Jerry Schippa gives a bicycle infrastructure tour (credit: Craig Weinhold)
You’re probably sick of hearing about it and we’re definitely tired of talking about it (thus our radio-silence last week), but Bike Week is over and was a huge success! Thanks to our sponsors, event organizers, the city and most importantly everyone who attended events or otherwise participated in their own way.
Bacon Cheddar Waffles by Cargo Bikes (credit: Christo Alexander)
Last week on Friday, University Bay Drive was closed to traffic overnight in order to install the new bike/ped bridge spans. Several community members were on site to capture some pictures and discussed it in the Facebook community. There’s a time-lapse video too that mostly demonstrates the resolve of the videographer and the inadequacies of modern phone batteries.
University Path Bridge being installed (credit: David Benforado)
A scouting ride today will surely show the spans in place, so go check it out yourself. Just a reminder that you won’t be able to make your way along the path and the circuitous detours remain in effect until the project completes this fall.
On Wednesday at 5pm, the Transportation Commission (TC) meets virtually to discuss all things transportation. One of these things is a proposed amendment to modify how the makeup of the TC itself is determined. To re-summarize a summary (what could possibly go wrong…):
In its current form, most of the eleven TC membership spots have specific requirements: one must have knowledge of equity issues, another must have knowledge of people facing disabilities, another must have primary transport mode of walking, and the list goes on. Of particular relevance to cycling advocacy, one must have a primary transport mode of cycling. The change, proposed by Mayor Rhodes-Conway, would revise the ordinance to say that “[t]he mayor shall strive to appoint members who represent the following perspectives or experiences: people knowledgeable about equity issues and the needs of marginalized communities; people with disabilities; bicyclists; walkers; and transit users.”
There is no doubt it can be difficult to formulate a working commission with the current disparate list of requirements, but this challenge in governing mirrors the challenges a commission like this will face in balancing the needs of a diverse constituency. Unfortunately, this proposed change removes the teeth from the ordinance, changing a firm set of requirements to a broad suggestion that can be interpreted in ways that might leave groups under-represented, or potentially outright ignored.
If you’d like to comment on this item or register your support or opposition, you can do so here while choosing agenda item #4.
If you need to relax after all that, on Wednesday at 6pm the Madison Queer Bike Ride departs from Law Park for the monthly, party-paced meetup ride.
Yet Another Wednesday activity, this time in the form of an open house for Upcoming Plans in the West Area. Drop by the Lussier Community Education Center (the third wheel of the Memorial HS/Jefferson MS/LCEC education mega-campus) between 6:30pm to 8:00pm “to hear directly from City staff about proposed improvements aimed at serving the needs of residents in West Madison, between Midvale Boulevard and the Beltline.” Families welcome, and ooh-ooh, there will be snacks, there will! You can also browse a high-level project map at your leisure, from the comfort of your own home.
Last Week
In case you missed it, the Bike Week event list went live last week. We’re processing new events almost every day so keep checking back. Bike Week runs from June 3 to June 10 and of particular note, on Friday, June 9 from 4pm to 7pm we’ll have our big end of week party at Brittingham Park with free food, music, and probably some fun. Mark your calendars!
Last Wednesday, May 3, City Traffic Engineering held a Safe Streets public meeting focusing on Midvale Blvd between University Ave and Mineral Point Rd. If you missed it, you can see the presentation and feedback summary. [Author’s personal feedback: It’s a stretch that I ride often (usually downhill/NB from Sequoya Library to University Ave). It takes a modicum of vigilance and determination, requiring regular diversions into the main travel lanes while negotiating parked cars. Alternatives can be scenic and enjoyable but add some tiresome crossings, a few poorly maintained roads and/or significant time and distance increases.]
A cyclist rides and waves near the John Nolen Dr/North Shore Dr intersection (Cyclists of Madison)
Last Week
madisonforall produced an excellent video detailing and commenting on the city’s four proposed design alternatives for John Nolen Drive @ North Shore Dr. This one of the busiest bike/ped/car intersections in the city and there are several components of its current design that can make it rather treacherous for bicyclists and pedestrians. Spoiler: Several of the proposed alternatives are just as bad and there’s important work to be done!
On Monday, Bike Fitchburg is hosting their monthly meeting from 7pm-8:30pm at KL Engineering, not too far removed from Military Ridge Trail @ McKee Rd.
