As you can imagine, there aren’t a lot of city meetings coming up this week, but there’s an update on the Cannonball Path extension and some fun holiday-themed rides (just in case you want to shake off your food coma.)
Monday Cannonball meeting
There will be a virtual public information meeting at 6:00 pm about the Cannonball Path – phase 6. This section would connect the current Cannonball Path to the Wingra Creek Path.
Originally, the city hoped to continue the path along the existing rail line, but the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads denied permission to cross the line, a requirement for this route. So a new alternative will include an off-street side path on the west-side of Fish Hatchery Rd from the existing Cannonball Path up to Martin St. A new signalized intersection at Martin St will facilitate a diagonal bike crossing for the path to continue off-street on the east-side of Fish Hatchery Rd up to Wingra Creek, and a new bike-pedestrian bridge will be constructed to cross the creek and connect to the existing Wingra Creek Path.
You can register for the meeting and get more information at the city Engineering project page.
Rides
If you want to get out of the house, counteract your food coma, or just enjoy a ride, there are a few rides to do between family or Friendsgiving gatherings.
Saturday
Capital City Cyclists will do a shop crawl to visit bike shops and independent coffee shops. It’s their version of Small Business Saturday. Meet them at the North Street Cafe Domestique at 9:00 am, or check out the link for the full route and tentative schedule.
Sunday
Madison Bikes will be doing a slow roll through the Holiday Fantasy in Lights in Olin Park. Meet up at Machinery Row / Law Park BCycle Station at 5pm. The park will remain open to cars, so ride carefully. We recommend bringing some cash for the donation box at the end of the light show. Hope to see you there!
If you would like to win a free BCycle monthly pass, drop off food from the Goodman Center food pantry wish list at the BCycle offices, 312 N 3rd St, Ste 6, between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm on Nov 30. More info on the event page.
Thanksgiving message to the bike community
Since the calendar is pretty light, I’m taking this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us and explain why you should participate in meetings about things like big roads, far-in-the-future projects, and general city planning.
Madison is often rated one of the top bicycle-friendly places in the U.S. Sure, we still have a long way to go, but compared to other U.S. cities of our size — and even big cities, it’s pretty good. But it didn’t just happen. Every path, bike lane, overpass, and connection required people demanding it. We had to ask for better facilities and stand up to those who said we should be happy with what we had.
But there is so much more work to do. And I see bicyclists’ input whenever decisions or plans are made. We took the survey about what we wanted on Willy St. We pushed for better crossings of John Nolen Dr and more capacity on the busy path. We said we wanted a Stoughton Rd that wasn’t a barrier to cross or move along. We said we needed protected space on Mineral Point Rd, Segoe, and many other locations. There’s always pushback, but your voices really do matter to achieving our vision.
Even the Beltline planning, a giant project, headed by Wisconsin DOT, and at least five years off — that will probably end up adding motor vehicle capacity — has planned overpasses and connections parallel to the road because bicyclists showed up and said, “We need to be able to cross this monster. And frontage roads aren’t good enough to ride on.” I’ve seen the responses submitted to surveys about the Beltline, and bicyclists came out in force to demand something more than a big road. (And there’s another Public Involvement Meeting on Dec 4.)
I know we are always asking you to testify or show up at another meeting, take another survey, or send another email. But it really does make a difference. When more people participate, from different parts of the city, with fresh stories about why better facilities are important to them, then the powers-that-be at all levels of government can’t say, “It’s the same people. How many people really care about this?”
So this Thanksgiving, I’m especially thankful to everyone who has taken the time to show up, write, email, call, fill out a survey, talk to their neighbors or alders, and all the other small steps you all have done. Just showing up by bike demonstrates that we belong everywhere: at stores and shops, at work, as parents of school kids, and as members of the community.
We have a long way to go, but if we all do a few small things, it won’t be a heavy lift.
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.
Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!
