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Tag: Group Rides

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Ride For Your Life, Bike Drive, Underpass Funding

Photo: Harald Kliems, Bike Parking at Great Taste of The Midwest at Olin Park

SUNDAY: Ride For Your Life

Ride for Your Life Madison is finally here this Sunday, October first. The ride has been discussed quite a bit in previous blog posts this summer. It is being held in memory of the tragic death of Sarah Langenkamp, as well as countless other cyclists and pedestrians killed by drivers in a country that has long prioritized motor vehicle convenience over public safety.

The ride is Sunday, October 1, 2023. Bicyclists will ride 5-6 miles at a slow pace, and pedestrians will walk 1 mile through Madison to the steps of the State Capitol. A rally to raise awareness of the need for pedestrian and cyclist safety will then be held. Ride staging begins at 2:00pm at Brittingham Park, and riders will depart at 2:30pm. The ride will end on the steps of the Capital with the rally ending at 4:00pm.

Please pre-register for the ride, and donate or volunteer if you can. All are welcome to join for the ride or the rally.

Underpass Funding

The city Finance Committee will vote on capital budget amendments on Monday. Alder Verveer has proposed two amendments that would significantly improve the John Nolen Drive project for bikes:

  • Amendment 6 would extend the project’s scope, allowing construction of a new multi-use path on the north side of North Shore Drive, from JND to Bedford
  • Amendment 7 would allocate $1M for design and another $4M for construction of a bike/walk underpass of John Nolen Drive at North Shore Drive, connecting to the path from Amendment 6, creating a safe route between downtown and the lakefront path that doesn’t rely on the bike elevator.

Send comments to financecommittee@cityofmadison.com

The Bassett neighborhood has several overlapping path projects, all of which create a network much more connected to downtown. See a map of all existing and proposed projects below, courtesy of board member Craig Weinhold.

FB4K Bike Drive

Free Bikes 4 Kidz Madison is hosting its first Fall bike drive Saturday, September 30 from 9am-2pm, with a goal of 400 bikes donated. They will spend the winter refurbishing them before giving them to folks unable to access their own. Please also volunteer to help unload bikes at the drive if you can. Gently used bikes of all sizes and styles are accepted. Bikes that cannot be saved can be dropped off with a $20 disposal donation. Bring bikes to 354 Coyier Lane, Madison, WI 53713 near Rimrock and the Beltline Highway. If you are unable to donate on the 30th, drop off Monday-Friday between 9:30-3pm at the same location. If you live in an apartment complex and see unused bikes at your bike rack, FB4K suggests asking your property manager to donate them before throwing them away!

Madison Is For People Ride

After a very well-attended first event, Madison Bikes is again co-hosting a group ride with Madison is For People. Both of our organizations believe in a Madison where safe and equitable car-free transportation is accessible to all. See the event page for more details.

The ride is roughly 7.5 miles, starting at Law Park off John Nolen Dr., near the B-Cycle station at 6pm. We’ll go counter-clockwise along the Lake Loop and end at Garver Feed Mill where we can hang out, chat, eat and drink. The pace will be leisurely, around 10 mph. Nobody will be left behind. This is a great opportunity to meet your fellow housing and bike advocates and have fun!

Sunset will be at 6:45pm, so you must bring bike lights!

Group Rides

Tuesday evening is Madison Women’s Cycling Club or the Slow Roll Ride. Friday is the Bi-Weekly Ride for Trans Rights. Saturday you can check out Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride.

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Bicycle Friendly University; Future Rides; Join the Board

The boardwalk bike path on Lake Waubesa
The Lower Yahara River Trail – A great place to ride a bike | Christo Alexander

Welcome to this week’s update! Here’s what you need to know this week about bike advocacy in the Madison area.

Campus area commuters needed

If you bike around the Madison campus, your help is needed to evaluate how bike friendly it is! UW-Madison has applied to renew its status as a Bicycle Friendly University and The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) is sending out the survey to students and any other users of the bike infra around campus. If that’s you, please take the survey here! The input received will help the LAB award their final decision and will anonymously be included in feedback to the university. Your feedback is appreciated. To learn more about what it means to be a Bicycle Friendly University, check out the LAB website. Note: the survey closes Tuesday, Oct 10th at 11:59pm PT.

