Author: Jim Wilson

Last Week

Monday was the Car-Free Holiday Fantasy in Lights event. The event drew a fairly strong crowd of over 330 people. Given that the event was 3.5 hours long, that averages to about 100 people per hour. The event even drew media attention with this article in The Cap Times. A few videos were also posted to the Madison Bikes Community page by MB Board Member Robbie Webber and our YouTube channel

On Friday, Wisconsin Public Radio had a segment of The Morning Show dedicated to the topic of biking in the winter. Robbie Webber joined to share the perspective of a winter commuter, and Viroqua-area adventure cyclist Laura Hrubes joined to share the perspective of someone who rides more recreationally. You can listen to the segment here.

The WI DNR also had a feature on Winter Biking in their online newsletter, Out WI Go. There’s some advice on what to wear and where to ride, pointing out that Wisconsin State Trails are open for winter biking activities. Read the newsletter here.

This Week

Madison’s Transportation Commission meets at 5:00 PM Wednesday. There are not really any bike-specific items on the agenda, but for people interested in non-car transportation, there are items related to Madison Metro and taxi services in Madison.

At 6:00 PM Wednesday, there’s the monthly Madison Queer Bike Ride. It’s a group ride that occurs the second Wednesday of every month at 6:00 PM. Find more information on their Instagram @madisonqueerbikeride

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.

Last Week

A dangerous wire was found strung across the Southwest Path bike bridge over the bike roundabout multiple times last week. The last known time a wire appeared was Wednesday morning, August 31. No word yet on if the perpetrator was caught.

An unplanned change to a railroad replacement project caused the railroad’s contractor to route a bike detour the wrong way down a one-way street. While this was not a city project, use of the city’s Report a Problem tool helped improve the situation. The city will construct a path along Broom St, and part of the W Wilson St cycletrack that Madison Bikes has long advocated for, next year. The railroad has been instructed to hold off any projects that would close North Shore Dr until that project is complete.

Madison Bikes is looking for people to join the board! Want to become more involved in local bicycle advocacy? Consider joining the Madison Bikes board of directors. Applications are due October 7. Read more about it on this post published last week.

This Week

Today (Monday), the Isthmus Dance Collective brings back the Shifting Gears Bike Path Dance Festival from 12-6 PM. Temporary performance spaces will be set up in four city parks nearby bike paths. The parks are Wirth Court Park, McPike Park, the Olin Park Vantage, and new this year; Brittingham Park.

On Wednesday, the Greater Madison MPO will have a regularly scheduled meeting starting at 6:30 PM.  The MPO is responsible for comprehensive planning and decision making to build agreement on transportation investments that balance roadway, public transit, bicycle, pedestrian and other transportation needs to achieve an exceptional quality of life for all within the region. At Wednesday’s meeting, they will be discussing the 2023-2027 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP is a 5-year planning document that is intended to help lawmakers decide what projects to fund and when. Here is the Meeting Agenda, and here is the proposed 2023-2027 TIP. Action on the TIP will be taken at next month’s meeting on October 5.

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.

Last Week

On Monday, Madison’s Transportation Policy and Planning Board (link to the Meeting Minutes, link to Agenda Item) had an extensive discussion on path etiquette and the potential of a speed limit policy for bike paths. The discussion largely revolved around the idea of shared space, the need for more space, and the need for educational signage that does not lay all of the burden of responsible use on people on bikes. Click here for a recording of the full TPPB meeting, the discussion on path etiquette starts fairly early at the 12 minute mark, and lasts for about 64 minutes.

Trees are down! The storms that swept through the region on Saturday and early Sunday morning left several sets of trees down on the Military Ridge Trail according to reports on the Madison Bikes Community Facebook Group. There were no Facebook reports, it is probably safe to assume some instances of downed trees on the other regional state trails. The DNR will be working to clear those in the near future, so please be patient if you see crews working on clearing the trails.

Finally, several near east side projects are winding down, including the path crossing at Russell St. The path crossings of Jackson St and Ohio Ave reopened earlier this summer, with the nearby streets nearing completion. Shoulder grading at Russel St and final paving of Jackson St and Ohio Ave crossing the Capital City Path has yet to be completed, so continue to be aware of construction traffic.

