It’s been a beautiful week for cycling! Cooler temperatures have given us an early taste of autumn and people are taking advantage.
State Street is a very interesting destination right now, as it is ped/bike only and there are many beautiful and powerful artifacts of our times on display. Mifflin St from the Capital Square all the way to the Yahara River is closed to all but local automobile traffic, which makes for a relaxing, low-stress ride with plenty of room for physical distancing.
Last week
In our Facebook group, there was a lively discussion about why the Military Ridge Trail in Verona hasn’t been paved yet. (Spoiler alert: Largely snowmobile access, but do catch up for yourself, it’s interesting reading.)
On Saturday, Urban Triage helped organize the Voices of the Youth’s Ride & Grub. You can see photos and other info on their site.
We hosted a guest blog post from Sally Lehner, where she discussed a petition to keep a portion of the Arboretum drive car-free. The petition had over 850 signatures as of Monday morning. We’ve also had a spirited discussion on our Facebook group, if you’re into that sort of thing.
This Week
In last week’s update, we reported that the Transportation Commission approved a low-stress design for the new Cedar Street extension. Because of the projected number of cars on the street, the design features buffered bike lanes on both sides of the street, and on-street car parking in front of the to-be-built supermarket.
The design will get its final approval at the Common Council meeting on Tuesday night. Street space is always contested, and some registrants at the Transportation Commission meeting advocated for taking away the buffer from the lanes or even building a street without bike accommodations at all. Please consider registering in support of the low-stress design (use agenda item #60869). You can register your support or opposition without the need to speak at the meeting, and you can also send your comments by email to allalders@cityofmadison.com.
On Monday, the Transportation Policy and Planning Board (TPPB) is meeting at 5:00. The agenda looks relatively light this month!
On Tuesday, the Common Council meets at 6:30 with a stacked agenda, including the aforementioned Cedar St item tucked away in there.
On Wednesday, the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MATPB) is meeting at 6:00. You can read the agenda here.
Far Out!
A gentle reminder that there’s still time to read the virtual book club selection for next Friday, August 14: Cyclescapes of the Unequal City: Bicycle Infrastructure and Uneven Development by John G. Stehlin. Event details 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.