I'm not sure about the pushback from local residents. I used to live at Jackson/St. Paul and I would have supported closing it. Having to drive an extra three blocks to access Bashford/Dunning or St. Paul/Waubesa is pretty minimal for eliminating the through traffic on St. Paul.
Now I live in Eastmorland and our access to Atwood/Cottage Grove Rd is totally sufficient with Dempsey and Dennett/Walter as the bookends. It's actually a longer stretch with no through access to the south. I live close to Dempsey and I'd much rather have increased traffic there than through the middle of the neighborhood. The frequent road crossings really are problematic from my perspective. I commute through every day, so obviously that shapes my perception. They are quite uncomfortable and really interrupt the journey. In the winter each of these crossings becomes even tougher when the snow is plowed in front of them. Now that my oldest is riding on his own, they actually feel very threatening as well. At the end of the day, I just think there is so little value for motor vehicles to cross through and so much value for bikers/bladers/peds/gardners/kids. It'd be interesting to compare bike/ped volume on this path vs. mv traffic on these road segments. I pulled a map together to highlight the difference between the CC and SW path road crossings. This isn't news to anyone on this listserv, but it's powerful to see it graphically. I chose two sections of equivalent length from downtown out. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=214427577550430265882.0004c1f6e282e4f5b3fe2&msa=0&ll=43.0576,-89.372749&spn=0.102976,0.154324 I've contacted Marsha to get her thoughts. Grant On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 8:51 AM, Michael Chronister < [email protected]> wrote: > This is an interesting idea but I imagine a lot of push back from the > people who live right off of St Paul and as you mention the users of St > Bernards church. What seems weird to me is that St paul does not connect > to Atwood or Dunning. If it did then you could close all three of the > streets you mention and there would be no problem with access to St. Paul > and the residences off them. I do see quite a few bikers taking St. Paul > instead of the path to get from Waubesa to Jackson. I have tried it and it > is easier as you have no streets to cross and you get the right of way the > entire length of St. Paul. > > I would suggest a quick email to Alder Marsha Rummel ( > [email protected]) about this idea and also start to get other > interested parties to pledge support for this idea. I know the city is > going to do some work on the Dunning-Atwood intersection for bikes so > perhaps this idea would fit into that design process. > Check the bottom of this page, no info but it does mention a bike signal > at this intersection. > http://www.cityofmadison.com/bikeMadison/planning/proposed/ > Also the entire length of Atwood from Rusk to Fair Oaks is set to be > redone in 2016 so there is another opportunity to make path improvements. > > > -Michael > > On Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 12:40 PM, Grant Foster <[email protected]> wrote: > >> So I was thinking about the Capital City Trail on my morning commute and >> wondered why we haven't closed some of the through streets in this section: >> Jackson, Ohio and Corry. It seems to me that they add very little value for >> MV traffic flow and are a significant obstacle to bike and ped traffic >> along the path. >> >> Then a friend posted this blog entry >> http://www.giveplantsachance.com/2010/05/atwood-community-garden-madison-wi.html >> and >> I thought how much value closing some or all of these connections would >> bring to this already great spot. Restriciting through traffic to foot and >> bike would increase the comfort and safety of the path itself and would >> enhance the space and its use as a community garden. The reclaimed space >> could be converted to addt'l garden plots or micro parks within the gardens >> (a spot for a picnic or the like). >> >> It's hard to imagine a lot of push back from local businesses along that >> stretch (Absolutely Art, Zoma, Rev. Cycles, the Ohio). The only major >> consideration might be for St. Bernard traffic. Even closing two of the >> three would be a huge step forward. I would think the neighborhood would >> also be generally supportive since it would reduce cut through traffic >> along St. Paul and make the whole stretch very safe and kid friendly. >> >> >> How does something like this get considered? What's the best approach to >> talk about it with the city? >> >> Grant >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Bikies mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org >> >> >
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