Author: Harald Kliems

On Monday at Monona Terrace, you’ll have the opportunity to get an update on the Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan. Architecture firm Sasaki will present on progress that has been made since they’ve been announced the winners of the master plan design process. “The evening includes a half-hour presentation by the team starting at 6:30pm followed by a Q&A session and an open house to meet team members and Parks staff.”

Also on Monday is the monthly Bike Fitchburg meeting. I haven’t seen a location announced yet, and so maybe confirm that the meeting is taking place.

On Wednesday at noon there is a virtual meeting about the West Area Plan. Transportation will be an important part of the plan, and so it’ll be important to speak for safe streets and low stress bike connections. If you can’t make the Wednesday meeting:

• There is an additional, in-person meeting on August 2, 2023, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Rennebohm Park Shelter
• And you can take a survey

Later on Wednesday, there is a Transportation Commission meeting. There are several items of interest on the agenda:

• North Stoughton Road: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will present on their plans for North Stoughton Road. Stoughton Road is one of the deadliest corridors in the city, it lacks safe walking and biking facilities, and it cuts neighborhoods in half. Based on previous experience, WisDOT’s primary interest will be to move cars, and so it will take a lot of pressure from the public and the City to get to an acceptable plan. So please sign up and speak for a human-centered road rather than a highway.
• Another big item will be the proposed pilot to turn the 400-600 blocks of State Street into some kind of pedestrian mall. Now that Metro buses no longer run on this stretch of State Street, there is an opportunity to change the layout of the street. But there are also a number of constraints, such as fire access — and ensuring that bikes continue to be able to use State Street to get through downtown. The first step will be to develop a plan for a pilot project, which will be put in place next year.
• Good things are in the works for Sheboygan Ave and Segoe Rd. The City proposes lane reductions, improved pedestrian crossings, buffered bike lanes, and in some stretches even concrete curb protected bike lanes! Since these improvements will require the reduction of some of the on-street parking, there probably will be some opposition. You can register in support and sign up to speak at the meeting here.

Last but not least: On Sunday you can join another “BI-weekly Bike Ride For Trans Rights.” This is a recurring bike ride around Lake Monona in support of trans rights. 9am at the Cap City and Walter St crossing.

I hope everybody is enjoying the long weekend. Because of the holiday, this will be a short update.

John Nolen Drive

The design for the rebuilt John Nolen Drive intersection as North Shore Drive was on the Transportation Commission’s agenda last week. A lot of people had submitted written comments in favor of an underpass solution (if you haven’t done so already, read our board member Craig’s post in support of an underpass). But staff made clear that an underpass was not within the scope of the current project and the focus of the meeting was about the at-grade crossing options. Staff presented two options: One that includes a “channelized right turn” (commonly known as a slip lane or multi-stage crossing, “Alt 2”) and a simpler intersection design with direct crossings (“Alt 4”). Neither option would preclude a future underpass.

Both designs had advantages and disadvantages for people walking, biking, and rolling across the intersection in terms of how long it will take to cross, how long one has to wait, and how safe the crossing will likely be. In the end, the Transportation Commission recommended moving forward with the channelized right turn option. Staff and consultants will now work on the details of that design option and bring it back to the Transportation Commission.

Greenbush Safe Street Meeting

The City will be hosting another neighborhood Safe Streets meeting on Wednesday from 6 to 7:30pm.

Streets in the Greenbush Neighborhood have been identified for consideration of safety improvements and improving connections for walking and biking. Streets identified include Drake St and Mills St. This meeting will also be an opportunity to discuss changes on Randall Ave to support the new Metro Transit Route including changes to the traffic calming circle at Vilas Ave and parking changes near the circle.

The meeting is virtual and you can register here: https://cityofmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqc-yupj8qH9Jqzsr_a_DeJ_gtQCvxSLjN

There is also on option to provide written feedback on safety concerns in the area: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LGBLCYF

Madison Bike Week preview

Bike Week is less than a week away! If I’m counting correctly, we are up to 50 events! New events keep coming in, and so if you haven’t checked the full schedule in a while, go take a look: https://www.madisonbikes.org/events/bikeweek-2023/

We have a great mix of events that have been around for many years and new events at new locations. Madison Bikes is hosting a few events:

• On Saturday (June 2), our board member Craig and Alder John Duncan will go on a far west bike infrastructure tour
• On Tuesday, we’re teaming up with Curbside Cycles and the University Hill Farms Neighborhood Association for an afternoon Bike Station at Fire Station #9 (Regent and Midvale)
• On Wednesday morning, join us for a ride with the mayor and a press conference. Followed by a post-ride Coffee on the Square at our wonderful sponsors Wonderstate Coffee
• On Thursday, we ride to Paoli to fetch a keg of beer for…
• …the Friday Madison Bike Week Party at Brittingham Park!

