I am trying to get information on city plans for this intersection. I think it is supposed to be rebuilt soon - 2010 or 2011 - but I am chekcing to be sure.
A few years back there were a couple of meetings about this intersection. At that time, the UW wanted to extend the plaza in front of the Field House, and purchase some right of way from the city to do so. This would have eliminated Little St (that right turn lane from WB Monroe to Regent has an actual name.) However, after meeting with the three affected neighborhoods and the pedestrian and bicycle users, the consensus was that non-motorized users preferred to have the WB right turning cars out of the line of travel for SW Path users. (One of the few times I recall a flying right being considered a good thing for ped/bike users.) Later, Traffic Engineering and City Engineering held a meeting about other possible fixes, such as a tunnel for the SW Path. The options they showed were really very good, covering the concerns about being too enclosed in a tunnel, the need to be able to transition to other streets from the path, etc. I am guessing that the plans for the tunnel were shelved for a number of reasons: cost, the uncertainty of the utilities underneath, massive disruption of the area to construct it, etc. I am fairly certain that bike boxes are planned for all four legs of the Monroe-Regent intersection. I am not certain what else is in the works, but I have written to the three alders representing the area (Julia, Brian, and Shiva) as well as Traffic Engineering and City Engineering. I'll let you know when I find out what is up. I also suggested that perhaps a meeting to explain the options and time line might be appropriate. Perhaps one of the Bikies or lurkers from the city staff could help enlighten us? Robbie Webber Bike Walk Madison Steering Committee www.bikewalkmadison.org Join our group on Facebook! _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
