You're right, no compromise. Build the bike lanes AND the path.
Doug Adler
Nelson, Larry wrote:
I believe
that the bike trail along the rail corridor between the Village of
Shorewood Hills and Middleton could be constructed in 2013 - 2014, if
there was support. Thus far, we have some interest expressed by
Middleton staff but we are lacking the biking support we enjoyed for
the SW Bike Trail Missing Link. Compromise does not build bike paths...
I disagree. While rail trails are great, University sorely
needs some bike/ped improvements. There are stretches of nice path
along there, but the bike route detours in a few sections are
ridiculous if you are commuting or trying to get to a business along
University versus taking a liesurely weekend ride. And just continuing
those existing multi-use paths along University is no good due to the
number of dangerous road & driveway crossings. Bike lanes in those
sections connecting the existing paths would seem a good compromise.
I like arterials for the same reason motorists do - they are usually
the most direct route, and there aren't stop signs every few blocks.
If it were a real, immediate either-or choice I might think
differently, but right now the tantalizing possibility of a nearby rail
trail in some distant future isn't enough to convince me not to spend
money on bike lanes.
And on that report, it would seem to me that "provision of separate
cycling facilities" would include marked bike lanes. While no doubt
completely separate is better, it's rarely practical and even more
rarely actually pulled off..
-Doug Adler
Indeed, the rail
route would be infinitely preferable to biking along University
Avenue. Over time, pedaling on a high-traffic roadway like that does
cause respiratory damage, not to mention the moral distress it causes
to see so many people yakking alone on their cell phones. The rail
route provides a healthy separation from traffic pollution and a scenic
boost to the psyche. If rail transit ever emerges, then the engines
will need to be all-electric, rather than diesel electric, to protect
trail users' health. It is overall cleaner as well as lower-carbon and
more energy efficient to run a train on electricity produced at the
Walnut Street plant than by a diesel engine, even if it ran on
biodiesel.
It would be
great to team up with Middleton and Dane County at the same time, and
extend a path all the way to Deming Way, and then connect across Hwy 14
to the Hwy 12 path (as much as I denigrate its proximity to Hwy 12,
that junction could be the site of a successful "Park and Bike" for our
daily guests from Cross Plains and Sauk Prairie, the next time oil
prices leap to record levels).
Jeff Schimpff
Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources
Madison, WI
608-267-7853
"Bus, Bike, Carpool to Work
for Clean Air for Kids"
"The key to achieving high
levels of cycling appears to be the provision of separate cycling
facilities along heavily travelled roads and at intersections, combined
with traffic calming of most residential neighbourhoods."
I believe that we have reached the same
conclusion but we continue to add bike lanes on arterial streets rather
than provide separate cycling facilities. Case in Point: we are
required to add bike lanes on University Avenue between Segoe and Allen
(scheduled for 2011). To do so will require the acquistion of right of
way, which will be quite costly. Those resources could be better spent
on a separate facility, such as the construction of a bike path on the
rail corridor about a 1/2 mile to the south. Now that facility would
get people out of SOVs.
|
This is in a British Journal Transportation
Review- you may be able to get a copy of it through your local library.
Journal Article
|
| Making Cycling
Irresistible: Lessons From The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. |
| Pucher
J, Buehler R. Transp Rev 2008; 28(4): 495-528. |
| DOI:
10.1080/01441640701806612 What is this? |
| (Copyright
© 2008, Taylor and Francis Group) |
| This article shows how
the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany have made bicycling a safe,
convenient and practical way to get around their cities. The analysis
relies on national aggregate data as well as case studies of large and
small cities in each country. The key to achieving high levels of
cycling appears to be the provision of separate cycling facilities
along heavily travelled roads and at intersections, combined with
traffic calming of most residential neighbourhoods. Extensive cycling
rights of way in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany are complemented
by ample bike parking, full integration with public transport,
comprehensive traffic education and training of both cyclists and
motorists, and a wide range of promotional events intended to generate
enthusiasm and wide public support for cycling. In addition to their
many pro-bike policies and programmes, the Netherlands, Denmark and
Germany make driving expensive as well as inconvenient in central
cities through a host of taxes and restrictions on car ownership, use
and parking. Moreover, strict land-use policies foster compact,
mixed-use developments that generate shorter and thus more bikeable
trips. It is the coordinated implementation of this multi-faceted,
mutually reinforcing set of policies that best explains the success of
these three countries in promoting cycling. For comparison, the article
portrays the marginal status of cycling in the UK and the USA, where
only about 1% of trips are by bike.
Language: Eng
|
Steve Meiers
Safety educator
(608) 267-1102
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