September Community Ride

Not this week, but next Friday, September 29th, we will be co-hosting another community ride with Madison is for People! The ride will meet at 6pm at Law Park near the BCycle station, take the lake loop counterclockwise at a casual pace, and end at Garver Feed Mill for food and beverages. The days are getting shorter so remember to bring lights!

In addition to riding your bike and having a great time, it’s a good opportunity for anyone interesting in joining the Madison Bikes board (see below) to chat with current board members and get your questions answered. Check out the event on Facebook and let us know if you can make it. We’d love to see you there!

Ride For Your Life

rideforyourlife.org

Looking ahead to October 1st: The “Ride For Your Life”, a 5-6 mile advocacy ride will be taking place. The ride is in memory of Sarah Langenkamp, and any cyclist who has needlessly lost their life on the road. It’s long overdue that everyone stands up and demands safer places for biking and walking. The ride will meet at Brittingham park at 2pm, with a departure time of 2:30 and end at the Wisconsin State Capitol, to rally for congress to fund safer infrastructure. If you can make it, be sure to register on the website. The ride is free and open to all. Volunteers are also needed to help with crossings and other support. We hope you can participate. If you do, you’ll be helping make biking safer in Wisconsin and standing up for something you believe in, which is pretty cool.

We want you to join the board!

Yes, you! If you enjoy biking infrastructure, advocacy, volunteering for a good cause, or you just want to see fewer cars in your life, consider filling out an application. The application is not a commitment. It’s just to let us know you’re interested in getting involved.

We’re seeking members from all areas of the Madison community. We want your perspective and ideas on how to make Madison a more comfortable and safe place to get around!

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

School and UW back

There are no big meetings this week, but there are some interesting events happening. Classes start at the UW on Tuesday, so the streets, sidewalks, and paths should be back to their busy state. 

One member of our Facebook community was surprised by the massive crowds of Badger fans around Camp Randall as she returned from a ride on Saturday. Those of us who have been here awhile know not to attempt to use the SW Path before and after games, but it’s kind of a shock for newcomers!

And kids are back at K-12 classes as well, so we will probably see younger kids riding to and from school with their parents, and older kids riding in groups and going to after-school activities. Be patient if you see these less-experienced bicyclists sharing your route. Slow down and give them a little extra space. We had requests from kids during Bike Week to please slow down near the schools, yes even on your bike. 

Monday 

You can enjoy dance on several area bike paths via the Shifting Gears Festival that will take place in Brittingham Park, McPike Park, Wirth Court Park, and the Timekeeper Sculpture at the Monona Terrace from noon-6:00 pm. 

Tuesday 

The Council will consider an experimental closure of the 400-600 blocks of State Street to motorized traffic. Presumably, this won’t impact bicycling in the area, except that there will probably be more pedestrians in the street. You can read the discussion of the Downtown Coordinating Committee for more details. 

Wednesday

The city Street Use Staff Commission will meet at 10 am. One topic is Park(ing) Day, which takes place on September 15. The UW student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects has requested that they be allocated two stalls on Langdon St next to Memorial Union to turn them into a parklet. Park(ing) Day used to be a big deal here in Madison, but now it seems that everyone has forgotten about it. Maybe because we are indeed reallocating parking spaces for other uses, such as outdoor seating for restaurants in commercial districts, bike parking corrals, and bike lanes.

Also Wednesday, the Parks Commission will meet at 6 pm, and on the agenda is authorization to apply for a grant from Dane County to build a recreational biking project in County Grove Path. It’s unclear to me what this would be, but it looks like there are mountain bike trails planned for the park. (See pages 9 and 17 of the document for the meeting.) 

Wisconsin Bike Fed is holding a training from 12:30-4:30 pm at Oak Park Manor for those who would like to help with the Cycling Without Age program. Although their website says that you need to register by Sept 3, maybe they will still accept registrations if you call. 

The monthly Ride for Joe will meet at the Fitchburg Senior Center at 10 am. These are ride-and-learn events that cover basic bicycling topics and then go for a leisurely ride. They are geared to seniors, but anyone can join.  

