Michael, Thank you for your reply and hard work for ALL users of Wisconsin's transportation systems.
I missed the public notice for the pedestrian bridge going out. The over-all Park St. highway interchange project I know has been in the works for a long time. I am only one interested member of the public, and a frequent (former, now) user of the pedestrian overpass. But I am engaged in the process and keenly aware of transportation-related issues; therefore I don't understand how I missed this key detail. Since the City of Madison engineering department wasn't aware of the timing either, it seems as if the public outreach element of the project could bear some scrutiny with thought towards future projects' public communications. In my original e-mail below I think I outlined the significant dependency the non-automotive public had on this bridge. A detour that is 1½ miles (round-trip) out of a pedestrian's way is as if there is no detour at all. The problems with the detour (lacking pedestrian sidewalks on both sides of the approaches) is an oversight (not having added better pedestrian safety elements prior to designating it a detour). And of course, minimizing the time that the pedestrian bridge is out of service is very important; it seems as if it could have been left operational longer. I'm sure you must balance many competing priorities, but please do not overlook those of us who choose not to, or cannot, drive a motor vehicle. Because I have been out of town, I have not looked for or seen detour signage (and now that it would be 1½ miles out of my way to do so, it isn't something I'll do casually). Such signage certainly was not present on July 2nd. Pedestrian and bicycle users require as much respect as do motor vehicle users. You wouldn't dream of closing a bridge on US 12/18 without putting up detour signage. Why is it okay when the user is not driving a motor vehicle? Our family does, of course, use the local and state road network. We own one motor vehicle and I am a member of Community Car. I ride the bus, I occasionally take a taxi. I and my family try to minimize our impact upon the Earth by walking, biking, and busing whenever possible. Biking and walking is also good for us. Many of the goods and services we enjoy as consumers arrive because of the road and highway network. We pay property taxes for local road maintenance, and fuel taxes for the state and national highway network. I ride my bike on streets and roads. So yes, I do, in some way, benefit from the overall improvement of the US 12/18 and Park St. interchange. So I am simply emphasizing (with this e-mail) that I am now severely limited as a pedestrian where I can cross US 12/18 in that part of town and feel a second-class citizen for no valid reason. I hope this information is helpful as you plan similar projects in the future. Sincerely, George Perkins Madison WI 53711 [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: Rampetsreiter, Michael - DOT [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 1:44 PM To: 'Fernandez, Anthony' Cc: 'George Perkins'; Gust, Jeffrey - DOT; Neuhauser, Curt - DOT; Kopp, Adam - DOT Subject: RE: [Bikies] Beltline Hwy 12/18 Ped/Bike Bridge Construction @ East-West Badger Roads / Ski Lane Tony, As I noted in a previous e-mail, Jeff Gust noted that Adam Kopp (construction engineer) will be getting you a set of plans and special provisions. If Adam has difficulty in doing so, I can look to get you a set. It is true that the existing bridge will be removed soon. The detour route is to Rimrock Road (bridge). Mike Rampetsreiter, P.E. PDS Project Manager Wisconsin Department of Transportation DTSD-SW Region (La Crosse/Madison) Dane Unit - Pod 125C Madison, WI 53704-2583 direct ph. no.: (608) 246-7917 front desk ph. no.: (608) 246-3800 fax number: (608) 246-5380 e-mail: [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: Fernandez, Anthony [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 8:40 AM To: 'George Perkins' Cc: Rampetsreiter, Michael - DOT Subject: RE: [Bikies] Beltline Hwy 12/18 Ped/Bike Bridge Construction @ East-West Badger Roads / Ski Lane This is a WisDOT project and their Project Manager is: Michael Rampetsreiter at (608) 246-7917 or email at [email protected] We at City of Madison Engineering have had some input on the design of the bridge, but I don't recall specific discussion of the construction sequence. The new bridge is about 100 feet away from the existing bridge. I was my assumption that the existing bridge would remain in service throughout most or all of the time the new bridge was under construction, but that assumption might not have been correct. I have copied Michael on this email, as I would also like more information on the plan is to maintain existing bike traffic. Tony Fernandez [email protected] voice: 608-266-9219 fax: 608-264-9275 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of George Perkins Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 8:59 PM To: Dane County Bicycle Transportation Alliance Subject: [Bikies] Beltline Hwy 12/18 Ped/Bike Bridge Construction @ East-West Badger Roads / Ski Lane Does anyone know where I can find out what the plans are for the Ped/Bike bridge over the Beltline U.S. 12/18 Highway at East and West Badger Roads and Ski Lane? Apparently WiDOT is constructing a new ped/bike bridge near the same location. Construction began a couple of weeks ago with brush removal. This week they are doing some serious digging. Today while crossing I spoke with a construction worker who helpfully said that the existing bridge would be closed and removed before the new bridge was completed! I asked about a detour, and he said he didn't know. I asked about public notice and he said he didn't know. Does anyone know if this ped/bike bridge will be closed before the new bridge is open? Detours are few and far - probably the only thing remotely available is the Rimrock Road bridge. That is a sad excuse for a ped/bike detour since it is at least 1½-miles round trip out of anyone's way. There are no pedestrian accommodations on the east side of the Rimrock Road bridge. The bridge and Rimrock do have bicycle lanes, but traffic is notoriously awful and only the most brave occupy the debris-strewn bike lanes on that bridge. The ped/bike bridge is served by bus stops on the #13 Metro route (stops 0895 and 0462) on East Badger Road. There is an unnamed Town of Madison and City of Fitchburg residential-mixed-use neighborhood and Alexander Company's "Novation" development that straddles the Beltline Highway at the site of the bike/ped bridge. The bridge is at a confluence of government jurisdictions. Temporary loss of the bridge effectively means the Indian Springs Neighborhood and Burr Oaks Neighborhoods are isolated from each other. I'm sure the new bridge will bring an improvement to access, and I hope the construction worker was misinformed when he said the existing bridge would soon be closed. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
