Should Amanda White be copied on this? Or are we now just sharing info?
________________________________
From: Paul T. O'Leary <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 9:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Bikies] Machinery Row Intersection Feedback
* Remove ALL flying right turns - E. Wilson to John Nolen, John Nolen to Willy,
S Blair to E Wilson "cutoff".
* Establish real left turn lanes for John Nolen to E Wilson, and S. Blair to
Willy. This is more a car traffic issue than a bike traffic one, but people not
knowing where to queue up for either left turn frequently gums up the
intersection.
* Ingress/egress for both business corners, esp. Machinery Row, MUST be
completely re-thought. I don't have a specific layout in mind, but it has to be
something that doesn't allow, for example, traffic exiting onto John Nolen to
cross both the Lake bike path AND the car turn lane in order to proceed on John
Nolen and then onto S. Blair. Most people making that move fail to watch for
traffic other than that with which they're trying to merge. Perhaps an
entrance/exit at the far end of the parking lot, near the BCycle station, could
be installed, effectively separating that traffic from the intersection
traffic. In fact, if that were the only ingress/egress, that would also
eliminate the always dicey practice of southbound S. Blair traffic turning
eastbound on Willy, then immediately cutting into the Machinery Row lot.
* Establish CLEAR, WIDE, TWO-WAY bicycle traffic lanes for the stretch between
the intersection and where the East Isthmus path proper begins behind the
Gateway Mall. The present "glorified sidewalk" next to the roadway (is that a
driveway, or is that technincally E. Wilson?) is waaaay too narrow, with no
center stripe. And with the near-hairpin turn from the traffic light approach,
and that hideous juniper (or whatever it is; I'd bet a nickel it's non-native)
bush creating a huge blind spot, it's somewhere between useless and downright
dangerous for non-motor vehicle traffic. So much so that a LOT of westbound
traffic just uses the adjacent roadway (going the wrong way). Perhaps that
roadway needs to be removed, and some other ingress to the Gateway needs to be
designed in. Some more logical transition from the path proper to the
intersection, with adequate sight lines, is long overdue. The conundrum is how
to integrate the motor vehicle ingress to
Gateway Mall. Perhaps creating an ingress from eastbound Willy St., at the
east end of the mall, beyond the intersection (using a left turn cut-off),
similar to my idea above for Machinery Row, would fit the bill.
* Many of the crosswalk push-buttons are bass-ackwards. Both "westbound"
(E.Isthmus-to-Lake-Monona) and "eastbound" (Lake-Monona-to-E.Isthmus) users
have to reach to their LEFT to operate the signal. As a result, one VERY
frequently sees traffic in that crosswalk, across Willy St, passing each other
on the wrong side. Either stand-alone posts should be installed so that every
approach means a reach to your RIGHT to activate the signal, or, as mentioned,
they should simply be automated.
* EVERY ingress/egress that crosses EVERY multi-use path (including the little
stub "path" along the front of Machinery Row should have a STOP sign, with a
sign below reading TWO-WAY CROSS TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP.
Anecdotally, a co-worker and friend of mine simply cannot use that
intersection. She is blind, and has lived in Madison most of her adult life.
She lives south and east of this intersection and prefers to walk most places
she can, but even with her leader dog, it's simply impossible to navigate this
intersection to get to her job downtown, or her child's day-care across from
the GEF buildings. She has occasionally taken the Williamson sidewalk to the
Lake Monona path, and found her way to the elevator at the Convention Center,
but again, that's extremely unintuitive to those not fortunate enough to
navigate it visually. I recall there was an informal meeting a few years ago
about a complete re-hash of this intersection. Ironically, it was held at a
meeting room in one of the nearby MG&E buildings, and thanks to the layout of
the intersection, she was unable to attend.
On 2011/10/18 12:49, Amanda White wrote:
> Hello,
>
> The Bike Fed is assisting the City in getting feedback on biking through
> the Machinery Row intersection (Blair/John Nolen/Willy/E.Main). Who
> hasn't been frustrated with this intersection?! While the intersection
> is scheduled to be reconstructed in 2017, the City is interested in
> making smaller improvements to make bicycling safer and more convenient
> in this intersection in 2012 - 2013.
>
> Please reply with the following information:
>
> 1. What problems have you experienced at this intersection?
> 2. Do you have ideas for specific improvements?
>
> I am currently compiling the information and will submit final feedback
> to the city early next week. Please respond with your comments no later
> than this FRIDAY.
>
> Thank you,
> Amanda
> ________________________
> Amanda White
> Associate Director
> Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin
> (608) 251-4456
> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
> www.bfw.org <http://www.bfw.org>
>
> *Saris Gala - Nov. * 12
> Don't miss your chance to meet members of the *1986 7-Eleven Cycling
> Team! *Register NOW for the Saris Gala on Saturday, Nov. 12
> http://www.sarisgala.org <http://www.sarisgala.org/> .
>
>
>
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-- Paul T. O'Leary
Chronic Nuisance
Madison, WI USA
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