George, Good comments and thanks for the report.
Mark Shahan On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 3:45 PM, George Perkins <[email protected]>wrote: > You can continue to comment on the city's light plan for the SW Commuter > Bicycle Path. The comment form is here: > http://www.cityofmadison.com/bikeMadison/planning/project.cfm?id=41. The > PowerPoint presentation from the public meeting has been added to the > website (see it here: > http://www.cityofmadison.com/bikemadison/documents/swpathlighting.pdf). > > I attended the public meeting on 12-Dec-2011. There were quite a few NIMBY > comments (and too many unfair anti-bicycle stereotyping comments about high > speed bicyclists in spandex, etc.), but generally the balance were > thoughtful and heartfelt comments. The city's website comments reflect the > flavor of the public-input somewhat, but more could be added to the > official > meeting record by posting favorable bicyclist comments about the benefits > of > bicycle transportation. At the meeting I attempted to represent the > Westmorland Neighborhood Association by referring to the Midvale Heights / > Westmorland development plan, and I believe that plan does an excellent job > of guiding this process (see > > http://www.cityofmadison.com/planning/ndp/documents/MidvaleWestmorlandNeighb > orhoodPlan1010s.pdf). > > I also added some personal observations to the city website online > comments, > which I am replaying here on the bikies list: > > I bicycle in daylight and at night on the SW path mostly for commuting to > work. My family and I also walk and bike on this path often for recreation. > I have a bicycle-mounted headlight and rear light. I am amazed at the > number > of unlit pedestrians and a few bicyclists after dark. Most amazing is how > many people wear dark clothing after sunset. I've had several near-misses > even though I have a light. I carry two lights, because there have been > times my battery wears out. I've been caught with two dead lights, so even > advance planning doesn't always keep me safe. > > I am supportive of lighting the SW path. The draft design however is in > need > of improvement. I request that city engineering staff look at these issues > and address them in a revised design: > > 1. The current design will not uniformly illuminate the path. Uniformity of > illumination is particularly important for shared-use paths. Bicyclists > moving between "hot spots" from poorly placed luminaires may be unable to > see in the interspersed shadows this is in the Wi DoT Bicycle Facility > Design Handbook. > 2. The current lighting fixture is overly "hot" white-blue. A > cooler-temperature light yellow-white is necessary to reduce "blindness" as > one adjusts to light and darkness. > 3. The section of the SW path adjacent to Gregory Street is atop a high > grade and poses a unique challenge. Unlike other bicycle paths in the city, > a pole-mounted lighting system is not acceptable in this area because of > the > steep embankment overlooking the neighborhood below. For this reason I > believe a bollard-mounted or other methods to manage light pollution is > needed. The remainder of the SW path, roughly from Breese Terrace to > Commonwealth Avenue, and from Glenway Street to the Beltline Highway, could > be illuminated with pole-mounted lighting. > 4. Although the SW path is mostly tree-covered, and therefore unlikely to > be > a good site for solar, it would be helpful to publish the cost and > feasibility of solar powered lighting systems. At least if for nothing else > to demonstrate that this method is not going to work. One idea I have would > be for a PV array located in open space near the Beltline Highway used to > offset the power consumption of the string of lights planned for > installation. > > George Perkins > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > -- Mark N. Shahan ------ __o 607 Piper Drive ------- _`\<,_ Madison, WI 53711-1338 ---- (*)/ (*) (608) 274-9367 [email protected]
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