These rides are in memory of Joe Imilkowski, long-time Fitchburg resident and avid bicyclist and senior center patron. These rides are geared for seniors, but all are welcome. At the request of those riding in previous months, two longer distances will be offered, about 12 and about 20 miles, principally on multi-use paths. Helmets are required. Rides will start with the topic of the month, short safety briefing, and ABC Quick Checks of bikes. The topic for September will be cool weather riding. On line registration and liability waiver are required, but can be done at ride time.

Sunday

The Bi-weekly Ride for Trans Rights will meet at Law Park at 9 am. 

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Get out and ride

People gather before the Madison Bikes and Madison is for People social ride on Friday, August 25, 2023
Photo by Beth Skogen

In case you missed it last week…

Social Ride with Madison is for People

After a stretch of weather that made any physical activity — or even being outside — extremely uncomfortable, if not dangerous, the weather cooled just in time for our social ride in partnership with Madison is for People. It was a great ride, with more than 50 people joining us, far more than we expected. After meeting at Law Park by Machinery Row, we rode counterclockwise around the lake and ended at the East Side Club for socializing and beverages. 

Madison is for People has geared up in the last year to push for more housing and better, denser land use in the city. This makes walking, biking, and transit use easier as well, and gives more people an opportunity to live where car-free or car-lite living is practical. There is a lot of overlap in our messages, and it was great for the two groups to learn a bit more about what the other was doing.

In addition to learning about each other and enjoying a relaxed ride, this event made clear that there is a real desire for rides that make everyone feel welcome, rides where we take it slow and just enjoy the company.

What else should we do at community metings?

We’ve been looking for ideas on what we should do at our monthly community meetings, and these rides are one idea. What else would you like to see at the community meetings, especially when the weather is less accommodating to being outside? Talks and information? Movies? Social opportunities? Let us know what you’d like to see, or maybe if you have an idea that you’d like to present. You can email us at info@madisonbikes.org

The week ahead

There aren’t any city meetings that directly affect bicycling, but if you are ever interesting in seeing what committees are doing, you can access the weekly city meeting schedule and then click through to agendas on the city’s website. For instance, you might want to know what the Plan Commission or the Sustainable Madison Committee is up to this week. 

There are a couple of bike-related events this week. We won’t be holding our usual community meeting, because we just had the social ride. 

Monday, Bike Fitchburg will be meeting on at 7 pm at Oasis Café, 2690 Research Park Dr E, Fitchburg. 

Friday, the Bi-weekly Ride for Trans Rights will meet at 6:00 pm at Law Park. More information can be found at their Facebook event.

Watch out for your bike

There has been an uptick in stolen bikes posted on our Facebook Community page. Maybe this is due to all the new people in town and thieves taking advantage of people not locking their bikes, or maybe all the moving in and out has allowed unauthorized people into buildings and garages. Either way, be especially careful to lock your bike if you are in a new apartment or aren’t sure about the security of a location. And remember that you can register your bike or report a stolen bike at the BikeIndex, a national database. 

And watch out on the streets too

With all the new people in town, as well as dorm move-in Aug 30 and Sept 1, there are a lot of people that aren’t used to seeing bicyclists everywhere. And people may be lost, frustrated, tired, or generally unaware of how things roll (and walk) in Madison. Bike crashes go up significantly every year in late-August and early-September, so take it easy, and have some patience with all the new folks.

Join our board!

If you would like to help with our mission, consider joining the Madison Bikes board of directors. We are an all-volunteer organization, so the board both shapes policy and the activities we undertake as well as often doing the day-to-day work. We are always looking for people to join the board, as people step down, move, or need to change their time allocation. Everyone has a talent and skills we can use, but most important is probably enthusiasm to move bicycling and policy forward in Madison. Fill out the application by September 29. Terms start in January.

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Ride For Your Life, MPO Updates, Move In/Out Season

Photo: Harald Kliems, Bike Parking at Great Taste of The Midwest at Olin Park

Ride For Your Life Madison

Sarah Langenkamp was a mother of two and a US diplomat. She provided assistance to Ukraine in the early days of the Russian invasion before being forced to evacuate to Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and two sons. Last August, Sarah was riding her bike home from her son’s elementary school when the driver of a flatbed truck struck and killed her.

