Winter isn’t quite done with us yet. [sigh] The coming week is very slow for activities. But a few things happened in the past week that may be of interest. And a meeting Tuesday will provide information on construction of the BRT, which might mess up a few bike routes during construction. More on that below.
What happened last week?
The Transportation Commission and the Transportation Planning and Policy Board voted to merge, and the Council confirmed that decision. Because many issues have been presented at both bodies, and members of the public were confused about the duties of each body, it made sense to merge them. This will mean a heavier workload for the consolidated commission, but will probably streamline decisions in the long run.
The change will probably not take effect until May, after the new alders take office and are appointed mayor – whoever she may be – appoints alders. Some citizen positions are up for renewal, and obviously, not everyone will continue on the new commission, so we’ll see what the new body will look like.
The TPPB voted to eliminate some old ordinances that were unclear and outdated. One prohibited riding a bicycle across a footbridge, but didn’t indicate which bridges this might cover. So maybe we’ve all been riding illegally across the Jenifer Street bridge across the Yahara? Who knows, but we don’t have to worry about that now.
The TPPB also voted to eliminate the ordinance prohibiting “trick riding” on a bicycle. Again, what activities were prohibited was never defined. Wheelies? BMX tricks?
Coming up – construction and planning
A reminder that Walnut St is closed between University Ave the Campus Dr and RR bridge. You can still access Walnut northbound from the Campus Dr Path, but cannot go under Campus Dr. The railroad is fixing the RR bridge, and no traffic of any kind – bikes, cars, pedestrians – are allowed until the work is done. The intended finish date is March 19, but that is subject to change.
Finally, looking forward a couple of months, the Madison Bikes board and volunteers are planning for Bike Week, happening June 3-10. If you would like to help us plan or execute the event, please email liz@madisonbikes.org. And if you are involved with a business, club, group, community organization, or non-profit that might want to put on an event during the week – a ride, commuter station, class, bike wash, discount, speaker, or swag giveaway (or anything else you can imagine), you’ll want to contact Liz as well.
We’ll be sending out reminders about events for the week, but it’s always a good idea to start thinking and planning well in advance.
Public meeting Tuesday on BRT construction and connected detours.
Metro Transit will hold a public information meeting on Tuesday, March 14 at 6:00 pm to talk about construction updates. Please register in advance. There will be construction and closures of various durations from now through the summer as infrastructure for the BRT is built. Coming up right away, starting Monday, March 13, Sheboygan Avenue will be fully closed to traffic just east of Eau Claire Avenue. The city’s website says the closure will continue until mid-July. Sidewalk access will be maintained.
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 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.”
This is a guest post by Kirsten Finn, executive director of the Wisconsin Bike Fed. The article was originally published on the Bike Fed website.
In the overview of Governor Evers’ 2023-2025 budget he acknowledges that, with a $7 billion dollar state surplus, it is time to invest in Wisconsin’s future by addressing long neglected needs and “doing the right thing” instead of just getting by. One of the “right things” that the Governor’s budget addresses is addressing Wisconsin’s long neglected active transportation network.
According to the League of American Bicyclists most recent Bicycle Friendly States Rankings, Wisconsin currently ranks 49th out of 50 states in the amount of money we spend on biking and walking at just $.85 per capita. Under the new federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, also called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL), there is significantly more money available for biking and walking.
Once stuck at $7.4 million dollars annually, the Governor’s budget calls for $18.2 million annually for the Transportation Alternatives Plan (TAP). The Bike Fed encourages WisDOT to appropriate even more of the available Federal dollars for TAP so that Wisconsin can match the national average of spending 2.2% of its transportation on biking and walking. However, this increase will allow us to address many critical bike/ped projects around the State.
Since the beginning of the year, Bike Fed has partnered with WisDOT to help small communities access TAP funding by providing technical assistance in developing proposals. We have learned that rural communities have a dire need for TAP dollars to improve safety for people biking and walking, but the required 20% local match often means they are unable to apply.
