No, Satya hasn't responded yet. I just sent her that email on Thursday, though. I supported getting Satya elected, btw; I, too, figured she was "one of us." I do hope that she will come around on this, and I'm encouraging others in the neighborhood to contact her as well. I have been in touch with Michael Shinner and am on his list to contact when opportunities to speak at public meetings come up. I'd love the chance to bike to a meeting and share my experience and views. And I've just recently chatted with some of my Sheridan Triangle neighbor/activists who support this.
And I'm trying to think up other things to do -- like making a point, when I ride my bike to Dorn True Value and other businesses, of letting them know (in a very friendly way) that I am a regular customer AND that I got there by bike, and sharing whatever difficulties/obstacles there were to doing so. I saw in some of the old documents that Dorn opposed the two-lane thing "back then," so I'd really like to work on them in a friendly, business-supportive way... I do, in fact, really value the neighborhood hardware stores (Meikle up at Sherman Plaza is another one I frequent) -- as I'm sure the elderly residents of Sherman Glen do, when they can brave the highway traffic to get there! Is there any way to find out which other businesses do or don't support making Sherman more bike- and ped-friendly? I don't suppose there's anything as fabulous as an up-to-date list at this point...? (Maybe that's something for my neighborhood, or Shinner's committee, to compile!) Thanks to all who are giving me background information, and thanks too for the work you've done in the past! JoAnne Lehman ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wong, Tim - DHFS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 2:50 pm Subject: RE: [Bikies] Campaign for bike lanes on North Sherman To: 'JoAnne Lehman' <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "bikies@danenet.org" <bikies@danenet.org> > JoAnne, did Satya respond to your letter? When she first ran for > alderoid, we thought she was one of "us"; now I'm beginning to think > she's one of "them." When this repaving of North Sherman first came > up, several of us brought up the idea of the TWLTL, and she said > categorically that no one from the neighborhood was considering that > possibility. (One of her opponents in the primary, Michael Basford, > wrote back saying that, in fact, he was.) > > It is absolutely nuts, from virtually all standpoints, to keep the > very narrow Sherman four lanes (narrow for four lanes). A good > proportion of the people speeding on Sherman are going to far-north > Madison, Waunakee, and other benighted sprawlburbs. The city gave > them a speedway decades ago, named Packers Avenue, which is only a few > blocks away. Making Sherman two lanes again would encourage those > dolts to use Packers. > > I was a member of the Transportation Commission's Ped-Bike > Subcommittee back in the mid-90s, when the idea of making North > Sherman a TWLTL was first brought up. Believe it or not, it was > favored by Traffic Engineering. A very conservative alder and some > very traditionally thinking business owners presented the TWLTL as the > government imposing a bad solution on local neighborhoods. We even > had citizens from the neighborhood testifying against it, with one man > saying that he opposed it because making it two lanes would make it > unsafe for his children trying to cross the street!!!!! One older > woman did testify that she had to take the G bus (somewhat akin to the > current 2) all the way up to Central Center and Mendota and back just > to cross the street. But the city council went along with the alder's > recommendation and voted to keep the speedway. > > It is shocking that as bicycle traffic is up and car traffic down > that the supposedly liberal alder is not taking the lead in demanding > that the TWLTL be put into place on Sherman. I'm sure the potential > problems that Eric mentioned, mostly around Northgate, I would assume, > can be ironed out with a little bit of thinking. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of JoAnne Lehman > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:42 AM > To: bikies@danenet.org > Subject: [Bikies] Campaign for bike lanes on North Sherman > > Here's the letter I emailed to Satya Rhodes Conway, my city council > rep, a few days ago. (Satya's email address is > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> .) I thought I'd share it here in hope > that it may inspire others to write letters or otherwise get involved > in this campaign. If you live in the area and want to get involved > further, you can call Michael Shinner at 241-1848 and be put on a list > to be notified when there are public meetings to testify at, etc. > > ******************** > Dear Satya, > > Hi, I'm one of your constituents, living at 1418 Fremont Avenue. My > partner and I, who have lived at this address for more than 12 years, > have taken up bicycling in recent years for recreational, physical > health, and financial reasons (cost of gas), as well as for > convenience -- we have found that it can sometimes be simpler and even > faster to hop on a bike to go to the library or grocery store than to > drive and navigate traffic (and construction!). Both of us commute by > bicycle to jobs downtown as well. > > I'd also like to mention that we are supporters and patrons of many > of the businesses in our neighborhood -- i.e., along North Sherman. We > patronize The UPS Store, Dorn True Value, Pierce's Grocery, Northside > Animal Hospital, and Noah's Ark pet store, among others. > > We're pleased about the many areas of Madison (and the surrounding > region) that are bike-friendly, with either designated bike lanes on > regular streets or dedicated non-motorized-vehicle bike paths. We use > all of these frequently. Out on North Sherman, though, which is an > unavoidable part of our route to almost everywhere, we're often > frustrated. It's unsafe for us, and annoying to drivers, if we ride in > the street, which has no shoulder, let alone a bike lane. We ride on > the sidewalk, which is treacherous for us because of traffic shooting > out from stores, banks, gas stations, and restaurants, and frightening > for pedestrians, especially those who are frail and/or elderly and can > only move slowly or with walkers. We ourselves are extremely cautious > and respectful of pedestrians, always signalling and vocally > announcing our presence, and even dismounting from our bikes and > walking around pedestrians who seem unsteady. We are not sure that all > bicyclists do the same. > > We were delighted to see construction begin on North Sherman this > summer, in spite of the many temporary inconveniences (including the > phone outage a few weeks ago!) that it entails. We were almost certain > that the construction would include putting in either a bike path or a > bike lane, since we knew that such developments have been talked about > in the city for years and are sorely needed, especially as more and > more of this city's residents take to alternative forms of > transportation to reduce congestion and pollution and save fuel. I'm > sure you can imagine our great dismay when we discovered that not even > a bike LANE is part of this construction plan! > > I've heard that there has been opposition from some neighborhood > businesses to the idea of limiting auto traffic to one lane in each > direction, with a shared turn lane, so that a bike lane can be > included on North Sherman. I can't imagine why this is so! North > Sherman has had problematic traffic problems for as long as I have > lived in the neighborhood. Two lanes in each direction give the street > too much of a "highway" feel, with the result that most drivers exceed > the 30 mph speed limit most of the time -- some drastically. It's a > very unsafe street for people on foot, particularly those who must > cross North Sherman, and especially those who are frail -- for > instance, some of the elderly residents at the retirement development > across from Northgate. Reducing the traffic to one lane in each > direction might actually be a way to slow traffic down enough for > drivers to NOTICE that there are local businesses there! It might also > discourage some of those who use the street simpl > y as a thoroughfare -- a way to get somewhere else fast, with no > intentions of patronizing any of the businesses that are on the way. > > Neighborhood businesses should also be aware that many of their loyal > customers and would-be customers ARE pedestrians and bicyclists, and > that we will be BETTER able to patronize these businesses if North > Sherman is more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. > > > Please pass my message on to anyone who has influence in this matter. > I am also more than willing to speak to anyone in person about these concerns. > > JoAnne Lehman > *********************** > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > Bikies@danenet.org > http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies > _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list Bikies@danenet.org http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
