City of Madison
Legislative File ID   10609
Type:   Miscellaneous    Status:   Items Referred
Enactment Date:      Enactment No.:  
Title:  
Pedestrian/bicycle improvement projects annual public hearing
Controlling Body:   PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE/MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSION
Introduced:   5/22/2008    Version:   1
Final Action:   5/27/2008    Contact:   gphillips@cityofmadison.com
Name:  
Pedestrian/bicycle improvement projects annual public hearing
Extra Date 1:  
Requester:   PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE/MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSION
Sponsors:  
Legislative History
DateActing BodyAction TakenMotion
5/22/2008PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE/MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSIONThis Miscellaneous was Refer to the PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE/MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSION
Notes:
5/27/2008PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE/MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSIONShahan opened the public hearing at 6:05 p.m. He explained that the purpose of the hearing is to gather input on ped/bike projects for the capital budget. Arthur Ross, Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator, briefly reviewed some projects currently underway. Starkweather Creek – west branch is under construction, overpass of East Washington, connection from there to Commercial and south to Milwaukee, separate project to connect from Milwaukee through the Dixon greenway to the Capital City isthmus section. The recently abandoned rail corridor that connects to the Military Ridge Trail is in the process of being purchased but it will be several years for design and funding for construction. Eastmorland path will be reconstructed. Bike path through Vilas Park will be reconstructed. Applied for Safe Routes to School funding for next year for a bike path to Chavez Elementary. Go through park and greenway to connect neighborhoods west of the school. Have not yet heard on the funding. Registrants: Nancy Griswold, P.O. Box 1394, Madison · Supported a link between the Capital City Trail and the Glacial Drumlin Trail (SP4 on 2007 list). Very hazardous area and needs to be completed. So much has been done to connect to Military Ridge but it’s difficult to get to Glacial Drumlin. · Whitney Way at the Beltline is a problem. Can approach from Schroeder and Medical Circle and Odana but cannot cross the Beltline, southwest to northeast = can’t get there. Doesn’t know what is required, perhaps a dedicated bike lane under the Beltline. This intersection is a significant distance from the other bridge over the Beltline. Crossing is also difficult for peds. · Paths should be restriped whenever they are repaved or reconstruction. Specifically, the. On East Isthmus path, just past the Goodman Community Center, where Kipp crosses. Shahan: re: Whitney Way intersection, are people talking about getting from the south side of Beltline to north side, or getting from Medical Circle across Whitney to the other side? Griswold: both. Shahan: to get from south to north or vice versa, the Southwest path further down might work for that. Griswold indicated that for people in the Milward/Coney Weston neighborhood the Southwest bridge is too far away. Referencing a connector to the Glacial Drumlin trail, Compton encouraged bicyclists to also lobby the State and the County. John and Dawn Perkins, 1153 Emerald Street, Madison, did not wish to speak. William Rowe, 2010 Elka Lane #2, Madison · Lives on north side and described the Northport-Sherman area as an “anti-biking zone” especially if want to get downtown. Portions of Sherman Avenue without sidewalk. Felt parts of Sherman were unsafe even for motorists, much less bicyclists. He bikes on sidewalk to the Oscar Mayer parking lot to Pennsylvania Avenue. Thought the north side was going to get a bike route but it appears money was directed elsewhere. Shahan asked if he was aware of the plans for the Sherman Flyer in the rail corridor. The project is approved but awaiting funding. It was Rowe’s understanding that the funding for this project is gone. Shahan stated the City is working on it and funding is available. Strawser asked Rowe if he thought bike lanes on Sherman Avenue would be an improvement. Rowe was not sure. He said he preferred a straight route, such as down Sherman Avenue, versus the winding Sherman Flyer route but he would be happy with the Sherman Flyer. Ann Baxter, 2102 Fremont Avenue, Madison: · Interested in the status of the Sherman Flyer, it doesn’t seem like there are many safe options for biking on the north side, urged Commission to push this project. Michael Donnelly, 1141 E. Johnson Street, Madison: · Strongly supported speed tables on the East Isthmus Bike Path. · Supported widening the bike path along E. Johnson Street between the river and Fourth Street. · Supported making Mifflin Street a bike route from State Street to North Street. · Has read State statutes about roads and bike paths and where bikes go and where peds go. All seem to be clear that bikes go on the right as other vehicles and that peds should go on the left, facing traffic. However, he has read something from either the City or the County that on paths, everyone goes on the right side. From his own experience, seems like it would be easier to follow State law with peds on the left. Peds could see bikers approaching and would be less likely to be panicked/startled by a bicyclist approaching from behind. In Rhode Island, at each entrance to the path, there was a bicycle symbol painted on the bike side and a ped symbol on the ped side. Worked quite well, even with heavy use. Usually paths aren’t wide enough to have a separate area for peds. Webber explained legal difference between roadway and multi-use path. On roadway, peds required to get off roadway when vehicle approaches. On path, ped has as much right of way as the bikers and are not required to step out of the way. Because there isn’t enough space for users to step out of the way, all users stay on the right. If a bicyclist comes up behind a ped, they can wait until it’s safe to pass. But if they were approaching a ped in the same lane, they might not be able to safely pass and would run into the ped. Donnelly would like to see more paths like Monona Terrace, with one lane for peds and two-way bike traffic. In response to Strawser’s question, Ross stated that the Monona Terrace path is 17 feet wide. A standard two-way path is 10 feet. To accommodate peds, it would need to be at least 15 feet. Compton agreed with Donnelly and felt peds were safer if they saw bicyclists approaching. She encouraged Donnelly to work with staff. Shahan closed the public hearing at 6:25 p.m. Shahan noted that written comments will be accepted until June 6. Staff and the commission will then prioritize the list.
Notes:

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