>>Why would cyclists want to bike on Washington when they could bike on Mifflin or >>Main?<<
The following is personal commentary, as an isthmus resident (near Tenney Park) and a bicyclist, not as a city employee. There are several reasons. First, in terms of mobility for bicyclists, there really are few options to E. Washington Ave. by virtue of the discontinuous grid approaching the Capitol Square. East Washington Avenue is really the only street that gets you directly to and from the inner loop. Mifflin street inbound ends at the outer loop. Main Street gets you to the Square, but you can't leave the Square eastbound on Main Street. If these two streets could have contra-flow bike lanes on the block between the inner and outer rings, that would be better. I see bicyclists every day riding the wrong way on these two blocks. The need for two way bicycle traffic is self evident. Crossing Blair St. at Main especially, and at Mifflin certain timers of the day, however, is troublesome and would also need improvement for this to work. The Isthmus Bike Path is too far from East Washington Ave. to be a reasonable alternative for someone traveling inbound who is already on E. Washington (unless their destination is south of the Capitol). Also, there is the issue of the crossing of Blair at Wilson at the end of the Isthmus Bike Path. Wilson Street between Blair and King is not that great, either. Unless these issues can be addressed as part of/at the same time as the E. Washington project, E. Washington is the best mobility corridor to the Capitol from the east side. Head away from the Capitol (eastbound) on either Mifflin or Main Street and you soon realize that these potential alternatives break down. Main Street ends at Ingersoll, Mifflin Street ends at Dickinson. On the south side of the Isthmus this means heading another block south to the Isthmus Bike Path in the Wilson Street alignment. But the bike path swings further south away from E. Washington Ave. starting at Dickinson Street. On the north side of the isthmus, you have to go two blocks further from Mifflin to Johnson Street. The bike lanes on Johnson end at Brearly, however, and the only other crossing of the Yahara River is at Sherman, leading you even further north. The E. Johnson Street bike lane provides an example of a bike lane ending before its logical terminus. As I just mentioned, this ends at Brearly. As someone who lives 2 blocks from the end of the bike lane (and used to live 3 blocks from the end), I can tell you that it just doesn't work.. People continue to bike on the blocks without bike lanes since that is the more direct route to their destinations, drivers get upset when you take the lane, and I am often asked if the lanes will ever be extended. I doubt if not having bike lanes on E Washington at all, or only in certain areas and expecting bicyclists to switch to another route, would work. I see bicyclists on E Wash every day. The other major issue is access. Without bike lanes on E. Washington, it is difficult for bicyclists to get to destinations on E. Washington Ave. The closer you get to the Square, the more destinations there are. And, according to Vision 2020, this area will be infilled, resulting in more destinations in the future. Finally, as the Mayor has pointed out, this is the one shot we have at reconstructing E. Washington Ave. in our lifetime. E. Washington is the gateway to Madison. It should reflect the values we hold as a city, which includes all mode transportation, for which we have been honored numerous times. What is the problem that eliminating the bike lanes appears to be a solution to? If the problem is losing a few trees, then eliminating the bike lanes is a short sighted solution. Instead of trading off the long term benefits of bike lanes for the short term gain of keeping a few trees, let's bite the bullet, cut the trees and replant new ones. Over the next 50 years we can grow new trees. We will not be able to add bike lanes later. Arthur Ross Citizen, Bicyclist _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
