Hi All:
At Ride the Drive I had the honor of meeting a very dedicated bicycling commuter who rides from Kingston Way in Waunakee to American Family on Biltmore Lane (!). Needless to say the conditions she must endure leave much to be desired - her comments follow. How can we (bicycle advocates) help her? IMHO we tend to be too Madison-centric. As an "auslander" I can assure you that there are many more people in the ring communities surrounding Madison who would love to bike into Madison (thus sparing the City the burden of automotive exoskeletons) but safety is a real problem. I mean, REALLY. That fatality north of Oregon last week where an old lady driver was t-boned and killed by a young guy in a pickup? (At the intersection of Hwy MM and Hwy M) Several bike commuters told me their wives have forbidden them to bicycle thru this intersection. This is serious stuff. This is about living in a PRISON where the walls are defined by the swift, the powerful, and the heavily armored. Suggestions? Hans Noeldner >>>Comments from "D"<<< I have been getting increasingly upset biking on the North Side of Madison. It isn't too bad if you bike to the Capital area. The bike routes are NOT well marked this way - they direct you to turn, but then leave you completely confused when you hit the first junction any route you take. There is a COMPLETE and total lack of routing to any other destination. The area I work in has beautiful bike lanes once you get here, but getting to these bike lanes is less than desireable. I have abandoned several routes when I started to question my safety: - Hwy 113 is a biker's dream - until you hit the Madison city limit on Northport. Then I hit the sidewalk and required a bell to share the sidewalk with the children commuting to school in the morning. I abandoned this route several years going home when I realized that cars turning into Northport only look left to see if cars are coming and never expect to see anything on the sidewalks. - Going around Warner Park and around the lake added too much time and wind (energy zapping) to my commute. - Highway 51 to Hanson it was requested by my boyfriend to please abandon this as he worried about me too much on this stretch. Plus there is much trash like broken glass and nails. - Kennedy Rd to Wheeler was ok, but I observed too many car accidents on CV around the airport and then the hill on Hoepkner is too steep. - but, the final straw was biking around MATC with the younger crowd. There is a stretch at the end of the airport that forces bikers to bike in the road with little paved shoulder. The inexperienced younger and international drivers going to MATC mixed with the texters shoot into the shoulder of the road without notice. Needless to say, I started biking down Hwy 113 to Portage Road. Then I pick up Rattman/American Parkway. After I braved having to cross over at the split of Hwy 113 and Hwy 19, I have found this to be better. This morning was a bit nerve wracking as it seemed to be a high traffic day, but I figure I would rather share the road with truckers and cars headed to the interstate than compete with what I was having to deal with in Madison. The additional advantage is that the hills are graded. the disadvantage is the winds that I have to deal with on some days. If you have any news on anything that would make my commute better, please let me know. Hans, I am strongly considering the light system you have on your helmet when it gets dark again on my ride. My personal opinion is that building a trail under the airport would be an awesome option.
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