Neighboring states are using Highway Safety Improvement (HSIP) dollars or toll revenue to address this issue, but Wisconsin has not previously provided support to small communities. The Bike Fed raised this concern with the Governor’s staff and, in response, Governor Evers has proposed $1.2 million annually to provide matching funds for TAP projects for small communities. Additionally, the Governor included $60 million for traffic calming grants to combat reckless driving and make biking, running and walking safer.
The Governor’s budget also calls for two pieces of bike-friendly legislation that are critical to Wisconsin being a truly great state for cycling. A Complete Streets Policy prioritizes the safety of all roadway users over the speed of moving cars. In 2009 the Wisconsin state legislature passed a Complete Streets Law which in part stated that the Wisconsin DOT shall refuse to provide any state and federal funds to highway reconstruction projects that don’t include bicycle and pedestrian ways – i.e. sidewalks and/or marked or unmarked bike lanes. In 2015, the statute was altered to make Complete Streets a consideration, but not a requirement. Governor Evers’s proposal to make Complete Streets a requirement would eliminate the necessity of offering traffic calming grants to re-engineer streets that are built with no regard to cyclists and pedestrian safety in the future.
For the past two years, the Bike Fed has participated in the Wisconsin Non-Driver Advisory Council and Governor Evers’ budget provides further support for people who do not drive cars – including teens, the elderly and people with disabilities – to access employment, healthcare and recreation opportunities by increasing state support of mass transit by 4% each calendar year.
Finally, the Governor also recommends giving local units of government the authority to use eminent domain to purchase land for the construction of nonmotorized paths. Extending the same common sense policy to acquiring easements for sidewalks and bike paths that is used for building or expanding roads for cars, would enable Wisconsin to finish critical links in our State’s cycling network.
Cycling is good for Wisconsinites, and good for Wisconsin’s economy. The University of Wisconsin 2019 study concludes that cycling contributes over $2.52 billion dollars to our economy each year. The Bike Fed supports Governor Evers’ proposed investments in programs that will improve the safety and convenience of Wisconsin’s cycling infrastructure.
The Governor’s budget can be viewed on the State of Wisconsin website. The Bike Fed will hold an Advocacy Day at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 9th to support budget proposals that are favorable to biking and walking. Sign up to join us here.
It’s looking relatively warm this week, but keep the studs on and watch out for freeze/thaw ice patches. For more pictures of people enjoying biking in Madison, visit our Mastodon page.
Last Week
Tuesday: Madison had a very strong turnout for the Spring primary election, a reflection of the critical importance of this year’s WI supreme court race. That said, kudos to all of you making your voice heard in local aldermanic and mayoral elections as well. Strong local political leadership is a key part of successful of bike safety and accessibility projects in Madison.
Friday: In case you missed it, Madison Bikes provided comments on the city’s Reconnecting Communities federal grant application. The city hopes to build an overpass connecting N. and S. Perry St. on the South Side. Currently, the Beltline cuts these two streets in half. Hopefully, this project could increase bicyclist and pedestrian access across the Beltline.
This Week
Monday:Join us on Zoom from 6:00 – 7:30 PM to discuss the three final proposals for the Monona Lakefront Design Project. We plan to assess how each proposal contributes to an all ages and abilities bike network, especially in relation to safe connections from the Cap City across John Nolen to access the Capitol. We’d love to hear what you like about the proposals, what you don’t, and any other ideas you have about the John Nolen Drive project. If you aren’t familiar, feel free to explore the links and join us to learn more.
Wednesday: Madison MPO meets at 6:30 PM this week. TAP project scoring for applications from February is on the agenda. Scores will be used to prioritize distribution of $3.5 million in TAP funds. Link here to the draft project scores plus a link to join the meeting.
In case you missed it, the WI Bike Fed recently discussed Governor Evers’ pledge to leverage more federal and state funds to support TAP projects, along with other important bike policies, in his biennial budget. Governor Evers acknowledged the state has a $7 billion budget surplus, and with Wisconsin ranking 49/50 in per-capita pedestrian and bicyclist spending, spending some of that surplus is long overdue.
