FYI...the following letter went out last
week...
November 3, 2003
MayorDave Cieslewicz
210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Room 403
Madison, WI 53703
Dear Mayor Cieslewicz:
At the request of Jeanne Hoffman I am providing a list of possible future
changes to bicycle parking policy for State Street during the annual
Halloween celebrations.
Each year the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin receives many complaints
with regards to the removal of bicycle parking and the �towing� of
bicycles from State Street for Halloween. I understand that the
City has many public safety concerns with regards to Halloween, and in an
effort to improve conditions for everyone and to continue to move Madison
towards the alternative transportation leader that it is becoming; I
submit the following ideas gathered from BFW staff, BFW members, and
local Madison bicycle enthusiasts:
� Verify
whether bicycle racks actually pose any
problem.
- o
Is
there a history of people being injured by the racks or using them as
projectiles? Have the racks been damaged by crowds in the
past? Great inconvenience for bicyclists and great expense for the
City could be avoided entirely by leaving the racks in place.
If racks
must be removed, consider the following:
� Improve
notification of removal of bike
racks.
- o
More
(and more prominent) notices posted on State Street and other affected
areas. In addition to being posted on bike racks, signs should be
posted on lampposts and other fixtures that would likely be used for
alternative parking once the bike racks are
removed.
o Encourage
State Street businesses to post signs warning of rack removal and
�towing� prior to and during removal operations.
o Get
media hits
before removal of the racks rather than after, so
people can plan for alternate bike parking or transportation.
o City
send a notice of removal dates to BFW and UW Transportation Services
prior to removal�possibly also to Metro.
o Make
sure policy on removal is consistent and clear. Give locations and
specific dates and times when bikes and racks will be removed. This
year, many people only understood that bikes would be removed from State
Street itself�not side streets.
� Improve
notification of how to retrieve �towed�
bicycle
- o
Provide
phone numbers for retrieval on all notices and media
hits.
o Make
an attempt to notify owners of registered bikes that are �towed�.
� Reduce
the amount of time for �towed� bicycles to be
returned.
- o
Plan
better for the increased load on the property office. Rent extra
trucks or hire temp workers to take up the extra workload. For some
individuals, their bicycle is their only means of transportation and two
days delay in getting their vehicle returned is a hardship. Bicycle
retrieval should be available during the
weekend.
� Provide
alternate bicycle parking during
Halloween.
- o
Relocate
removed racks to nearby automobile parking garages. This may
require a few spaces in the garages be blocked for a few
days.
o Provide
signage indicating where alternate bicycle parking will be located during
and after rack removal.
o Other
ideas for alternate parking include using a UW surface lot or renting an
empty storefront on State Street.
o Study
if it is really necessary to remove racks from the 100-300 blocks of
State Street and from side streets.
� If
possible, avoid destroying bike locks when removing or moving the
racks.
� Commit
the resources to replacing the bike racks as soon as possible after
Halloween, at least within a day or two at the most.
In the past, it is my understanding that Craig Heywood was in charge
of a majority of the work associated with bike removal. The
problems in the past were not nearly so severe as this year�s
issues. Mr. Heywood did not participate in this year�s
process. Perhaps Mr. Heywood could again work on this project or
consult with others working on the project.
Thank you for your consideration of these ideas and for your on-going
support of bicyclists in Madison. Please feel free to contact me if
you have any questions or would like to discuss the matter further.
Sincerely,
Marjorie Ward
Executive Director
Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin
Cc:
Jeanne Hoffman
Arthur
Ross
Lt.
Ballas
Jim
Nikora
