Month: April 2026

Summer’s finally here, with a small dose of spring and the riding has been good! A relatively quiet week ahead on the events front, but plenty to chew on from the past few days, including a northside advocacy gathering, a fresh look at the Regent Street redesign, and some job opportunities that might be interesting to you.

Last Week

A great crowd of around fifty people turned out for the northside bike advocacy event at Cool Bikes North. Keep your eyes peeled for a writeup by board member Katie Nash over Northside News!

On Slack, Harald flagged a WORT interview with Tom Mohr about the Regent Street redesign and how it played out at the Board of Public Works. The piece is titled “Pedestrians, parking take priority in Regent Street redesign” which, well, tells you a lot of what you need to know about how the conversation went. If you’d rather read than listen, there’s a transcript over on Pastebin. The continued prioritization of free parking of private vehicles on a street that desperately needs better bike and pedestrian accommodations is, predictably, a big part of the discussion.

The City of Madison’s Vision Zero team published its Spring 2026 Quarterly Newsletter, covering how crash data is used to shape safer streets. Highlights include the MPO’s draft Active Transportation Plan, informed by 3,400+ survey responses, and Madison’s new High Injury Network map identifying corridors where safety improvements are most needed.

More planning: the city’s aspirational All Ages and Abilities (AAA) Bicycle Network draft plan remains out for public comment until May 11. The intro meeting happened last week and there will likely be more opportunities to discuss this.

John Nolen Drive Updates

Here’s a bit of reporting from Craig over on Slack re: the John Nolen Drive corridor. Broom Street is now fully closed to cars in both directions, though the Broom St crossing remains open for bikes and peds. The North Shore Drive crossing is also still open for bikes and peds, but continue to be vigilant because there’s a lot of distraction/confusion with the construction and cars are still in a hurry to make that slippy right turn.

The bigger news is that the new north-side path from Bedford to Broom has been paved. It’s not fully connected to Broom St yet, but once it is this segment will be a key piece of the bike detour we’ll all be taking when the causeway path closes later this year. In the meantime, once opened it will provide a more convenient connection from the SW Commuter Path toward campus than ever before.

If you want to keep tabs on this project from all angles (Bike, Ped, Car), the city puts out a weekly John Nolen Drive newsletter with construction updates, closures, and what to expect in the week ahead. Here’s an archive link to the latest one from this morning.

Jobs!

A couple of bike-adjacent job openings to mention, if you or someone you know is looking. The city is hiring a Sustainability Program Coordinator, which isn’t strictly a bike job but absolutely touches on the kind of transportation and climate work we care about. And BCycle’s parent company Bicycle Transit Systems is hiring field techs in Madison (seasonal and year-round) over on their jobs page.

This Week

On Monday at 7:00 PM, our friends at Bike Fitchburg hold their monthly meeting at the Fitchburg Senior Center, 5510 Lacy Rd. They’ve asked that folks park (bikes or cars) on the north side of the Senior/Community Center. If you ride south of the Beltline, their meetings are a good way to plug in and meet like-minded folks.

On Wednesday at 5:00 PM, the Transportation Commission meets virtually, with at least two items of interest on the agenda to people who bike and walk: a WisDOT Park Street discussion and the Quarterly Traffic Safety Report. Full agenda and registration to speak available here.

Coming Up

On Sunday, May 3rd at 5:00 PM, the Monthly Bike Advocacy Meetup returns to Machinery Row Bicycles. The goal, as always, is to create a space for community building, idea sharing, and figuring out where to push next on bike infrastructure and policy in Madison. Bring your gripes, your wins, and your wish list.

We’ll continue to bang the drum about Madison Bike Week 2026, from May 30 through June 7. It’s looking stacked already with 35+ events already registered. We’ll have the preliminary schedule launched soon; if you want your event in that list then register it now!

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!

Hope everyone made it through the storms intact. I saw lots of photos of trees down, house damage, and smashed car windshields/back windows, but no one posted any bike tragedies. So, unless all the bikes were under shelter, we may have found another advantage of not owning a car.

I took advantage of throwing my bike on the BRT and then hightailing it home from the bus between tornado warnings. Our part of town escaped all the hail, but I quickly pulled my bike onto the porch instead of taking the extra time to unlock the shed!

The week in review

At the Transportation Commission, there was a long discussion of how Regent Street should be reconstructed. The vote on the plans was divided, with the chair breaking the tie to approve the plan presented by city staff. 

The reconstruction does not include any bike facilities on Regent Street, but will feature wider sidewalks, improved crossings, and bike lanes on cross streets. Whether this makes it easier to access destinations on Regent Street by bike is still to be seen. 

If you would like to watch the discussion, you can view a recording of the meeting on the city website. The portion of the meeting regarding Regent Street starts at 10:15. The Board of Public Works will also discuss the design on Wednesday before it heads to final approval at the Council.

The week ahead

Tuesday

Northside Bike Infrastructure: How to Get the Future We Want

Discussion of biking on the north side, 6-8 pm at Cool Bikes North, 1861 Northport Dr.

If you’re a Northsider who bikes, you know our bicycle infrastructure lags behind other parts of Madison. What changes do we want to see, and how do we make them happen? The public is invited to a free panel discussion and Q&A forum on Tuesday, from 6–8 pm, at Cool Bikes North. For those who cannot attend in person, we’ll be livestreaming the event. Write to info@coolbikesnorth.com to request a link.

More information, including panelists, can be found at the event page.