Thursday: The city is hosting a public information meeting on the Autumn Ridge Path project. Plans include an enhanced crossing of Milwaukee St. east of HW51 and a bike/ped overpass for HW30 just west of Thomson Dr. The HW30 overpass would be the only low-stress crossing east of HW51, would link nicely with the HW51 overpass, and would serve as an important connection between residential and commercial areas on either side of HW30. Info and meeting registration here.
MADISON, Wis. — Hundreds of millions of federal dollars could make their way to Madison to bridge the divide between neighborhoods on the city’s south side.
Welcome to this week’s update! We hope you have been enjoying the wide range of Winter cycling weather we’ve been having. If being on two wheels is bringing you half the joy it’s brought me this season, I’d say you’re doing great. Here’s what you need to know about bike advocacy in Madison this week.
Spring Primary
Get out and vote! Tuesday, February 21st is the Spring Primary to nominate non-partisan candidates to be voted for at the Spring Election. By casting your vote, you are helping to shape the future of your local government and make an impact on issues that matter to you, like the quality of biking in this wonderful city. Earlier this month, we asked the candidates about about their positions on transportation, housing, and sustainability. You can learn more and read the candidates’ responses to the questions here.
Transportation Commission meeting
Wednesday, the Transportation Commission will meet virtually at 5PM. The agenda includes a contract for analysis on pedestrian and bike infrastructure gaps near BRT stations and a TAP grant application for the Glacial Drumlin Connector and West Towne Path projects. The connector project aims to connect the Capital City Trail near I-90 to the Glacial Drumlin trailhead in Cottage Grove, which is a crucial missing link for cyclists heading East from Madison. Check out this link to watch the meeting or learn more.
John Nolen Redesign meeting
There will be a public information meeting on the John Nolen Drive Redesign project on Thursday at 6:30PM. The first phase of the project addresses the causeway from East Lakeside Street to North Shore Drive. The plans include some exciting improvements like expanding the multi-use path to separate bike and pedestrian traffic and a path underpass between North Shore Drive and Broom Street. The project is scheduled to run through 2026.
John Nolen Drive and Lake Monona | cityofmadison.com
Looking Ahead: Community Meeting
Finally, we want to hear your input on the Monona Waterfront Design challenge! Join us on Monday, Feb 27th for a community meeting where we will discuss the plans and what they mean for people on bikes. You can find more info on our Facebook event.
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!
In case you missed it: This week is International Winter Bike to Work Day. Or as we like to call it: International Winter Bike Anywhere Day. As per usual, the weather will be dubious, but we have a great line-up of events!
7-9am: AM Bike Station at the Monona Terrace (look for us just off the path next to the bike elevator parking lot). We will have hot coffee donated by Cafe Domestique, snacks and swag! Be ready to share why you winter biking… The first 15 people to show up will get a Madison Bikes buff!
4-7pm: Bike Happy Hour at the Settle Down Tavern’s (117 S Pinckney St.) outdoor Tundra Club! There will be Tundra Club hot toddy drink specials, solo stoves and fire pits to keep us toasty.
Starting at 5pm: $10 cocktails at the Hilton Garden Inn Madison Downtown (770 Regent St, right off the SW Path) AND $8 flatbreads from 5-7pm!
noon-10pm: $1 off your first pint at Working Draft Beer Co (1129 E Wilson). Just mention Winter Bike Day and the discount will be applied.
As the days grow longer in the new year, it’s time for Madison Bikes to look back on everything that happened in 2022. In 2021, we were responding to traffic violence, strategic planning, and adapting to the challenges Covid continued to present for getting together. This year saw similar challenges, and lots of encouraging signs for the future.
Bike Events and News
Madison Bikes hosted and participated in a number of events in 2022. In February, we were out on the Capital City Trail with a coffee and pastry station for International Winter Bike to Work Day. Thanks again to our generous local partners for providing coffee, treats, and discounts to keep commuters warm.
Photo: Harald Kliems
Ride the Drive was canceled for only the second time since 2009 (2020 being the first). Madison Parks hosts this event and chose to prioritize other programming this year, citing challenging staffing shortages that had contributed to an understaffed and poorly executed event in 2021.
