I telephoned the Engineering Services operations desk (266-4430) this afternoon to report today's (Thurs. Sept. 12) particularly awful broken glass situation on the SW Bike Path near Allied Drive. I was told that it was standard procedure to sweep that area of the path three times a week. (That's good news, not sure if it is frequent enough or not). I was also told that my message would be passed along to "Jeff" for action. I encourage other users of the path to report broken glass to the above number when they encounter it. Be as specific as possible about the location.
Today's mess happened between yesterday (Wed. Sept. 11, approx. 3:00pm) and today (Thur. Sept. 12, approx. 11:00am) and the difference was dramatic. Wednesday the path was mostly clear of broken glass. This morning it was the worst I have EVER seen it. Glass concentration mostly near the intersection with Lovell Lane. Since my first e-mail, graffiti on the Sub Zero building has been covered. Sub Zero's heat exchangers continue to have graffiti tags on them. There also continue to be graffiti tags on a white Quonset hut on the north side of the Verona Rd. overpass (an auto glass company, I don't have the name). I have received several comments (in person, e-mail not posted to bikies) confirming what we all know: the Allied Drive neighborhood area of the SW Bike Path is in severe need of help. Comments ranged from "I will never bike on that path again." to "Thanks for your e-mail." A big thank you to the mayor and various parties who have responded to this e-mail in a variety of ways. I'm sure the very creative minds working on this problem will find some long-term solutions. George Perkins 2219 Chadbourne Ave Madison -----Original Message----- From: Scott Ellington [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, September 06, 2002 9:36 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Allied Drive area of Southwest Bike Path At 10:25 PM -0500 9/5/02, George Perkins wrote: > >1. Regular city sweeping of this section of path to remove the broken >glass. While the other issues George raises are important, it is the broken glass that really renders this section of the trail unusable to bicyclists. Weekly sweeping is clearly not enough. DAILY sweeping of this short section would probably be barely adequate. No doubt the city will object to the cost, but the alternative is an expensive bike path which cannot be used for its intended purpose. (I'm sure I'm not the only cyclist who as tired of carrying my bike over the glass piles.) Obviously, there are larger social issues involved, but in the immediate future more frequent sweeping would be of great benefit to trail users. -- Scott Ellington Madison, Wisconsin USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Noble Wray [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, September 06, 2002 2:52 PM To: Larry Nelson; Susan Bauman; Ken Golden; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Ellen Schwartz; Richard Williams; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Allied Drive area of Southwest Bike Path Capt. Schwartz see the below and follow up Thanks Asst. Chief Wray >>> Susan Bauman 09/06/02 10:30AM >>> Thanks for sharing this information. I look forward to receipt of the report on maintenance of the trail, and I will forward this information to the police department with a request that an officer, on bicycle, patrol regularly and that the grafitti issue also be addressed. Mayor Sue -----Original Message----- From: ken golden [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 9:41 PM To: Dirk Herr-Hoyman Cc: Larry Nelson; Susan Bauman; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Allied Drive area of Southwest Bike Path It would be nice if we could organize this as a neighborhood action. Perhaps funding for paying crews like we do in some of our youth summer programs. Larry, do you know how we might explore this? Dirk Herr-Hoyman wrote: > Thank you for your prompt response, Larry. It's nice to know we have > great folks like you and your staff working for the city. Your > general communication on the > bike path has been great. > > As someone who lives right on the SW Bike Path, I'd be in favor of > spending more of the no doubt scare maintenance money on that Allied > Drive stretch, if such a choice > needs to be made. > > Thanks, > Dirk Herr-Hoyman > 503 S. Prospect Ave. > > At 07:29 AM 9/6/2002 -0500, Larry Nelson wrote: > >George is correct: that portion of the SW Bike Path between Verona > >Road and Lovell Lane requires significant maintenance resources. An > >annual cleanup is inadequate. The spring cleanup that George > >participated in was probably not evident one month after the event. > > > >I believe the path was swept this week. (The supervisor who manages > >this work is off