This Week

On Monday, Bike Fitchburg is having it’s monthly meeting. Bike Fitchburg’s regular monthly board meetings are generally held on the fourth Monday of each month (except December) from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. The meeting will be held in the conference room at the Fitchburg Public Library. Everyone with an interest in improving bicycling in Fitchburg, Wisconsin is welcome at all board meetings! Click here for more information.

This Wednesday is the Grand Opening of a new Wheel & Sprocket location in Fitchburg. The new location will be at 2970 Cahill Main #101, a stone’s throw away from where the Capital City State Trail crosses Fitch Hatchery Rd. To celebrate, W&S will be hosting a “chain cutting” ceremony with local officials starting at 3:30 PM. Everyone is welcome to attend, and there will be free food, drinks, and door prizes. Click here for more information.

Finally, on Wednesday, Madison’s Transportation Commission will be meeting virtually starting at 5 PM. Click here for the full Agenda. Discussion items will include applying for funding for the Transportation Alternatives Program, and application for funding for the city’s Vision Zero program.

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 impossible to start this update without addressing the tragedy that occurred last Tuesday, June 7. At about 4 AM, Taylor Dunn was riding his bicycle to work when he was struck and killed by an intoxicated motorist at the intersection of Mineral Point Road and High Point Road. A vigil was held, and a ghost bike was placed to create a memorial for Taylor. A GoFundMe was created to help with funeral costs. That this happened during Bike Week was a reminder that despite the progress we’ve made in helping Madison become a city where anyone can ride a bicycle conveniently and comfortably to any place year round, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

This Week

On Wednesday, June 15, Darbo Council and BikEquity will be hosting a community bike repair and bike ride event. This event will take place starting at 5 PM at Worthington Park on Madison’s east side. Madison365 has a nice article highlighting the event.

On Friday, June 17, Madison will be closing Vilas Park Drive to through motor vehicle traffic. Starting at 4 PM, cars and trucks will no longer be allowed on the section of VPD between the bridge at Edgewood Avenue and the entrance to the Vilas Park Shelter parking lot. An event was created to help celebrate this positive change for people using the park outside of motor vehicles.

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.

This Week

Madison’s Transportation Commission meets this Wednesday at 5:00 PM, and there’s a fair number of agenda items related to Madison Bike’s goals. The biggest of these agenda items relates to the Atwood Avenue project, with Madison Bikes working towards getting an all-ages and abilities facility for the entire length of the project, and ensuring the lake loop route is accessible all year round.

The Atwood Avenue project has two components that are under discussion this Wednesday. The first is how to route a potential path through/around the park in order to fill a substantial gap in the Lake Monona Loop trail, including enabling year-round access to the route. The second is a proposed modification to the plan on the east end to continue the side path to Cottage Grove Rd, creating an all ages and abilities connection along the entire eastern portion of this project. With respect to the first component, there are now four options being considered for the routing from Lakeland to the path along Atwood. Madison Bikes has endorsed Option 1 and Option 3 for this segment. These options both create a safe, all ages and abilities access to and through the park, and provide a more direct, year-round route for commuters. Option 2 would continue the route largely as it exists today, which means it would not be able to be plowed for year-round use, as the park is a popular sledding hill, and the path would be left snow-covered to act as a run-out for the sledding hill. Option 4 would completely bypass the park, and require people following the lake loop to climb up a larger hill than they are currently being asked to, which makes it a worse option when considering all ages and abilities connections.

With respect to the second component of the Atwood Avenue project, there is a proposal to modify the east end of the project to continue an off-street path to the project’s eastern terminus at Cottage Grove Rd. The existing proposal has the off-street facilities ending at Dennett Drive, with buffered bike lanes continuing to the project’s eastern terminus. While buffered bike lanes are a major improvement over the current nothing that exists today, they are not an all ages and abilities facility. This proposed change would create an all ages and abilities facility to Cottage Grove Rd, which is more in line with Madison Bike’s mission to promote a city where anyone can ride a bicycle conveniently and comfortably to any place year round.

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.