Last Week
Plans for the new Cedar Street connection between Park and Fish Hatchery changed at last week’s Transportation Commission. Instead of parking and two unprotected bike lanes–one of which was a door zone bike lane–Cedar Street will have two buffered bike lanes and no parking. Buffered bike lanes go a long way towards rider comfort and safety, and it’s good to see the city supporting their implementation.
Since this is construction season, a lot of roads have been getting a chip seal treatment lately. Chip sealing is a process where tar is laid down on a road and gravel chips are laid over it. The process is a fairly inexpensive way to extend the life of a road, but it is unfortunately an inconvenience to people on bikes. Bombay Bicycle Club put together a resource documenting where chip sealing has occurred.
This Week
Tonight the city is holding a virtual Public Information Meeting to update everyone on Wilson Street Corridor Study. The current recommendation is to include the two-way cycletrack on the south side of Wilson that Madison Bikes has been advocating for. Thanks to everyone who showed support for this option at meetings, and by writing to your alders and project staff over the years. This victory could not have been achieved without your help!
Of course, this fight won’t end with this meeting. The Corridor Study still needs to be accepted by the Common Council, approved by the mayor, and ultimately constructed. Stay tuned for further advocacy actions and updates on this project! You can read Addendum 2 to the Wilson Street Corridor Study for more information on the City’s current recommendations. You can also catch up on why Madison Bikes views Wilson Street as an important corridor for our advocacy mission by reading our previous blog posts here and here.
On Wednesday, the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MATPB) is having their monthly meeting virtually to discuss a variety of topics. One item is adding the Initial Bus Rapid Transit Project to the Fiscally Constrained Plan for the Regional Transportation Plan 2050. Another item is amending the 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program to include safety improvements at two intersections. One of the intersections is County Highway MM and McCoy Rd, which is adjacent to the Capital City State Trail. You can read the full agenda here.
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.