Tim: Your comments are laughable, particularly since you know how city government here works.
The heads of City and Traffic Engineering are political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the mayor and the council. If things aren't being done progressively enough for bicycling, it is because there isn't political support for it. Why did it take two decades to do a road diet on Sherman? Because the alders wouldn't support it until Satya finally did after deciding not to run again. There are plans for real bike boulevards in Madison, so why don't we have any? Because local alders and the mayor won't support them and take the political heat for diverting traffic. Why doesn't West Wash have bike lanes? Because the mayor and alder won't support it and take the heat when the street becomes a parking lot every afternoon. As much as we would all like to see them do it, staff at TE and CE are not going to take major steps that have significant impacts on traffic without direction and support from above to do so. Could things have been handled better with this project? Undoubtedly. But the main issue isn't staff at TE and CE, it is alders and mayors (past and present) who are happy to be a pretty darn good bike city, but not a great one. So complain to your alders and mayor about bike issues, not a random listserv, and vote for candidates who will support bikes over cars in their districts. Better yet, run for alder and be the pro-bike candidate! And if you live in Monona and like to whine about how bad Madison does it, well, I guess you're out of luck. Kevin Luecke Sent from a touchscreen - please excuse any typos! > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: tim wong <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Cc: bikies <[email protected]> > Date: Sat, 9 May 2015 12:23:25 -0400 > Subject: Re: [Bikies] Notice of closure of John Nolen Path in Law Park > I agree with Paul. Get the Jersey barriers in place for Monday on both sides of John Nolen Drive. If they worked way back when the city first tried to eliminate the Law Park bike path to build Soglin's "mistake on the lake," they can certainly work now. > > I believe that Engineering and City Engineering need to be reined in. The motorist-first approach to transportation problems has never been acceptable and certainly isn't now. If Engineering and City Engineering are unwilling or unable to consider all forms of transportation equally when making transportation decisions, the division heads should be removed and replaced by people who will do so. > > It is time for the mayor to get off his grand horse and do some intervention with these motorholics run amok. As the mayor of this city, it is incumbent upon him to act, and act NOW. Or do Soglin's previous blog comments about "people who ride in snow blizzards should be shot" continue to reflect his true feelings about bicyclists and pedestrians fit into Madison's transportation network?
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