Hi all, After submitting a Report-a-problem through the city's website, I followed up with an email to Chris Kelley looking to learn more about what it will take to improve our on-street bike path maintenance. I received the response below from George Dreckmann (Streets).
I've included it here (along with my response) to provide some context. My read is that *there is no service-level expectation for on-street bike lane winter maintenance.* I've sent George a followup email expressing my concerns with this and asking to receive clarification about the City's position on this issue. I included the City Council and Mayor's office as it seems that this may be an issue that goes beyond the Streets division. I'm confident that this is an issue that is important to all Madison-area winter cyclists and wanted to encourage any of you with concerns to reach out to the City Council as well. If the City truly intends to abandon these bike facilities during winter, I think they need to do so explicitly and even consider posting warnings so that unwitting road-users don't attempt to use them. It would also be helpful for MV operators to understand why cyclists are taking the lane on these roadways. Grant ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Grant Foster <[email protected]> Date: Sun, Dec 15, 2013 at 6:47 PM Subject: Re: bike paths To: "Dreckmann, George" <[email protected]> Cc: "Kelley, Chris" <[email protected]>, "Vandenbrook, Bill" < [email protected]>, "Schultz, Stephen" < [email protected]>, [email protected], "Soglin, Paul" < [email protected]>, [email protected] Hi George, Thanks for the email. Based on your response, my understanding of the Streets division's position is that the winter maintenance of on-street bike lanes is challenging and that the current state of snow removal is appropriate based on those challenges. While I can appreciate some of the inherent difficulties you describe, I would like to state clearly that the current snow removal practice for our on-street bike lanes renders them unsafe and unusable. I’m surprised to hear that there is no expectation on part of Madison Streets division to maintain these important bike routes in a safe and usable condition through the winter season. Is this due to a lack of policy/guideline or has there been explicit instruction to neglect this portion of our transportation infrastructure due to budget constraints? As a year-round transportation cyclist in Madison, my expectation is to have a reasonably maintained transportation network accessible by bicycle. This includes residential collector streets/bike boulevards, off-street multi-use paths, and on-street bike lanes. On-street bike lanes are a fundamental component of our overall bicycle transportation network and abandoning these routes during winter erodes the viability of the entire network. Bike lanes on East Johnson Street, East Gorham Street, Cottage Grove Road, and Milwaukee Street in the East; Park Street and Fish Hatchery Road in the South, North Sherman Avenue and Aberg Avenue in the North; and Midvale Boulevard, Segoe Road, Odana Road, Mineral Point Road, Old Sauk Road, and Old Middleton Road in the west are some of the most important segments in Madison’s bicycle transportation network. I’m a life-long Wisconsin resident and very much appreciate the realities of living in Wisconsin during the winter months. Snow accumulations will always challenge our city streets and will impact all users of those roadways. Motor-vehicle operators need to adjust their expectations and driving habits and the same holds true for cyclists. I don’t expect road conditions that are 100% clear and dry and understand the need to make adjustments to my routing, equipment, and riding style based on conditions. I do expect that the Streets division includes on-street bike lanes in their overall road maintenance in a manner that leaves these facilities in a safe and usable condition throughout the winter. The issue that I raised with Chris Kelley is one that seems to challenge the current objectives and philosophy of the Streets division. My offer of assistance stands and I’d be happy to share my experiences as a transportation cyclist in Madison. If the Streets division is constrained from safely maintaining our on-street bike lanes as you suggest, I’d like to continue the conversation with the appropriate contacts outside of your division. I've copied the City Council and the Mayor’s office in case they can help facilitate that exchange. I’m also including a link to some photos I've taken over the last several days here<https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4RtNErivWC-T05ONExmZkswbkE&usp=sharing>that represent the typical snow removal practice of our on-street bike lanes. They were all taken several days after our last snow fall and only one of them is of a bike lane adjacent to motor vehicle parking. Please let me know if you will be providing clarification on the City of Madison’s standard for winter maintenance of on-street bike lanes or if there is someone else better positioned to continue the conversation. Thanks again for your email. Grant Foster On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 11:12 AM, Dreckmann, George < [email protected]> wrote: > Grant, > > > > Chris Kelley has asked me to respond to your inquiry about bike paths. On > street bike paths pose a particular problem during winter. They are very > difficult to clear because many are located between traffic lanes and > parked cars such as the bike lanes on E. Johnson St.. We cannot fully > clear then because of parked cars. > > > > Since on street bike paths are located on the edge of streets they do get > snow accumulations. We only plow when we get significant piles of snow, > because snow removal operations are expensive and our places to store > removed snow are very limited, so we only clear these paths when we get > significant narrowing of a street. We do not plow strictly to clear on > street bike paths. > > > > There are some on street bike paths, such as those on University Av, where > there are no parked cars. We are able to clear those at the same time we > clear the streets. > > > > I hope this information is helpful. If I can be of any further > assistance, please let me know. > > > > George > > > > > > George P. Dreckmann > > Recycling Coordinator > > City of Madison, Streets Division > > 1501 W. Badger Rd. > > Madison, WI 53713 > > 608-267-2626 > > FAX 608-267-1120 > > > > "facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our > inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state > of facts and evidence." > > > John Adams > > > > > > > > >
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