One of my predecessors pitched the concept of a Bike Station to the Associated Students of Madison (AS, UW-Madison's student union) when Union South was being designed (my understanding is that fees collected from students for ASM paid for the building), but that ASM chose not to include a bike station with the interior design of the building (I'm told they opted for the climbing wall instead).
It is true that space OUTSIDE the building has been reserved for a future Bike Station. It's not clear to me whether the space that has been reserved would be adequate for much of a bike station. I think it was over two years ago that I last saw a concept drawing. At the time it consisted of a two storing building that held up to 150 bikes in two-tiered racks, and a similar number of lockers, and included a couple of very small bathrooms with showers and an even smaller space that could be used for on-site bike repairs, education classes, and the like. I don't think any changes have been made to that design concept since then, as there is no funding identified for even the relatively modest conceptual design that exists. And while no one that I am aware of has estimated the cost for the current design (if a design that's two years old can be called current), it is fairly similar in size and concept to a bike station that was designed for Denver (but never actually built) and estimated to cost nearly half a million dollars nearly a decade ago. Obviously it would cost more now after considering inflation, not to mention the increases in some construction costs above the general inflation rate. A half a million dollars is a lot of money relative to Transportation Services' annual budget. Pie charts showing where our revenue comes from and how it is spent (at least for the 2010-2011 fiscal year) are here: http://transportation.wisc.edu/home/financial.aspx You can see that we spend about a million and a half providing a 100% subsidy to over 14,000 UW employees to use the Madison Metro bus system (those passes are not "free" anymore than parking is free), this is in addition to the "free" campus bus routes (80, 81, 82, 84, 85), which are paid for by TS and UW Housing and ASM. I'm as much in favor of a bike station at Union South (and downtown, for that matter) as anyone on this list, and probably more in favor of it than many. But ASM decided not to include it in the $90 something million building that was completed last April, and now I'm not sure where the money is going to come from. Do we take it from the bus subsidies? Do we take it from my budget to add more (standard) bike parking on campus? I hope not. As much as I'd like to see a Bike Station at Union South, I'd rather us provide enough standard bike parking to meet even the current demand. We have a multiyear plan to do that, but it doesn't include a $ half million bike station. Do we take it from the money spent to replace surface car parking with structured parking? If so, then where do future revenues come from? If/when we figure that out, there is theoretically space for a Bike Station at Union South. Chuck Strawser Pedestrian & Bicycle Transportation Planner Commuter Solutions Transportation Services UW-Madison Room 124 WARF 610 Walnut St Madison WI 53726 608-263-2969 www.wisc.edu/trans ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Robbie Webber Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2011 4:21 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] yes, a bike station at Union South would be great--may be too late...Re: Mayor Soglin States Intent to Cancel Downtown Bike Station Project Yes, I was sort of waiting for Chuck to answer, since he would have the most current information. However, here is what I know: When Union South was built, space was left for a Bike Station. I'm not sure exactly where or how much space, but I am consitently told that one could be added later. However, funding was not specifically set aside for the facility, so it was not included in the building. Many, many people have brought up the need, and their personal desire for a Bike Station at Union South. As always, many indidviduals asking the people that could make it happen for a project to happen is the best way to move it forward. That would means UW students, faculty, and staff making their desires known to their department heads, the Union Directorate, UW Transportation Services, UW Facilities, Planning & Management (FP&M) - the folks that plan and build the University buildings and oversee all transportation options . As I always say, people who drive will be quick to let others know when their needs are not being met, especially when it comes to parking. I sometimes think we bicyclists bitch to each other, but not to the people that can actually make the change, although we are getting better about that. And if you do contact Transportation Services, don't be mean to Chuck. He's wants a Bike Station, too. The decisions to delay building one are above his pay grade. Robbie Webber On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 3:55 PM, Mary Rouse <[email protected]> wrote: All--I have supported a bike station at Union South and still think it is a great idea. However, it may be too late. Chuck Strawser is the campus expert on this proposed project. Best, Mary On 9/6/2011 3:14 PM, Steve Goldstein wrote: Speaking of Bike Station Projects (even though this thread is a month old)... Is there any hope of reviving the plan for a Bike Station at Union South? I understand a Bike Station was in the plan at some point, but it was probably pretty easy to remove it from the plan at some funding reality check. Just as a downtown station makes sense even without a commuter train station, Union South would be a great location for showers, bike lockers, etc. _______________________________________________ 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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