Allison,
I agree with Marjorie. The issue isn't bike parking during
Halloween; its bike parking before and after Halloween. I didn't mean to
suggest allowing parking during Halloween on State Street.
As far as bike rack design goes, I was specifically thinking of
bike racks that are bolted in place and a design that doesn't have
protruding parts like the UW duck-bill racks, although I generally like the
duck-bill racks in other situations/locations.
Finally, a mention about the Memorial Union Bike Racks. Most of
the so-called bike racks in front of the Memorial Union are not bike racks.
They are guard rails that some idiot thought doubled for bike racks because
people locked their bikes to similar guard railing on University Avenue by
the Chemistry building. These abominations need to be replaced at the
Memorial Union with real bike racks.
At 3:27 PM -0600 11/13/03, Marjorie Ward wrote:
>Alison:
>My concern is not so much with parking on Halloween itself...I'm not sure
>that anyone with any concern for the welfare of their bike would park on
>State Street on Halloween...my concern is primarily with parking on the
>days, weeks, and apparently MONTHS surrounding the Halloween event when the
>racks are not available to people who work, shop, and live on State Street
>and the surrounding areas. Further...the availability of alternate parking
>was not made widely known. Finally, bikes were towed from the side streets
>that you recommend for parking.
>
>In general, the Halloween situation is a bad one for any person who lives
>and loves this City...so I understand what you are saying. But,
>particularly this year, very little regard seems to have been given to the
>disruption of people's day to day lives and transportation.
>-Marjorie
>
>
>At 03:06 PM 11/13/03 -0600, CARPENTER, Alison wrote:
>>Mark, Marjorie, et al. -
>>
>>I completely understand the desire to retain some degree of bike parking
>>in the general vicinity of State Street during Halloween, but I would
>>like to raise a couple of points to consider in the exploration of this
>>issue:
>>
>>1) At the UW, we often see infrastructure relocated or stolen after
>>celebrations (like sports events for example). This includes bike racks
>>being moved into roadways, walkways, and even thrown at buildings (noteably,
>>
>>this has occured repeatedly at the Plant Sciences building, where bike racks
>>
>>were being thrown at the glass windows of the greenhouse). We can often
>>resolve such problems by bolting the racks down.
>>
>>2) If this is the route being considered, public safety and crowd dynamics
>>should also be taken into account. Any design of bike rack could be an
>>obstruction and potential hazard in a massive sea of people. If anything
>>should happen to instill any panic into the crowd, a bike rack would simply
>>act as an obstruction to movement and could end up trapping/hurting people.
>>
>>3) There is also the possibility of bicycle vandalism. Again, this is
>>something that happens occasionally on campus...rowdy passersby could
>>seriously damage a bike by kicking in the tires, pulling out cables, etc.
>>I personally would NOT park my bike at a rack directly on State Street
>>during
>>Halloween particularly because of the potential for damage.
>>
>>4) We did coordinate with the City PD to move the Lake Street parking and
>>unbolted
>>Murray Street racks. However, abundant bike parking was still available on
>>campus
>>near the State Street area, at the UW Humanities building, west of the
>>Memorial
>>Library, at the Memorial Union and other locations. Such locations, as well
>>as
>>side streets and various out-of-the-way nooks and crannies would be safer
>>alternatives
>>for bike rack relocation during the special Halloween activities.
>>
>>I wholeheartedly agree that people should be encouraged to bike, walk, take
>>the bus, etc during this event. The City could possibly even restrict
>>traffic on
>>certain roadways to reduce the number of vehicles driven into the core
>>downtown area,
>>but I think it would be troublesome to encourage people to bike or park
>>their bike on
>>State Street in the midst of a sea of partying people. Just my two cents
>>based on
>>various observations from the campus area.
>>
>>Alison
>>
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Mark N. Shahan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 3:00 PM
>>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Marjorie Ward; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Arthur
>>Ross; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; David Dryer;
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>Subject: Re: [Bikies] Halloween and Bikes
>>
>>
>>Dear Mayor Cieslewicz,
>> I want to thank Marjorie Ward of the Bicycle Federation of
>>Wisconsin for crafting the well thought out letter on possible changes to
>>the current bicycle parking policy for State Street during Halloween.
>>After reading her letter and reading news accounts, I came up with a few
>>more ideas.
>>
>>1. It seems that the concerns about the bike racks being used as
>>projectiles or causing injuries are a function of rack design. Could these
>>problems be eliminated by a different style of bike rack? If so, then a
>>new style of bike rack needs to be selected relatively soon because the
>>first phase of the State Street reconstruction is scheduled to begin in
>>2004. If this new style of bike rack is different than what has already
>>been selected for the State Street reconstruction, I would suggest
>>installing the new style racks instead of the currently selected racks.
>>
>>2. Media accounts stated that the Halloween celebration caused congestion
>>problems not only in the State Street area but in the Isthmus area as a
>>whole. I would suggest mitigating traffic congestion using ideas from the
>>traffic demand management the UW implements for UW home football games.
>>Have shuttle busses from the east and west bus transfer points drop people
>>off at either end of State Street; encourage people to walk or bike to
>>State Street; reserve part of nearby parking ramps and lots for secure bike
>>parking; and advertise these initiatives in the media and through the UW
>>community well in advance of Halloween. If the police don't have to deal
>>with as much traffic congestion, more effort can be focused on State Street
>>and maybe less police overtime will have to be funded.
>>
>>3. Finally, I note that the bike parking policy for State Street during
>>Halloween has never been brought before the Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor
>>Vehicle Commission (PBMVC). I would suggest that the Bicycle Federation of
>>Wisconsin participate in a discussion of this policy with Madison Police
>>department representatives before the PBMVC. PBMVC has a regularly
>>scheduled agenda item for a Police Department representative (Stephanie
>>Bradley-Wilson) to appear on traffic related issues. A discussion of the
>>bike rack policy as well as congestion mitigation could be scheduled under
>>this agenda item at everybody's earliest convenience. I would further
>>suggest that congestion mitigation measures be brought before the Transit
>>and Parking commission for their input.
>>
>> I know the aftermath of this year's Halloween celebration is a
>>difficult issue with which to deal. Thank you for your consideration of
>>these ideas for dealing with one part of that issue. Please feel free to
>>contact me if you have any questions.
>>
>>Mark N. Shahan
>>Chair Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission
>>607 Piper Drive
>>Madison, WI 53711-1338
>>(608) 274-9367
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
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Madison, WI 53711-1338 ---- (*)/ (*)
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