Again, check out the full schedule — I don’t think we’ve had this many events since before the pandemic! Madison Bike Week is a community effort. All this wouldn’t be possible without the support from local businesses, community groups, city staff, volunteers, our great board. And our awesome sponsors!

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.

TC/TPPB joint meeting

The Transportation Commission (TC) and the Transportation Policy and Planning Board (TPPB) are having a joint meeting on Monday. One of the main agenda items is a proposal to combine the two bodies into one. Currently, the TPPB is tasked with making higher-level policy decisions about transportation, whereas the TC’s job is to make sure those policies are implemented. However, what counts as a policy decision and what counts as implementation isn’t always neatly delineated, leading to duplication and friction between the work of the two bodies. If the proposal moves forward, the two bodies would be combined into a new Transportation Commission.

After the joint meeting, the TPPB will have its own separate meeting, and there are several agenda items related to biking: First, a proposal to remove the prohibition of “trick riding” and riding on footbridges from our ordinances. What is “trick riding” and why is it prohibited? Well, that’s not really spelled out, and that’s part of the problem: Many municipalities have ordinances that make it illegal to ride no-handed, to engage in “fancy riding,” to ride without both feet on the pedals, and so on. These laws are rarely enforced, but when they are, research shows that they are almost always enforced in a racially discriminatory way. And in terms of safety they don’t have any positive impact. Is it a good idea to ride no-handed or pop a wheelie on a busy downtown street? Probably not. But an ordinance prohibiting it doesn’t improve safety. Madison already repealed the mandatory bike registration ordinance in 2020, and abolishing this ordinance is another step in the vein of decriminalizing biking. For a more in-depth perspective on this topic, I highly recommend this episode of the Arrested Mobility podcast and this BikeWalk Kansas City guide.

The other proposed ordinance changes are about bike shops: Did you know that if you want to open a bike shop in Madison you have to get a license first and then pay $100 a year to maintain that license? Or that you can be fined $10 for loaning a bike to a friend if it doesn’t have proper safety equipment? These ordinances are on the chopping block. You can register in support or opposition to any of the items here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/city-hall/committees/meeting-schedule/register

Transportation Commission

In addition to the joint meeting on Monday, the Transportation Commission is also meeting on Wednesday. The agenda is short and the only possibly bike-relevant item is a reconstruction of a stretch of Harvey St and Schmitt Pl. Harvey St runs parallel to University Ave, and as the University Ave reconstruction doesn’t include any bike facilities, this may be an opportunity for improving a parallel (but discontinuous) route.

Queer Ride

On Wednesday it’s time for the monthly Madison Queer Ride. 6pm, Law Park. “We will bike across Monona via John Nolen, take the Wingra path through to the SW Commuter and then make our way back to Law Park. Social hour and warmup at Garth’s.”

Advancing equity for non-drivers webinar

Did you know that 31% of the Wisconsin population are considered to be “non-drivers”? Some of us are too young or too old to drive, some have health conditions or disabilities that prevent us from driving, and some of us can’t afford to drive (or don’t want to). Nonetheless, everyone has mobility needs, and for non-drivers those needs are often badly met. The Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Board of People with Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights Wisconsin are hosting a “moderated conversation will consider what challenges exist and steps that can be taken in creating transportation equity for non-drivers in Wisconsin.” Tuesday, 11 am to noon on Facebook Live.

Bike-O-Rama

Over the weekend it’s time for Bike-O-Rama again. At the Alliant Center you’ll have an opportunity to look at and test ride hundreds (thousands?) of bikes from local retailers. Admission is free.

Fitchburg Bicycle Friendly Community survey

Fitchburg is going for gold. The League of American Bicyclist’s Bicycle Friendly Communities program previously awarded Fitchburg silver status, and now the city and advocates are hoping that they can level up. As part of the application and review, the Bike League is looking for input from local riders. So if you want to share your impressions of biking in Fitchburg, take a survey here. The feedback from that survey is aggregated and shared back to the city.

Madison Bike Week is coming! June 3-10

It’s only early March, but it’s never too early to put Madison Bike Week on your calendar. June 3-10 are the dates this year and we’ll soon start releasing more information. If you have any immediate questions or want to become a sponsor, shoot us an email.