In July, we were excited to check in with Dr. Dirk von Schneidemesser at the Memorial Union Terrace for our first in-person social since 2020. Dirk visited us in 2019 to talk about his key organizing work that helped pass the first bike law in Germany, and shared some good tips for keeping a community focused on bike safety, including ensuring language used when covering crashes does not blame victims or use euphemisms like “accident” that can make traffic deaths feel mundane and unpreventable
We worked with the WI Bike Fed for their Healthy Communities Summit event in September and had fun leading summit attendees on an afternoon tour of local bike infrastructure. On Halloween, Madison Bikes board members Harald Kliems, Robbie Webber, and Caitlin Hussey joined city Pedestrian and Bicycle Outreach Coordinator Colleen Hayes on the WORT Access Hour to talk about biking and walking in the winter. We talked about how to get started if cold-weather biking is new to you. If you’d like to listen to the program, you can find it in the WORT archives (Monday, Oct 31 at 7:00 pm.).
Healthy Communities Summit. Photo: Madison Bikes
We organized a packed Madison Bike Week from June 5-11 with dozens of local organizations hosting events throughout the week, along with a ridealong with the mayor and a Madison Bikes party outside to cap things off. We also gave out $1500 to local organizations hosting bike week events for the first time in our first series of small grants. Sadly, we cannot mention 2022’s bike week without remembering Taylor Dunn’s death. On June 7th he was riding his bicycle to work around 4am 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.
Biscuits 4 Bikers at Bike Week with GRiT and other supporters. Photo: Harald Kliems
While data show overall reductions in crashes causing serious injury as Vision Zero projects are implemented, the number of driver vs bicyclist crashes causing serious injury has not significantly changed. TOPS data show 2022 was the deadliest year for Madison bicyclists on record (going back to 2001), with 3 riders killed by drivers. Predictably, all crashes involved roads and intersections designed for high vehicle speed with minimal separation of drivers and bicyclists. Will Cummings was killed in August while riding his bike on Pflaum Rd. A ghost bike placement and dedication was held on August 17th with Will’s family and friends. MPD blamed Will’s death on a poorly designed bike lane. In October, a man was killed after being struck by a driver while crossing John Nolen Dr. at the N. Shore Drive crossing of the Capital City Trail. An investigation into this crash is ongoing.
Madison Bikes Participated in the city’s World Day of Remembrance talk on November 15th, where Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway gave a moving speech in remembrance of her grandfather and brother, who were killed in a car crash, and reaffirmed her commitment to fulfilling the city’s Vision Zero goals.
Later in November, Madison Bikes board member Aaron Levine gave a presentation to the Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee to convey the huge opportunity for bike safety and capital accessibility presented as the John Nolen and Lake Monona Waterfront are slated for a massive design and rebuild project that intends to transform the parkway in the coming years.
The Monday after the new year, we hosted Holiday Fantasy in Lights at Olin Park without cars! The Sheraton graciously hosted a pre-party from 4pm-5pm with hot chocolate, snacks, and swag. A very large turnout, and relatively mild weather made for a great event.
Madison Bikes President Harald Kliems rides through the lights. Photo: Ilana Bar-av, from Cap Times coverage of the event
Big Safety & Efficiency Plans
A number of consequential city plans and programs relevant to our mission were funded/approved this year. The city’s Vision Zero Action Plan was approved. This lengthy document outlines where crashes causing severe injury and death are occurring, who is affected by them, steps the city will take to eliminate these crashes completely by 2035, and how progress will be measured. Madison Bikes has been a stakeholder in the engagement group providing input on this plan. Unfortunately the city did not get a multi-million dollar federal Safe Streets For All grant it applied for to help jumpstart this program, but can reapply again for FY23. This program gives out $1 billion per year of grants over 5 years to local governments for safe streets projects as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Complete Green Streets guide was finalized in late 2022 and complements the Vision Zero Action plan in reframing the goals of street design to be focused first on safety and accessibility for users of all modes of transportation, rather than moving traffic first and squeezing any other priorities afterwards.