In the wake of Sarah’s tragic death, her family organized Ride For Your Life in Washington D.C. to advocate for infrastructure, technology, and policy changes known to prevent crashes that kill vulnerable road users like bicyclists and pedestrians.

Sarah’s sister Alicia, along with the Wisconsin Bike Fed, Madison Bikes, and Trek Bicycles, are hosting Ride for Your Life Madison. The ride will be held in memory of Sarah and countless other cyclists and pedestrians killed by drivers in a country where transportation policy and infrastructure choices continue to prioritize motor vehicle convenience over public safety.

The ride is Sunday, October 1, 2023. Bicyclists will ride 5-6 miles at a slow pace, and pedestrians will walk 1 mile through Madison to the steps of the State Capitol. A rally to raise awareness of the need for pedestrian and cyclist safety will then be held. Ride staging begins at 2:00pm at Brittingham Park, and riders will depart at 2:30pm. The ride will end on the steps of the Capital with the rally ending at 4:00pm.

Please pre-register for the ride, and donate or volunteer if you can. All are welcome to join for the ride or the rally.

Madison is For People Ride

As mentioned last week, we are co-hosting a ride with Madison is For People. Both of our organizations believe in a Madison where safe and equitable car-free transportation is accessible to all. We now have a Facebook event page for this ride.

Move In/Move Out Days

Be careful riding this week, as tomorrow is the day leases end for many people in Madison, which means lots of traffic, including potentially many drivers unfamiliar with the area. This issue will increase once UW campus housing has its move in at the end of the month. Unfortunately, it’s best to assume drivers are totally ignorant of your existence when you are alongside, in front, or behind them. This is especially true at intersections. Be aware of your surroundings, ride defensively, and be sure to have lights at night.

MPO Updates

The MPO issued a press release last Wednesday with a list of approved funding for projects significant to safe and accessible bike transportation. Link here if you missed Ben’s MPO explainer for those not familiar. Exciting details include a new multi-use path on the West side of Rimrock from John Nolen to the Beltline slated for 2026, as well as funding for one of the last links connecting the Cap City to the Glacial Drumlin. Link here to look at all that was approved and timelines for implementation.

Group Rides

Tuesday evening is Madison Women’s Cycling Club or the Slow Roll Ride. Friday is the Bi-Weekly Ride for Trans Rights. Saturday you can check out Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride.

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Transportation Commission; Parking Rant; Group Rides

A crowd gathers for Saturday's Free Bikes 4 Kidz Slow Roll
A crowd gathers for Saturday’s Free Bikes 4 Kidz Slow Roll | Photo by Harald Kliems

Hello and welcome to another weekly update! In case you missed it, Free Bikes 4 Kidz hosted a South Side Slow Roll on Saturday. The purpose of the ride was to give newer riders experience on group rides, explore our beautiful trails, and of course have some fun. Those of you who participated may see yourselves on the story from Channel 3000.

Transportation Commission

This Wednesday, August 9th the Transportation Commission will meet virtually at 5pm. Included in the agenda are:

  • A Complete Green Streets project checklist review
  • A public hearing regarding removing residential permit (RP3) parking on Sheboygan Ave between Whitney Way and Segoe Rd.

You can register to comment or tune in to the meeting here.

When it comes to removing parking spaces, I am a huge fan. We give away far too much of our public space for storing personal vehicles when we could be using it for more productive purposes. Not only do street-parked cars take up public space, but they also pose a risk because they block drivers’ ability to see cyclists and pedestrians. Depending on the street configuration, they can also be an issue when cyclists have to ride in the “door zone” and risk being hit by an opening car door. The city of Amsterdam is aware of these problems and in 2019 they decided to remove over 10,000 parking spaces from their city center. I realize we are not and will never be Amsterdam, but a person can dream, right? If we could take just a tiny portion of their ideas and implement them in our city, vulnerable road users like bicyclists would be a lot safer. Unfortunately, a lot of the way our city is configured prioritizes car throughput over pedestrian and cyclist lives. If that bothers you, take action by attending local meetings and and letting your representatives know how you feel.