The city posted an update regarding planned bike boulevard improvements to W Main St and there’s good and bad news. The beacon and median island at Proudfit St/W Main St are on track for construction this summer but the remaining work will be delayed with no concrete ETA at the moment.
Bicycle Benefits organizers are looking for ambassadors who would be willing to “ride around the area to see if they have signage up, BB stickers stocked and employees [that are] in the know.” If this sounds like your jam then hit up ian@bicyclebenefits.org.
Next Week
Transportation Policy and Planning Board is meeting next Monday, April 3 @ 5pm. No specific agenda posted yet, but they will probably cover items from the last meeting that was cancelled.
Spring 2023 is election time. The Spring Primary is on February 21; Spring Election is on April 4. The results of those elections can have a great impact on biking, walking, transit, and housing. Madison Bikes, together with Madison is for People and Madison Area Bus Advocates, reached out to all candidates for mayor and common council to ask them about their positions on transportation, housing, and sustainability.
The bounding area for the West Area Plan region (Image: City of Madison)
The in-person meeting was cancelled last week due to weather and will probably be rescheduled soon. In the meantime, you can make comments on the interactive map. It’s a good opportunity to highlight areas where you enjoy biking or where you wish there were better connections.
In case you missed it last week, the Bike Fed’s summer youth camp programs are open for registration. Also, plenty of good info on the site even if a youth camp isn’t your bag!
Last Week
On Friday morning, many hearty cyclists came out and stopped by our bike station despite the attempted knockout blow delivered by the big, wet Thursday snowstorm. It was somewhat treacherous conditions for all road, path and sidewalk users due to the late-night freeze following a day of sloppy conditions.
Who doesn’t love SWAG? (Photo: Harald Kliems)
With warmer temperatures than we’ve had in the past, it was good to see faces (both old and new) and sunshine. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, along with our sponsors and partners for the coffee and good times.
The path conditions look pretty good, all things considered! (Photo: Harald Kliems)
Finally, Groundhog’s Day was two week ago, but we still seem to be in this time loop where we get the same big storms on Thursdays. Until then, we’ll see great melting conditions that should leave paths and sideroads pretty rideable (sorry skiers). Watch out for refreezing, but otherwise enjoy!
From the Archives: Cyclists enjoying Holiday Fantasy in Lights 2019 (image: Mark Renner)
This Week
On Monday between 4:30pm and 8pm join us to experience the Holiday Fantasy in Lights at Olin Park without cars! The weather’s looking pretty nice, all things considered, and we’ll have volunteers around helping guide your experience.
If you’re feeling social, drop by the Sheraton from 4pm-5pm for a pre-lights party (hot chocolate, snacks, swag) and then enjoy a nice, relaxed group ride through the lights at around 5pm.
The city announced that it received federal funding for the Autumn Ridge Path, which amongst other things, provides a crucial connection across Highway 30 on the east side. Expect the final planning work to be completed this year (which, incidentally is 2023, Happy New Year to all) with construction in 2024.
It’s a short week for many, but we have some interesting and timely stuff to discuss.
Last week we all got a taste of slippery, variable winter conditions. It’s a great reminder to consider your winter riding plans and experiences and if you have a Facebook account, our community is a great place to start. Look below for more details about our annual winter cycling forum, taking place next week Monday.
This Week
On Monday at 5:30 pm, the Plan Commission meets to discuss establishing a new Transportation Demand Management ordinance. As Harald writes in his post:
Heads-up that the new Transportation Demand Management (TDM) ordinance will be in front of the Plan Commission on Monday. What is TDM? “Transportation Demand Management” means that when a new building of a certain size/in a certain area is built, the developer has to take measures that reduce the number of car trips that the new building generates. E.g. by reducing the number of car parking spots, offering residents transit passes, or having a BCycle station at the building. Sounds great? Yes, but developers often don’t like these kinds of rules. So if you support or oppose the TDM ordinance, you can register in support/opposition, speak at the virtual meeting, or submit written comments.
Heads up that next Monday, November 28 at 6pm we will host a virtual community forum discussing winter cycling in Madison:
For this month’s community meeting, join us to find answers to your questions about keeping warm and safe on your bike through the winter months.
Whether you need to know how to keep your face and extremities warm, how to keep fog off of your glasses, how to stay upright on ice and snow, how to find safe winter routes, how to keep rust off your bike, or anything else on your mind, we’ll help you find answers.
