Hi David and All. Does anyone know if the new stop lights going in at the intersection of Blair and East Mifflin have anything to do with Mifflin being designated a bike blvd?
The signal now in place (but not yet active) at Blair in Mifflin is a HAWK beacon. See some examples here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAWK_beacon http://john-s-allen.com/blog/?p=16 As far as I know, it is the first use of a HAWK in the area. The signal will have buttons next to the crosswalk for pedestrians that will provide a 15-second red light for traffic on Blair. There will also be buttons that bicyclists can activate (I think similar to where East Wilson hits John Nolen, see the street view here<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=53703&sll=43.080242,-89.37532&sspn=0.04683,0.111494&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Madison,+Wisconsin+53703&ll=43.075973,-89.376097&spn=0.011708,0.027874&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=43.076006,-89.376&panoid=734dhmerYDzWW1Ha_a2hQg&cbp=12,142.24,,1,8.01>) that will provide a 10-second red light for traffic on Blair. Motor vehicles will not trip the beacon. Interestingly, there also appears to be a full signal facing the wrong-way on Blair, which makes me wonder if the city is going to put a counter-flow lane in on Blair. Having lived in the Old Market Row apartments at this site for five years, I could see a use for that. I can also report from having lived there that there are near-monthly crashes at that intersection, although nearly all of them are car-on-car. I am glad to see the city trying out new ideas like this, although as a daily rider through this intersection, I rarely have to wait more than a few seconds to cross anyway. Now the city needs to put one in place at East Mifflin and North Webster, where a lot of bicyclists and pedestrians do have problems crossing the street. I am also hoping that now that this is in place, the city will be placing sharrows all the way up East Mifflin to the outer square, and eventually to the square when the counter-flow lane goes in between Pinckney and Webster. I have no idea if this is in the works though. David Waugh 1213 East Mifflin -- Kevin Luecke Lead Planner, Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin www.bfw.org 608-251-4456 <http://www.bfw.org/> <http://bikefed.blogspot.com/> <http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/bike.fed.wi?ref=ts> <http://twitter.com/search?q=BikeFed> <http://delicious.com/network/BikeFed>
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