Madison Queer Bike Ride

Also on Wednesday: the monthly Madison Queer Bike Ride will be taking place, starting at 6pm at Law Park. The route for this month will be the Cap City loop. It will be a casual party-paced ride with a stop along the way for food and socializing. Check out @madisonqueerbikeride on Instagram for more info!

The route is the Cap City Loop and the ride will be Wednesday, August 9th. 6 PM at Law Park.
The route for this week's Madison Queer Bike Ride
The route for this week’s Madison Queer Bike Ride | @madisonqueerbikeride on Instagram

Save the Date: August Community Ride

We haven’t had a community meeting in a while, but we have something good planned for you later this month. Mark your calendar for Friday, August 25th when we will be co-hosting a bike ride and social event with Madison is for People. Madison is for People is a group that wants to make housing more sustainable and affordable, and make car-free living possible for more people in Madison. The ride will meet at 6pm at Law Park, take the lake loop counterclockwise, and end at the East Side Club for food and beverages. Stay tuned for more information about the event in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to see you there!

Final Thoughts

Thanks for reading. If you want to hear more about how parking sucks, or if you just enjoy painfully long urbanist videos, you may like this one on minimum parking requirements from Climate Town. It’s a truly eye-opening deep dive into the laws that force builders to create way more parking than we actually need, the damage that causes to our cities, and what we can do to improve the situation.

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Air Quality & Bikes

People biking on the University Path, photo: https://botsin.space/@cyclists_of_msn

Let’s Talk Air Quality & Bikes

The air quality forecast for this week is relatively good as smoke from this year’s record-breaking Canadian wildfire season is clearing from Wisconsin for now. It’s a good time to become familiar with the Air Quality Index and make a plan for outdoor exercise and transportation depending on the AQI number and your individual sensitivity to poor air quality, if you haven’t already done this.

AQI numbers don’t account for all differences in location and time of day. Outside of wildfire smoke, people on bikes grapple with pollution from motor vehicles, especially on busy roadways and intersections. Air quality in these locations can be significantly worse than on bike/walk paths physically separated from roadways. Being in a car does not prevent exposure to roadway pollution, either. There is evidence bike commuters can sometimes experience lower exposure to motor vehicle air pollution than drivers on high-traffic urban roads, as bike riders are less likely to spend significant time sitting in traffic.

Risks from exposure to poor air quality vary based on individual health circumstances, and one’s healthcare provider is the best source of individual advice on these risks. However, existing data support the idea that for most individuals, health benefits from biking outdoors outweigh risks even when air quality is fairly poor, with the exception being days with extremely high pollution levels (such as those associated with advisories to stay indoors) or very long-duration exercise (such as experienced by bike couriers in dense urban environments using no mitigation tools).

There are ways to mitigate exposure to poor air quality when biking. If you must be outside during an air quality alert day, you can use a well-fitted N95, KN95, or better respirator to significantly reduce exposure to harmful particle pollution. These respirators are not designed to handle non-particle pollution including ozone, VOCs, and NOx. N95+ options catering to people biking or running also exist.

Photo: Madison Bikes Board Member Craig Weinhold wears a respirator designed for outdoor activity

Fitchburg Festival Of Speed

It’s technically not in Madison, but if you’re looking for a good time this weekend either participating in a group ride, racing a criterium, or spectating this Saturday, Fitchburg Festival of Speed has something for you. The organizers encourage biking to the event, which you can do from Madison fairly easily on either the SW path or the Cannonball path.

Group Rides

Monday evening you can join the Monday 40 social ride. Tuesday evening is looking great for the Madison Women’s Cycling Club or the Slow Roll Ride. Saturday you can check out Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride.

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Volunteering, Fundraiser, Path Fixing, MTB For Teens, Group Rides

https://botsin.space/@cyclists_of_msn

Bike Week Volunteering

Bike Week 2023 is fast approaching! Madison Bikes is looking for volunteers to help with a few activities. We’re hosting a volunteer open house at Working Draft Brewery on Monday, May 22nd from 6-7:30PM. Come hang out and eat pizza on us. Link here for more details and to volunteer during Bike Week. If you use Facebook, RSVP so we know how much pizza to bring. Make sure to check out the Bike Week page as new events continue to roll in!

