Dear bicyclists and advocates:
Your advocacy is needed! I apologize for this long message, but the
issues are complex, and I don't want to gloss over them.
You are probably aware that a new bridge, under construction over McKee
Rd (CTH PD) just east of Verona Rd, will carry the Military Ridge State
Trail north to the "bicycle interchange", connecting to the Southwest
Path, Cannonball Path, Capital City State Trail, and Badger State Trail.
The bridge is being built by WisDOT as part of the Verona Road
project. Paving of the Cannonball Path and realignment of the Military
Ridge State Trail were delayed to coordinate with the completion of the
bridge this year.
What you may *not* know is that because of a dispute between two
businesses adjacent to the bridge, this critical safety measure and
transportation link may be compromised and/or delayed. The short
version of the story is that WisDOT asked for additional land from
General Beverage, which in turn is asking the south access path
(connecting to the eastbound bike land on McKee Rd) be redesigned and
moved to the east side of the bridge. Midwest Decorative Stone is
objecting, as the bridge is already on the east edge of the
right-of-way. A more detailed recounting of this issue, including
proposed designs, is on pp. 21-31 in the packet of the Board of Public
Works meeting for June 16, 2014 (40 pp. 1.6 Mbytes):
http://www.fitchburgwi.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/559?fileID=7411
The various re-designs attempt to give General Beverage more parking and
more convenient access to parking, but at the cost of tighter turns,
substandard headroom, and/or narrower access paths for bridge users.
Perhaps the likeliest, and worst, possible result, is that the bridge
and trail could be completed in 2014 *without* a south access path
to/from the eastbound McKee Rd bicycle lanes. If this happens, the
south access path would be built later, in conjunction with a future DOT
project in some future year.
Having no south access path could lead to bridge users crossing the six
lanes of McKee Rd under the bridge without the help of traffic controls,
sidewalk bicycling along McKee Rd, or wrong-way bicycling in the McKee
Rd bike lanes. Since the next stage of Verona Rd construction around
McKee Rd begins in 2017, this dangerous situation is likely to persist
for three years.
Absent in the discussions of this issue have been bridge users,
particularly bicyclists. I have argued, without much success, that
delaying the access path or redesigning it to optimize parking for
General Beverage, to the detriment of bridge users, is bad public
policy. Instead the original design should be used, and WisDOT should
work with General Beverage to modify the interchange design so as to not
need so much land from the company.
WisDOT has removed itself from the discussion, asking the City to decide
among the potential designs. So far two City commissions (Public Works
and Transportation) have declined to make a recommendation. The Common
Council will take up the question at its 7:30pm meeting on Tuesday, June
24. (The agenda will be released Friday afternoon, June 20, at
http://FitchburgWI.gov.) I believe that a strong turnout of path and
trail advocates demanding access path completion this summer, with a
design meeting WisDOT recommendations for state trails, will help Common
Council members send General Beverage back to WisDOT for relief, to
amend the interchange design so it doesn't need so much land from
General Beverage.
Action requested:
Please consider coming to the Common Council meeting, at City Hall, 5520
Lacy Rd, to support the bicyclists and pedestrians who will use the
bridge. You can speak or merely register in support. Since the draft
resolution has both east and west side alignments, your oral or written
comments must specify that you support a western access path and
completion this year.
If you have questions about the bridge options or the mechanics of
testifying before Fitchburg's Common Council, do not hesitate to call or
write to me.
--
Steve Arnold, Fitchburg Alder, District 4, Seat 7
2530 Targhee Street, Fitchburg, Wisconsin 53711-5491
Telephone +1 608 278 7700 · Facsimile +1 608 278 7701
[email protected] · http://Arnold.US
Become a supporter: like http://facebook.com/ArnoldforAlder.
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