Jobs, jobs, jobs

• Local MTB advocates CORP are looking to hire their first ever Executive Director. $30-50k/y, part time
• Black Saddle Bike Shop is hiring a lead mechanic. $18-22/h, paid time off.
• The City is still looking to fill Crossing Guard positions. $18.18/h, part time
• The City also is looking for candidates for their paid Affirmative Action Student Professionals in Residence internship program. One of the internships is specifically to work on Vision Zero: “The Vision Zero intern will be assisting the Vision Zero staff team, led by Traffic Engineering, with outreach and marketing related to eliminating serious and fatal traffic crashes.”

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.

Safe Streets Madison

The Transportation Commission will meet on Wednesday, and the Safe Streets Madison program is on the agenda. As a reminder: Safe Streets Madison was created last year to combine a number of smaller funding pots and use them more effectively. With a data-driven approach, projects are prioritized based on their safety benefits and to close gaps in the biking and walking network, as well as their cost. City staff twice a year create a list of top-scoring projects and then bring that to the Transportation Commission for approval. You can find the first batch of proposed projects, totaling over $600,000, here.

Bike Fitchburg meeting

Bike Fitchburg switched up their monthly meeting format. Each month they will meet at a different bike-friendly business in the city on the 4th Monday. Tonight it is at Race Day Events/Griessmeyer Law on Sub-Zero Parkway. Meeting starts at 7 pm.

Lake Monona Waterfront Design Challenge

The process to create a new master plan for the Lake Monona waterfront between Machinery Row and Olin Park is moving along: The three design teams will present their final proposals at the Central Library on Thursday. The meeting is in person, but it will also be streamed live on City Channel. After the public has provided input on the proposals, an ad-hoc committee will pick one proposal and send it to the Board of Parks Commissioners and the Common Council for approval. Back in December, Madison Bikes presented our priorities and concerns to the ad-hoc committee. You can watch a recording of our presentation here.

International Winter Bike Day: February 10

Save the date: Like every year, Madison Bikes will celebrate International Winter Bike Anywhere Day in early February. This year the day falls on a Friday, and we’re exploring some after-work celebration options. More details to come, here and on Facebook.

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.

It’s Halloween today and under normal circumstances this would call for a happy, lighthearted weekly update post. But on Thursday morning something terrible happened: A driver struck and killed Tom Heninger as he was biking across John Nolen Drive at North Shore Drive. This crossing is both one of the busiest in the city and also a hot spot for crashes involving people on bikes. Madison.com has an obituary for Tom.

This was the third deadly bike crash this year. According to Community Maps, which keeps records of fatal crashes going back to 2001, there have never been as many deadly bike crashes in a year. Our thoughts are with Tom’s family and friends.

Winter Walk Bike event tonight

There is no good way to transition from writing about a deadly bike crash to what is supposed to be a fun event about winter biking and walking. Madison Bikes board members are joining the City’s Bike/Ped Outreach coordinator Colleen Hayes at the Madison Bicycle Center tonight starting at 5pm.

What exactly happens at the Madison Bicycle Center? How can I make winter walking and biking work for me? What resources are out there to make it easier to commute to work using alternatives to a single occupancy vehicle? Find out the answers to these questions and more* on Halloween night. Join us Monday 10/31 at 5:00 pm for an open house at the Madison Bicycle Center, run by Freewheel Community Bike Shop, and stick around for the Access Hour live from the MBC at 7:00 (or listen on WORT 89.9FM) to hear from local active transportation experts. *Will there be costumes? I hope so! Will there be a caramel apple making buffet? Likely! Will there be door prizes? Definitely!

The Madison Bicycle Center is located at 202 Pinckney St. Join us in person or listen in on 89.9 FM or the live stream.

Bike Count Webinar recording available

If you missed last week’s webinar on analyzing bike count data from Madison, Fitchburg, and Lincoln (NE), you can now watch a recording, check out the slides, or read a recap blog post on the League of American Bicyclists website. We’ll probably post our own summary post in the next few weeks to highlight lessons learned. Thanks again to the Bike League, Eco-Counter, Bike Fitchburg, and the City of Madison for all working together on this.

New family bike riding group

Daniel and his family just recently moved to Madison, and he decided to put on a new family bike ride. Apparently the first ride was a big success and more rides are to come. The best way to find out about rides is to follow @familiesonbikes on Instagram or join the corresponding group on Facebook.