Volunteering for 2 hours will also get you a “good deed” stamp for Bike BINGO. You can buy a BINGO card at local Bike Benefits locations.

Freewheel Fundraiser

Madison Freewheel Bicycle Co is a local nonprofit bike shop focused on transportation justice. Donations and sales help provide free and low-cost bicycles to individuals in need, while also subsidizing bike building, repair, and maintenance classes. Freewheel was not able to cover operating expenses after the pandemic squeezed their ability to safely keep their doors open and offer in-person classes. They recently had to move out of the Madison Bike Center and are fundraising to find a new physical space. For more information and donation options, you can find their GoFundMe here.

Path Fixing

Lately we noticed a few conversations on our Facebook community page discussing path closures. It can be very frustrating to find what is sometimes the only low-stress route to wherever you are riding is closed (although who doesn’t love a freshly resurfaced path)! It part of our mission to work towards a city where there are multiple safe, low-stress bike routes to any destination. For now though, you can check the city’s path resurfacing schedule to be aware of resurfacing schedules (updated regularly as resurfacing progresses).

Youth MTB Informational

Monday from 5:30-7PM, the Madison East / Lafollette Mountain Bike Team is hosting an informational meeting at East High for students in grades 6-12 interested in joining the team, as well as adults interested in becoming a coach.

Schwinn Bike Drive

Saturday from 12-4PM, Schwinn is hosting a bike drive at their HQ to support FreeBikes4 Kidz. Your donations help give bikes to kids in need! More info here.

Spring Group Rides

Monday evening you can join the Monday 40 social ride. Tuesday evening is looking great for the Madison Women’s Cycling Club and the Slow Roll Ride. Saturday morning is looking nice for Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride.

Saturday evening, don’t miss Black Saddle Bike Shop’s bike ride and overnight campout! Ride leaves from the shop (601 N Sherman Ave) by 5:15pm on a 9.1 mile leisurely ‘no drop’ ride to McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park. More info and RSVP here!

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Election Results; John Nolen Feedback; Group Ride Updates

https://botsin.space/@cyclists_of_msn

Election Results

Thank you to everyone who voted last Tuesday. Local elections determine how invested cities are in safe infrastructure and supportive policies for people walking, biking, or using mobility devices. Your vote is very impactful in these races, as evidenced District 14’s alder race being decided by one vote!

Voters also gave Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway a second four-year term, elected a number of new alderpersons, and approved a referendum to stagger two-year alderperson terms. Take a look at the full results from Tuesday and look back to responses from our February candidate questionnaire.

Transportation Commission

The Transportation Commission is meeting on Wednesday. The agenda includes a discussion of survey results for the John Nolen Drive reconstruction project scheduled to break ground in a few years. Polling from last month showed support for narrowing the roadway as much as possible, widening the path, and improving intersections.

In case you missed it, MadisonForAll has a very well-made video describing the North Shore Dr. part of this project, including frustrations over the city’s reluctance to make any substantial safety and accessibility improvements if they impact driver convenience. The most ambitious option offered by the city for this intersection would increase peak hour vehicle travel time by 35-80 seconds. In the video, city engineering describes this delay as “a pretty significant [negative] impact to the traveling public.” Madison recently committed to prioritizing safety for people walking and biking over driver convenience as part of Complete Green Streets, yet the possibility of a delay lasting less than half of a pop song on a driver’s commute is still described as “significant” in a way that fixing a deadly, heavily utilized pedestrian and bicyclist crossing with no grade-separated alternatives is not.

Recently a new alternative design was included by city engineering that is remarkably similar to the idea proposed by MadisonForAll. The city does not have public feedback for this option (Alt 4b) currently, but you can give it in their survey here. You can also use the comment box to voice opinions about improvements you would like to see presented as alternatives going forward.

Group Rides

It’s Spring! Monday evening you can join the Monday 40 social ride for its second ride of 2023. Tuesday evening is looking great for the Madison Women’s Cycling Club or the Slow Roll Ride. Wednesday evening features the Madison Queer Bike Ride, reach out to their instagram page for details. Saturday is looking nice for Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride. Bombay Bicycle Club is hosting a Spring Member Meeting on Sunday, details here.

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.