Has any consideration been given to closing off Breese Terrace, or making
it like State Street - available for use by buses, bikes and authorized
vehicles ONLY? That would make designing the crossing for the bike path
much simpler, and would open up new possibilities for a plaza. There
never seems to be all that much auto traffic on Breese Terrace anyway.
Mike Neuman
Well done is better than well said.
- Benjamin Franklin
----------- Original Message -------------
From: "George J. Perkins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: Dane County Bicycle Transportation Alliance <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 22:42:45 -0600
Subject: [Bikies] Public Comment: SW Bike Path, Monroe St., Regent St.
Intersection
TO:
City of Madison Traffic Engineering
Council Member & Council President Michael E. Verveer
Council Member Brian L. Solomon,
Council Member Julia S. Kerr,
Council Member Robbie Webber,
Council Member Eli Judge,
Council Member Tim Gruber
I attended the West High School public meeting held on Thursday November
1st
regarding the planning for a redesign of the intersection at the
Southwest
Commuter Bike Path, Monroe St., and Regent St. (inclusive of Breese
Terrace,
Crazy Legs, Oakland and Little St.).
There were some good ideas discussed. My observations are that there are
two
significant designs that have not been put on the table. I want to throw
these
out there for consideration.
I do not have access to drafting tools, and have made do with marking up
a
Google satellite aerial photograph of the intersection. These are
attached.
1. A plaza.
2. Right angles.
1. Plaza
First of all, there has already been a traffic circle proposed. I was
disappointed in the lack of vision and small diameter of that plan
concept. My
idea for a plaza is far more expansive than the minimalist traffic circle
idea.
I am not an engineer and can't defend the exact nature of the circle, but
as I
envision it, the diameter of my plaza circle is at least twice that of
the
concept shown in the public meeting last week. I would suggest that a
mixed
parking-bike lane be provided for the entire circumference. I would
further
propose that existing green space been reconfigured and moved to a large
central green space. In future years others may install fountains or
dramatic
sculpture at the center. The entire design would be focused clearly on
the
ease of pedestrian and bicycle crossing. Automobile traffic would be
slowed to
5mph or less and would continuously move, but there would be adequate
spacing
and access for bikes and peds. The traffic would be greatly reconfigured
for
Breese Terrace, Oakland Avenue, and Little Street (I propose making
Little a
one-way only into the circle), while Crazy Legs would be eliminated
altogether.
By moving the plaza west of the current Monroe-Regent intersection, the
traffic
would be managed far differently than it is today in such a way as to
gain an
over-all improvement.
2. Right angles
My concept here simply is to "go back to the drawing boards"! I noticed
that
all of the current concepts ignore the large right-of-way to the west of
Monroe. This has the consequence of repeating the same design mistakes
made 100
years ago to accommodate the railroad. Traffic should meet at a
right-angle
intersection and eliminate the flying-right and flying-left turns
provided
today. A right-angle intersection also opens up the possibility for a
third
traffic light timing to give bicyclists a shorter diagonal across the
intersection. A draw back of the diagonal in the concepts unveiled last
week
was a too-long crossing time for bicyclists which would penalize all
users of
the Monroe-Regent intersection. (If you were not at the meeting, I won't
go
into the details here; I'll leave that up to others to summarize). My
right-angle concept simply gives the idea of a diagonal crossing new
life. It
also will offer opportunities to improve the predictableness of traffic
flow
(today's unusual configuration is very confusing to first-time users).
I personally favor the plaza idea because it will give Madison a unique
new
feature to mark the location of the UW athletic fields, a gateway to
downtown,
and a "destination" for the SW bike path. The plaza would be visionary
and
needs a political or cultural champion to make it go anywhere. I am under
no
illusions it wouldn't be controversial, and would probably delay the
reconstruction a year or two while all parties were brought into a
consensus
and funds were allocated. But it would be a worthwhile investment!
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input.
George Perkins
442 Toepfer Avenue
Madison, WI 53711
608-442-5558
geoperkins(at)yahoo.com
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