Aside from the issue of whether the 911 dispatcher knew where the SW
Path was located, the issue of someone driving on the path seems to have
been addressed. (911 is Dane County, not Madison, by the way, which may
explain why they were less familiar with Madison's landmarks.)
I had heard rumors last year about people driving a short distance on
the path in order to access backyard parking for football games. BACK
yard, not front yard, as is the common practice (let's not get off on a
tangent right now about the legality of parking on front lawns.) This
year I went out an took some very compelling photos and sent an email to
the Madison and UW Police Departments, as well as City Engineering.
Since the Monroe-Regent intersection will be rebuilt next year (more on
that in another email), I hoped we could solve the car problem with an
engineering solution.
After a few back and forth emails and discussion of how to handle the
problem, the MPD went to the houses that had been directing people to
drive on the path to access parking, and told them to knock it off. City
Engineering is also looking into some barriers to keep motor vehicles
from accessing the path, while still not erecting anything that
bicyclists are likely to run into.
Bollards and posts are used in some cities to keep cars off multi-use,
non-motorized paths. The problem is that these then become a danger to
bicyclists, especially at night. With the amount of traffic that the SW
Path gets, we don't want permanent obstacles to restrict smooth access.
-- Robbie
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