For everyone who does not regularly ride across the near-West side, the Kendall Bike Boulevard demonstration is underway, and it needs strong support if it or any other effective bike boulevard is going to become a reality in Madison in the foreseeable future.
This consists of a traffic diverter (currently formed with orange barrels) at Kendall and Franklin. It is as advocated in Reed Dunbar's earlier message (attached), and effectively makes Kendall a one-way westbound for motor vehicles while retaining two-way bike traffic. This concept was included in the Regent neighborhood traffic plan 15 years ago, and the City should be commended for implementing this trial and encouraged to make it permanent, in keeping now with the Madison Platinum Bike Plan. In a city where only 3% of all commute trips are by bike this a very bold move, and one that should be applauded. Street treatment of this type is essential for increasing bike use to a meaningful level, and for meeting state and national energy conservation and air quality goals. The concept in the first phase is to apply diverters not only at Franklin, but at other north-south cross streets as well, possibly as far east as Allen St. The next phase would extend along Bluff/Regent to Midvale, with an eventual goal of including Regent all the way to Whitney Way as a unified bike boulevard from Whitney Way to Camp Randall (where riders can pick up the Southwest Path/Missing Link, or take Randall north to the central campus). This brief demonstration has been underway for only one week, and it has been VERY effective at reducing mv traffic on the Kendall bike route. Instead of a constant stream of impatient, pushy east-bound car commuters, we have the quiet whirr of mostly bikes. This bike boulevard was heavily supported at the Regent Neighborhood meetings this spring. As you may guess, lots of drivers and maybe a few others are unhappy about having to divert their daily motor commuter route onto University Avenue, where major commuter traffic to UW and downtown belongs, rather than rattling noisily down what is supposed to be a quiet residential street. (According to license plate data that I gathered 15 years ago, and which the City TE Dept mapped, two-thirds of all traffic along Bluff/Kendall originates WEST of MIDVALE, so these drivers can easily make University their regular commute route in the morning. Commuters are this week predictably turning east onto Stevens, which has a children's playground park. This problem was foreseen and the remedy of placing a diverter there also to shunt cars onto University Avenue has not been enacted, but is a simple fix.) Your support of this bike boulevard is urgently needed. Please contact: [email protected] [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Shiva - Alder in the affected District district(YOUR #)@cityofmadison.com Also send an e-comment to the local news outlets of your choice. Thanks! Jeff Schimpff Madison, WI 608-233-2962 "Bus, Bike, Carpool to Work for Clean Air for Kids" "Pedestrians and cyclists are the indicator species of a healthier community" ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Reed D Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 1:05 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Kendall Ave. Bike Blvd Discussion After having ridden the streets of Portland, OR this summer with Roger Geller; and the streets of Seattle, WA the year prior with Peter Lagerway (both were instrumental in facilitating a bicycle culture in their respective cities), I am not altogether certain that treatments such as sharrows on bike boulevards are all that necessary. I think a bike boulevard is like urban sprawl - you know it when you see it. There are many low traffic areas in Madison that already qualify. Tarting up our streets with paint and blue signs is not necessarily the indicator of a well designed (or managed) bicycle facility. The real hallmark of a bicycle boulevard is reduced automobile traffic and the prioritization of bikes within the design hierarchy. Diverting traffic, for example, by only allowing bicycles on certain segments is much more effective in creating a bicycle-friendly environment than a sharrow. This is especially important to consider in light of the fact that most people operating on streets with sharrows don't necessarily know what they are. I have ridden the E Wilson Street segment all winter and motorists are no more inclined to "share the road" with me than they are on any other road. However, if we divert traffic, or make it difficult for autos to operate on that street, then the priority for cyclistss is clear and we wouldn't need to rely on signage or pavement markings to convey that message. We should also be careful to supplement our efforts with an effective public awareness campaign. Portland spent months engaging the public when they first installed their bike boxes at intersections. Anybody remember a bike box campaign in Madison? I don't either, and that's probably why we have autos parked in them at red lights. - Reed Dunbar
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