until Monday.) This section of the path is > >regularly scheduled for sweeping. > > > >Yesterday, Tony Fernandez, the Engineering Design Engineer of the SW > >Path and Kathy Cryan, Operations Supervisor, presented me with draft > >Maintenance Plan, Southwest Bike Path. Practically all the right of > >way between Verona Road and Lovell Lane is in the "Level 1" > >maintenance level, unlike the rest of the path where only the area in > >close proximity to the path is so identified. We will review the > >plan with George's comments in mind. > > > >Finally, on another subject, this past Wednesday the Board of Public > >Works recommended the award of the Nob Hill Bike Path Improvement to > >R.G. Huston Co., Inc. for $194,210.13. Hopefully, we can get this > >built yet this year if the weather is cooperative. > > > >Larry D. Nelson > >City Engineer > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Telephone 608-267-4227 > > > > >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 09/05/02 10:25PM >>> > >Dear Mayor Bauman, > >Dear Alder Ken Golden, > > > >An important reason Madison is so wonderful is our bicycling > >accommodations. I think bicycling and bicycle paths make Madison > >friendly. From the seat of a bicycle, one interacts with Madison in > >a personal, friendly way. I appreciate the new South West Bike Path > >near my home. > > > >I often bike along the SW Bike Path, use it to connect to the Capitol > >City Trail, and (by way of the incomplete Nobbie Trail under the > >beltline) the Monona Bike Path, the Isthmus Bike Path, Wingra Creek > >Bike Path, through Vilas Park back to my home to complete a 30 mile > >loop. I can tell you that for over 29 miles, we have a wonderful > >asset. But something is terribly wrong near Allied Drive. > > > >For just a few blocks near Allied Drive the SW Bike Path takes on an > >unfriendly, unwelcoming personality. Broken glass is shattered > >across the path. Trash and stolen Cub Foods grocery carts are strewn > >along its length. Appliances, furniture and other trash is pushed > >down the embankment. Graffiti is on the path, Sub Zero, Brunsell, > >and other buildings. > > > >Last spring, along with perhaps 100 other volunteers, I participated > >in a SW Bike Path clean up effort. At the invitation of the > >neighborhood (Project Hope), we cleaned up trash that had accumulated > >in the railroad corridor over many years (before the path was > >opened). It was a festive occasion to celebrate Earth Day. It > >seemed like a new beginning for a wonderful linear park through the > >neighborhood. The pile of rubbish we collected was surprisingly big. > > > >I've been away from Madison this summer (on a bicycle ride across the > >United States). I returned home two weeks ago. In that short time I > >have visited the Allied Drive area of the SW Bike Path many times. > >The trash is back, the broken glass is back, dumped appliances are > >back, and there is new graffiti (I see that Sub Zero painted over old > >graffiti while I was away, but their walls have been extensively hit > >again). I've witnessed children breaking glass (and stopped them, > >reasoning with them and appealing to them that I did not want a flat > >tire). I've witnessed public drunkenness and urination. I've > >witnessed theft (grocery carts being pushed down the path). All > >these things on perhaps a half mile of the path, confined to a > >troubled neighborhood. > > > >I have several suggestions. > >1. Regular city sweeping of this section of path to remove the broken > >glass. 2. Intense and frequent city graffiti clean up - more frequent > >than now is occurring. > >3. More police patrols - perhaps a foot or bicycle patrol with officers > >who get to know the people in the neighborhood and detect the difference > >between a drunk who urinates on the path and concerned parents with > >homes in the neighborhood - and acts accordingly. > >4. Neighborhood Association resources - door to door involvement and > >education - this is their linear park, they should be protecting and > >beautifying it! > >5. Intense pressure on the landlords to provide adequate dumpsters with > >fences and lids to control blowing trash - and if their dumpsters are > >open and the trash is blowing out, fines for littering. > >6. Institutionalize the Annual Earth Day clean up effort. Maybe the > >mayor and alder can join us next spring? > > > >I look forward to these and other changes instituted from your office > >that will keep the path friendly for the enjoyment of all of Madison. > >Please let me know how I can help. > > > >Sincerely, > > > >George J Perkins > >2219 Chadbourne Ave > >Madison, WI 53705 > >608-442-7883 > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >http://us.geocities.com/geoperkins > > _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
