Below is a letter I sent to the editor of the WSJ ( I sent a similar letter to the Cap Times), and also to my alder in asking her to support the substitute resolution regarding East Washington Avenue proposed by the mayor.
I would have preferred that the substitute resolution propose exploring the concept the mayor presented last wednesday night, and I wrote the letter below to dispel some of the myths surrounding that proposal perpetuated by some city staff in order to prevent serious discussion of the mayor's concept. But the alternative the mayor proposes to the car-oriented design created by HNTB will still be an improvement. By the way, others will argue that the letter below is merely my opinion, but the same could be said of those who would argue that (indeed, I do say that). And my opinion is based in experience (learning to use the same models and methods of interpretation that I criticize) in the school of civil engineering at UW-Madison, just as the opinions of those I criticize is based in experience (perhaps too much experience, in fact, resulting in complacency that stymies truly innovative thinking). I have taken the liberty of BCCing others I think are interested but may not want their email addresses shared. to the editor of the WSJ: Lots of folks are predicting horrible consequences of the vision for East Washington Avenue the Mayor presented Wednesday night. They�re saying the mayor�s concept will reduce capacity, delay the process, cost more money, and divert traffic. But those are not substantiated facts; they�re arguable interpretations of questionable data from officials invested in the status quo. Here�s why: City staff (and the MPO, and nearly every traffic engineer in this country) model traffic using software models that are fundamentally flawed. Any consideration of pedestrians, bicyclists, or transit riders is an afterthought at best. It is inaccurately presumed that every person will drive (alone) to work, shop, or wherever. But that�s not what actually happens, at least in Dane County. Dane County�s transportation planner confirmed Wednesday night that about 3 of every 4 commuters in Dane County drives alone to work. That means 1 in every 4 people don�t, which is already far better than the national average. And that�s all of Dane County, not just the Isthmus, or even just the city of Madison. So the models that inaccurately assume everyone will drive are interpreted by officials who conclude that the mayor�s concept for East Washington will reduce the capacity of the street (because they are only counting cars, not people without cars). Why is it important to count more than cars when tallying the capacity of a street? In order to dispel the myth espoused as gospel that all who do drive down East Washington and become frustrated with it will be diverted through the neighborhoods. As one neighborhood resident put it, alternative streets through the neighborhoods are already jam-packed. When a driver becomes frustrated with a particular route�s level of congestion at peak travel time, one of three things happens: 1) the driver takes an alternate route at peak travel time. That isn�t likely to be the first choice, since the alternates are congested as well; 2) the driver takes the same route, i.e. East Washington Avenue, at a different time of day, even if it�s only a half-hour or less from the peak travel time. Some folks already do just that; I spoke to one Wednesday night. 3) the driver takes a different mode of travel, i.e., s/he walks, bikes, or takes transit. Making East Washington Avenue more pleasant to walk, bike, or bus along (and across) would likely divert more people to other modes (or other times), not just other routes. And the number of people we�re talking about is likely much less than what the naysayers predict. The Mayor not only recognizes those things, he�s obviously more concerned with what�s best for Madison than what�s best for his own political career. It�s refreshing to see leaders lead. We ought to extend him the courtesy of following him at least long enough to see where he�s going. Charles Strawser _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
