Those signs discreetly highlight the issue that I've been trying to talk about here: West Washington between Bedford and Henry. On those signs, purple is the designation for bike route. West Washington is purple to Bedford, then it goes to purple with black bars until you get to Henry. Then, it goes back to solid purple again. The key on the map does not designate a classification for purple with black bars. The only designation other than purple is green for bike path.
How can West Washington properly be called a bike route if it is bisected by a three-block stretch that is not a bike route? And why does it seem like nobody else cares about this or wants to talk about this? --- Robert F. Nagel, Attorney Law Offices of Robert Nagel [email protected] www.nagel-law.com Thirty on the Square, 10th Floor 30 W. Mifflin St., Suite 1001 Madison, WI 53703 608-255-1501 office 608-255-1504 fax 608-438-9501 cell On Tue, May 12, 2015 at 1:43 PM, Brian Mink <[email protected]> wrote: > I second the thanks for the signage! > > Brian Mink > > Grant Foster <[email protected]> > Tuesday, May 12, 2015 12:37 PM > > Thanks to all who helped get some notification signage up, it really does > go a long way. > > Grant > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > Grant Foster <[email protected]> > Saturday, May 09, 2015 9:18 AM > I'm also not interested in placing blame, but do agree we've got an > opportunity to do a lot better in the future. > > While I appreciate the wrinkle introduced by the BTTW date change, it > seems that that only impacted the poor, last-minute communication to the > community. Based on that communication ("There will not be a marked > detour as it is assumed that bicyclists and pedestrians will choose the > alternative on-street route that best serves their needs") and everything > I've heard, it sounds like the decision to not accommodate users with any > of the following was independent of the date change: 1) use of part of > John Nolen Dr for path traffic 2) a temporary, alternate path through the > park 3) a marked detour 4) sufficient advance warning as to avoid forcing > users to turn around and significantly back track. *#4 is still needed > and would take a small crew a few hours to complete and should really be in > place before Monday.* > > #1, #2, and #3 all have their pros and cons and I can understand rationale > for and against each of them. As much as I generally support a concept like > #1 and believe it would be the best for path users, I do think the impact > it would have on all users would be tremendous, especially considering the > ingress needed into Monona Terrace. It could also introduce some real > safety issues for all users and I can understand why we don't have it in > place. (I think such an accommodation would have been warranted when the > bridge was replaced last year on the causeway, especially given the > significant impact to path users at that time and the much simpler MV > traffic patterns that would have been interrupted.) > > I also feel strongly that choosing to not do #1, #2, *or *#3 is > insufficient. It should not be ok to close a primary bike artery like this > and expect that cyclists just figure it out for themselves. While the > majority of construction projects may not include a marked detour, the > relative impact of this work on bike/ped traffic is akin to the impact of > the E. Johnson St. work on MVs. I understand the volume of total users is > not equivalent, but this route is as important to our bicycle traffic > infrastructure as E. Johnson is to our MV traffic infrastructure. In this > case, we marked an alternate route AND maintained through access for > traffic. > > If we truly have a commitment to promoting and supporting cycling as a > viable transportation mode, we have to commit to appropriate supports > during construction. As much as a marked detour has been discounted by > some, I do think it was a reasonable provision and would have significantly > decreased the angst and frustration associated with this work. I've been > detouring over the hill since the closure and see a fair number of other > cyclists that I would regularly see on the path during commutes. > > One last opinion that others may not share: if the last-minute scramble > couldn't be accommodated appropriately we shouldn't have made the change. > While it'll be great to roll up to my bratcakes on the new path, I don't > think trading appropriate accommodations during this month+ of major > construction was worth it. I would have rather seen the city stick to plans > and have us move our bratcakes over to Brittingham. > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > Spencer Gardner <[email protected]> > Friday, May 08, 2015 3:46 PM > > I can’t comment on the execution of the closure as my route doesn’t take > me through there. But I wonder how many voicing concerns here have > contacted their alder or the mayor’s office. I’m sure Tony and others > employed by the city benefit from your feedback, but as Steve rightly > pointed out this is fundamentally a political problem. Concerns voiced on > this list are not going to be translated a change of culture unless they > are also raised through other, more official channels simultaneously. > > > > *Spencer Gardner* <[email protected]>*, AICP * > > Planner > > > > *Toole* *Design Group* <http://www.tooledesign.com/> > > p 608.663.8082 x404 > > > > *From:* Bikies [mailto:[email protected] > <[email protected]>] *On Behalf Of *Robert F. Nagel > *Sent:* Friday, May 08, 2015 3:04 PM > *To:* Steve Goldstein > *Cc:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [Bikies] Notice of closure of John Nolen Path in Law Park > > > > Steve is right on. And, not to hijack this link, but if it happens, it > happens, because I think plenty has been said about this problem. > Meanwhile, what could be part of a solution to this problem seems to have > fallen