Wednesday

Board of Public Works will discuss the plans and specifications for the Regent St reconstruction.  The meeting takes place virtually at 4:30 pm. You can view the agenda, submit comments, or register to speak here.

Thursday

Virtual Public Meeting on the AAA Bike Network Plan, at 6:00 pm 

Madison is laying out its vision for an All Ages & Abilities Bikeways Network! This is an opportunity to comment on where you think connections need to be made, intersections improved, or other policies and infrastructure to allow people to access the entire city. 

There will be more opportunities for public input, but this the first chance to view the draft plan and learn how to provide comments. Register for the meeting. On the project page you can learn more about the plan. For more on past plans and related documents, check out the Bicycle Network Plan page to see the timeline for the plan , Existing Conditions Summary, Imagine Madison Plan, Madison in Motion plan, MPO Bike Plan, and access the Complete Green Streets Guide.

Saturday

Escape the Badger

If you are a fan of gravel riding, head on up to the Sauk Prairie Recreation Area north of Prairie du Sac for the Escape the Badger ride. There are three route lengths for all abilities. 

“Come join us for our 3rd Annual Escape the Badger Gravel Event! Fundraiser gravel ride with all proceeds going to Baraboo Area Mountain Bike Association to promote and develop trails and cycling in the Sauk County area.”

More information and registration can be found on the event page.

Celebrate Trails Day
Bike Fitchburg will have a station at the Velo Underround – the intersection of the Badger, SW Path, Cannonball, and Cap City Trail – from 10 am-1 pm as a local contribution to this national event. Come by for non-alcoholic beverages from Athletic Brewing as well as snacks, bike maps, and discussion of local efforts to improve biking.

Reminder: Submit your Bike Week event

Bike Week is May 30-June 7 this year. If you have an idea for an event, head on over to the Madison Bike Week 2026 page and submit your event. Host a fun ride, class, commuter station, movie, panel discussion, art project, book club, happy hour, general bike celebration, or any other event open to the public.

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!

It’s starting to feel a bit like spring. This weekend, I tried chasing down the pelicans that I had seen people post about on social media for the past few days. I had no luck at Lake Wingra on Thursday (but lots of muskies!) or on Monona Bay on Friday, but yesterday I finally found them, along the Military Ridge Trail and on Dunn’s Marsh!

Spring Bike Wash

A previous version of this newsletter stated we’re having a Spring Bike Wash on April 18th, but due to planning issues and a not-so-great weather outlook, we will not be doing the event.

Regent Street and Park Street back at Transportation Commission

The Transportation Commission on Wednesday (4/14) has several relevant items on the agenda:

• Regent Street is back for a final approval. After a long discussion in February, the commission provided feedback to staff, and now they’re bringing back a slightly revised proposal. Much of the key elements remain the same: There won’t be any bike facilities on Regent; some bike improvements will be made on parallel and crossing streets. The amount of parking/loading spots remains mostly the same, as does the number of travel and turn lanes. Because of the parking/loading zones and the power lines on the south side of the street, the plan only includes space for up to 10 large and 8 narrow trees. Some of the intersections have been tightened up to slow turning drivers.
• The horrible and tragic death of Sasha Rosen on Park Street continues to reverberate. City staff will provide a presentation on “Potential Short Term Solutions to Improve Traffic Safety on Park Street and Other Similar Arterial Streets” to the commission. It outlines how excessive speeds are the main safety issue, and how Park Street is just one of many major arterials in Madison (Northport, Packers, Mineral Point, University, …) that deal with this problem. A full rebuild of streets is often the most effective solution, but we don’t have the luxury to wait that long while people are being injured or killed by drivers.
• Finally, the commission will discuss how projects in the Safe Streets Madison program should be scored. Safe Streets Madison is a dedicated pot of money to fund small-scale street safety improvements in a data-driven way. City staff use a prioritization tool that takes into account the safety issues, the cost of solutions, and the benefit those solutions will result in.

You can submit written comments to the commission by emailing transportationcommission@cityofmadison.com, or sign up in support/opposition to items or register to speak at https://www.cityofmadison.com/city-hall/committees/meeting-schedule/register

Amtrak service to Madison by 2029?

This item is not exactly bike-related. Amtrak is holding a public meeting on Tuesday (4/14) from 7-8:30 PM. The topic: A potential start of Madison to Milwaukee passenger rail service, dubbed “Hiawatha West,” as early as 2029. Is it really going to happen? And will we maybe be able to take bikes on board? We’ll see.

The outreach plan includes opportunities for the public to provide feedback and to learn more about the project. Amtrak will host a public webinar on April 14 at 7PM CST. There will be a presentation and an opportunity to ask questions. 

Registration link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=wu2XYcABJEuJGY-CfVxN-uNR_VLR8VNJqOlwraDWe49UM0JDUjBPNVNBUVZKNVM1MUMxVkFLNURCWi4u&route=shorturl

Madison Bike Week: Submit your events!

A quick reminder that event submissions for Madison Bike Week are open! Everybody can submit an event — be it a group ride, a meetup, a sticker exchange, an advocacy event, a bike station, whatever you can think of! If cost is a concern, we have a small grant program available to support you. Find out more on the Madison Bike Week page: https://www.madisonbikes.org/events/madison-bike-week-2026/

Madison By Bike

Destination Madison, our city’s tourism promoters, want you to know about the Madison By Bike challenge. “Madison By Bike welcomes you to explore the capital city. Pedal across multiple Madison trails, each with their own vibe, and stop along the way to redeem exclusive discounts and earn prizes. Sign up now.“

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!