Photo: Transportation Modal Hierarchy chosen by Madison residents surveyed during Let’s Talk sessions used to inform the Complete Green Streets guide
The Safe Streets Madison program approved its first two batches of smaller-scale projects designed to increase traffic safety, and improve bikeability and walkability. These projects range in estimated cost from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, with total approval of about $1,000,000 in projects. The High Injury Network created as part of the Vision Zero process guides project selection, with most projects focusing on intersection modifications and vehicle speed reduction strategies.
An updated Transportation Demand Management program will help ensure large residential or commercial developments, employers, and institutions are incentivized to accommodate modes of transportation other than driving alone when applying for new building or parking permits. This effort works in tandem with the new Transit-Oriented Development Overlay Zoning District encouraging higher-density development within ¼ mile of high-frequency transit and BRT. A big Transit Network Redesign centered around BRT was approved in June, and the project broke ground in December.
While these ambitious new programs align with our mission in a number of ways, there will inevitably be many bumps in the road as individual projects are designed and implemented. We look forward to many new opportunities to advocate alongside all of you in the coming years.
New Infrastructure, Planned and Built
Overall, it was a slow year for new bike infrastructure with projects postponed due to staffing shortages, contractor availability, and design conflicts. A handful of exciting projects were approved in 2022 to be constructed in 2023. Highlights include a number of significant bike/ped safety and usability improvements slated for the Atwood Ave. rebuild from Fair Oaks to Cottage Grove Rd. A compromise plan endorsed by Madison Bikes was approved for this project after extensive advocacy efforts and strong alder support. A plan for the Hammersley Road project from the Southwest Path to just west of Whitney Way will create a new multi-use path and eliminate turn lanes to make crossing Whitney Way safer. Community and alder support for on-street parking removal were key to making this project happen. Remember to talk to and thank your alders!
A handful of projects were completed this year. A stretch of Tokay Boulevard was upgraded from unbuffered to buffered bike lanes. Buffered bike lanes were also installed on Old Middleton Road from Eau Claire to Capitol Ave. Previously, there was an unbuffered bike lane between N. Eau Claire Ave. and Old Sauk Road, and no bike infrastructure further West. Getting buffered bike lanes required removal of on-street parking from almost 2.8 miles of road!
Resurfacing of the notorious “hairball” intersection (John Nolen Dr., Williamson St., S Blair St., and E. Wilson St.) was also completed. Making this intersection safe for all ages and abilities would require accepting a reduction in motor vehicle throughput. While Madison residents are generally willing to make this tradeoff, the Wisconsin DOT often is not. That said, we did win some safety improvements. Crossings of John Nolen/Blair from the North and South are better separated from traffic, and the slip lane onto Willy St. is narrowed. A vehicle lane on E. Wilson up to S. Franklin St. was replaced with a buffered bike lane and significantly more pedestrian space.
The Cap City Path intersections at Ohio Ave., Jackson St., and Russell St. were all upgraded to at-grade crossings when surrounding streets were resurfaced, while Ohio Ave. and Jackson St. were both narrowed to one lane. We are excited to see more of these raised intersection crossings and intersection narrowing planned for a few 2023 bike projects!
The Aldo Leopold Pump Track project that began in 2021 completed an awesome Skills Loop in 2022, and plans to add a “shred to school” trail in the future to allow kids to easily ride between Leopold Elementary and all of the fun at the park. The collaborative work between the city’s MadBAT program and local residents, businesses, and nonprofits that allowed this project to happen is truly inspiring. After much debate, the western end of Vilas Park from Edgewood Avenue to the shelter was finally closed to motor vehicle traffic in June, with plans for more bike/ped improvements to come.
2023: Good Things to Come
Persistence from elected officials, nonprofits, and our large community of advocates is essential to ensuring the many ambitious plans enacted this year can eventually create a city any person of any age or ability can comfortably navigate without a car. We are grateful for the many individuals and organizations that have taken time to join us this last year in organizing for bike events and projects, reaching out to elected officials, and partaking in so many other impactful actions. Happy New Year.
winter biking… The first 15 people to show up will get a Madison Bikes buff!
Healthy Communities Summit. Photo: Madison Bikes
