The worst possible news on Friday: Around 6:20 p.m., according to the Madison Police Department, a 35-year-old man riding a bicycle was hit and killed by a driver on Lein Road near Parkside Drive. His name has not yet been released. The incident report says police impounded the vehicle believed to be involved and located its owner, but are still investigating.
Comment on city planning
The public comment period for Madison’s West Area Plan — addressing future growth and development in the area enclosed by North and South Midvale boulevards, the beltline and Middleton — will be extended, according to the Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development, though a new end date has not been announced. Public input was to close on March 20, but a notably noisy public meeting on March 12 apparently signaled the need for more time for feedback.
While the recent meeting went off the rails over potential zoning changes, the plan addresses bicyclist and pedestrian safety that may benefit from continued supportive comments: new bike lanes and underpass improvements on several school routes, traffic-calming through street design and road narrowing on some of the area’s diciest thoroughfares, and the Sauk Creek Greenway shared-use path that has piqued the same sort of reactionary ire that packed the recent public meeting.
There are some pleasant things to share!
If you didn’t catch Madison resident Daniel Eckberg’s Isthmus essay on how much walkable and bikeable neighborhoods enrich the lives of the people who call it home, give it a quick read.
On foot or two wheels, “It’s amazing how much more you notice at that pace, how many hole-in-the-wall spots you find, how many hidden paths you uncover,” Eckberg writes.
If you have the choice, he figures, you ought to consider choosing a neighborhood friendly to walking and biking. Good advice! And enough — shouldn’t it be? — to spur us to make more of Madison just that kind of accessible for people who don’t have a choice.
The bikes are back in town
If you were about town over the weekend, braving almost seasonably (for a change) brisk temperatures and wind, you may have noticed the return of bikes to many BCycle stations around Madison.
This Thursday, March 21, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., you can get a closer look at BCycle operations — covering topics like battery charging and bike safety — on a Madison Bikes tour of the bikeshare’s Madison facility, 312 N. 3rdSt. You can even join a group ride to BCycle, gathering at Law Park, 410 S. Blair St., at 4:30 p.m.
See you there!
Other items on the calendar:
March 18, 5:30 p.m.: Tancho Drive Public Path Information Meeting (via Zoom)
March 25, 6 p.m.: Madison Bikes Community Meeting “Vision Zero & Active Transportation Planning” with Renee Callaway, Madison Public Library Central Branch, 201 W. Mifflin St.
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.