on deaf ears. Recently, I posted about the cluster-f-whatever > between Henry and Bedford streets on West Washington. I do not recall a > single response to that post. It seems that some lane lines could be > painted pretty fast that could help create a safe alternative to the John > Nolen path closure. I'll reprint my old post here: > > > Robert F. Nagel <[email protected]> > > Apr 22 > > > Reply > > to bikies > > Does anyone have any insight into what the plans are for three > blocks of west washington between bedford and henry? There's a broken > yellow line down the middle of the street. The street is wide enough for a > car lane, a bike lane, and a parking lane, but because there are no lines > painted, cars seem to think that it's wide enough for two car lanes and a > parking lane. It's really the wild west. It's not safe for bikes, peds, or > even cars. It seems like a little paint would go a long way here. Not sure > why it hasn't happened yet. It's been like this for years. I've been > meaning to complain about it here for at least that long, too. > > > > > > > --- > > Robert F. Nagel, Attorney > > Law Offices of Robert Nagel > [email protected] > www.nagel-law.com > Thirty on the Square, 10th Floor > 30 W. Mifflin St., Suite 1001 > Madison, WI 53703 > 608-255-1501 office > 608-255-1504 fax > 608-438-9501 cell > > > > On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 7:03 AM, Steve Goldstein <[email protected]> > wrote: > > On 5/8/15 12:13 AM, Melanie Foxcroft wrote: > > I think this is another demonstration of why Madison doesn't receive a > "platinum" award for bicycling. This disaster is simply not acceptable. > The double standard of cars vs. bikes is too much. Hopefully city > transportation people will learn from this disaster and do better next time. > > > > > The "city transportation people" are the traffic engineers who, after > considering the alternatives, have been forced into this decision because > nothing else meets minimum engineering standards. We all see the logic of > Tony's deliberations and conclusions. > > The problem is that an engineering-only approach doesn't solve this > problem and that was the end of the discussion. If there were enough > political pressure, the discussion could have started out with the > *requirement* that the most heavily traveled bike route in the city > remain passable during one of the peak months of biking. If that were the > case, other alternatives might have been on the table --- for example, > staging the project to enable access or closing lanes on John Nolen. > > Many on this list will recall the activism opposing of the closing of the > Law Park path during construction of the convention center achieved partial > success. Tony's sensitivity to the issues shows some things have improved > over the past twenty years, but this disaster shows we need more effective > activism. > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > Robert F. Nagel <[email protected]> > Friday, May 08, 2015 3:04 PM > Steve is right on. And, not to hijack this link, but if it happens, it > happens, because I think plenty has been said about this problem. > Meanwhile, what could be part of a solution to this problem seems to have > fallen on deaf ears. Recently, I posted about the cluster-f-whatever > between Henry and Bedford streets on West Washington. I do not recall a > single response to that post. It seems that some lane lines could be > painted pretty fast that could help create a safe alternative to the John > Nolen path closure. I'll reprint my old post here: > > Robert F. Nagel <[email protected]> > Apr 22 > > Reply > to bikies > Does anyone have any insight into what the plans are for three blocks of > west washington between bedford and henry? There's a broken yellow line > down the middle of the street. The street is wide enough for a car lane, a > bike lane, and a parking lane, but because there are no lines painted, cars > seem to think that it's wide enough for two car lanes and a parking lane. > It's really the wild west. It's not safe for bikes, peds, or even cars. It > seems like a little paint would go a long way here. Not sure why it hasn't > happened yet. It's been like this for years. I've been meaning to complain > about it here for at least that long, too. > > > > --- > > Robert F. Nagel, Attorney > Law Offices of Robert Nagel > [email protected] > www.nagel-law.com > Thirty on the Square, 10th Floor > 30 W. Mifflin St., Suite 1001 > Madison, WI 53703 > 608-255-1501 office > 608-255-1504 fax > 608-438-9501 cell > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > Steve Goldstein <[email protected]> > Friday, May 08, 2015 7:03 AM > On 5/8/15 12:13 AM, Melanie Foxcroft wrote: > > The "city transportation people" are the traffic engineers who, after > considering the alternatives, have been forced into this decision because > nothing else meets minimum engineering standards. We all see the logic of > Tony's deliberations and conclusions. > > The problem is that an engineering-only approach doesn't solve this > problem and that was the end of the discussion. If there were enough > political pressure, the discussion could have started out with the > *requirement* that the most heavily traveled bike route in the city > remain passable during one of the peak months of biking. If that were the > case, other alternatives might have been on the table --- for example, > staging the project to enable access or closing lanes on John Nolen. > > Many on this list will recall the activism opposing of the closing of the > Law Park path during construction of the convention center achieved partial > success. Tony's sensitivity to the issues shows some things have improved > over the past twenty years, but this disaster shows we need more effective > activism. > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > >
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