools required.

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.