You can join using the zoom link. If you have questions you’d like to see answered, you can add them as a discussion for the event or email Connor directly.
A rider flies over the barrier at the Trek CX Cup in Waterloo over the weekend (Credit: Harald Kliems)
First, I’ll re-up two requests from previous weeks.
City of Madison District 18 Alder Charles Myadze is seeking input on improving cycling infrastructure on the north side. See last week’s update for more details on how to give feedback.
This week is the last week to get your application in to join the Madison Bikes Board. The deadline is Friday, October 14.
This Week
All week we’ve got Bike to School Week for Lapham Elementary, Marquette Elementary and O’Keefe Middle here in Madison. Thanks to board member Kyle for helping organize these events.
On Wednesday at 5pm the Transportation Commission meets virtually. You can check out the full agenda, but probably the most interesting discussions will be centered around two Vision Zero items. First, a discussion comparing safety data between the first six months of 2021 and 2022 (spoilers in images):
Citywide Vision Zero 2022 vs 2021 (City of Madison)E. Washington Ave Vision Zero 2022 vs 2021 (City of Madison)
The second item of note is an update on the city’s application for vision zero grant from the federal government. Included in that update you’ll find a letter of support from Madison Bikes.
Coming Up
On Saturday November 19, be ready for the next bicycle collection drive supporting Free Bikes 4 Kidz. Last Saturday (October 8) marked the start of their season with a collection drive at six locations around Madison.
It’s a quiet week on the schedule but I suppose that with school starting up many will be busy with new schedules and new bicycle routes.
Presumably the University will be wrapping up many of their summer-long projects and closures that have been so disruptive to navigating through campus. Of course, you still have a month-long closure of a segment of the path on the north side of University Ave to look forward to. Expect that in later September.
Vision Zero is getting a lot of attention from Madison Bikes, the City of Madison, and the press. Now you can explore and visualize different aspects of the data driving these discussions with the Madison Vision Zero Dashboard created by Harald. This complements and expands upon his work in the Twitter bot sphere.
Finally, on Sunday, maybe bisect your a long Labor Day weekend with a late summer classic, the Wright Stuff Century presented by the Bombay Bicycle Club. This year it’s free for everyone with route lengths ranging from 35-100 (hilly) miles.
Last Week
If you’re looking for more immediate engagement, there are plenty of discussions on the Madison Bikes Community forums. A quick glance over the last week and you’d find topics such as:
The increase in bike thefts in Madison and bicycle locking strategies
Repeated attempts to sabotage and (presumably) injure users of the Southwest path by stretching cables across at a bike bridge
A call to action to get the City of Monona to consider bicycle lane improvements on the Atwood/Monona Dr corridor
Something for everyone!
Other Stuff
You might be interested to read this article from Streetsblog USA titled “Three Common Types of Bike Laws That Are Overdue for an Overhaul.” As referenced in the article, much of the data from this sourced from this paper.
It’s a very quiet week for bike news in Madison, but not for traffic out on our bikeways. Seems like everyone’s out biking somewhere — maybe for fun, maybe to get to work, maybe for exercise. Whatever your reason, enjoy!
This Week
On Monday at 5pm, the Transportation Policy and Planning Board (TPPB) meets virtually. You can read the full agenda here but probably the most interesting item to note is the discussion titled “Speed Policy on Shared Use Paths”. It’s a 27-slide deck that, if you are a user of any shared use paths, you absolutely must read. Then, after being reminded what an absolute mess we are in together, go out and ride our paths bringing your patience, awareness, and kindness.
On Monday evening at 7pm, join Madison Bikes and returning special guest (and friend of the show) Dr. Dirk von Schneidemesser for an informal social hour at the Memorial Union Terrace. Important note: This replaces next week’s scheduled Community Meeting!
This month, Dr. Dirk von Schneidemesser is in Madison again and will be joining us for an informal social hour. As a board member for the German nonprofit Changing Cities, Dr. Schneidemesser helped organize a grassroots ballot initiative that was instrumental in the 2018 creation of Berlin’s “bicycle law.” This law, the first of its kind in Germany, legally required Berlin to build certain types of infrastructure to improve bike and pedestrian safety. Similar laws have since been passed by local governments all over the world, and can be useful in shielding transportation safety initiatives from the whims of local politics.
